In 2010, ZeShan Foundation supported the fundraising concert for the construction of a library in the Vidyathilake Primary School in Sri Lanka, organized by the Room to Read chapter of the Island School in 2010. The event featured the world’s youngest professional guitarist by the Guinness Book of World Records, Yuto Miyazawa, was a great success.

The project has drawn input from parents and local community members in the construction process and is closely monitored by a local Construction Committee with guidance from the local R2R team. The local community is empowered and feels a sense of ownership through direct participation. Shortly after the completion of construction work, library was fully furnished and filled with almost 1000 books in July 2012. Having adequate light and good ventilation, the spacious 800-square-foot single-story building is welcoming and inviting to students. Training on how to develop reading skills, manage the library, and organize library activities were conducted for librarians and teachers to ensure that facilities will be fully utilized, and ensures the sustainability of the project. It is hoped that the library will be a catalyst to improve literacy and leave great impact on the local community.

Room to Read was founded by John Wood. The organization focuses on enhancing literacy and gender equality in education, so that “all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.”

Click here to read the completion report.

In 2010, ZeShan, together with Si Yuan Foundation and River Star Foundation provided support for Teach For China, formerly named China Education Initiative, an NGO which seeks to reduce educational inequity in China by engaging recent college graduates in the United States and China. Providing an alternate teacher sourcing channel for public schools in China, TFC has developed a teaching fellows program to meet the pressing need for teachers in understaffed low-income schools, while fostering a cross-cultural constituency of young leaders positioned to advance the cause of educational equity.

Forty teaching fellows are placed at schools in teams of four, with two Americans and two Chinese to each team – living and working side-by-side. They strategize about how to motivate and influence their students, cooperate with local school administrations, collaborate with local teachers, and work to improve their students’ educational prospects. To ensure the relevance of its approach, TFC works closely with government partners on program design and implementation.

ZeShan in 2009 joined forces with Seeds Foundation and Si Yuan Foundation in supporting an initiative which aims to develop a training manual and provide “Training the Trainers” (TOT) courses for rural teachers. Developed by The Zigen Fund, an NGO committed to improving the livelihood of rural populations in China, together with experts in rural education, the manual introduces effective teaching and learning methodologies in the context of rural China, and reasserts the value of being a rural teacher.

Training has been provided to 120 county-level “master trainer” teachers in Hubei, Hebei and Yunnan provinces on how to use the manual. They are expected to train up to 3,000 rural elementary school teachers in the next three years. A conference will be held in 2011 to share best practice indicators for quality rural education, showcase the training manual, and hopefully inspire other adult education programs in rural areas.

ZeShan Foundation believes in the impact of liberal arts education on young people, and has been a long-time supporter of Lingnan University, a liberal arts college in Hong Kong.

In 2006, ZeShan established the ZeShan Foundation Scholarship for students to participate in exchange programs abroad.  As of the academic year 2014/15, 107 students have benefitted from the scheme.

In April 2009, ZeShan supported Lingnan in organizing the “Coming-of-Age for Liberal Arts Education in 21st Century Asia-Pacific” Conference. It provided a platform for discussion on the long-term development of liberal arts education in the region. The two keynote speakers were Professor David Oxtoby, president of Pomona College in the United States, and Professor Peter McCagg, dean of international affairs at International Christian University in Japan.

In 2010, ZeShan supported Lingnan’s expanded Integrated Learning Program, designed to encourage students to embrace new ideas, acquire skills in learning and communication, appreciate different cultures, and develop a good physique. This co-curriculum program has developed a rich set of contents with consistently high quality to complement the formal curricula.

In 2014, twenty students were awarded scholarships to go on exchange programs in ten countries. Scholarship recipients of last year shared observations and reflections of their exchange experiences with members from the Foundation and this year’s awardees. ZeShan is keen to see transformation in the students through the experience.