A warm phone call of love and donation from China's Yunnan

One evening in early April, Ding Huilan, President of Japan Yunnan Friendship Association, who lives in Tokyo, received a phone call offering donation from Dali, Yunnan province in China.

"I have discussed with my classmates. We want to make donations for the association's staff who are helping the Japanese fight against the epidemic, and we are preparing to donate masks," said Xia Yu, a 2017 class graduate from Kunming Girls' High School in Yunnan province.

Founded in 2000, Japan Yunnan Friendship Association is made up of members of Japanese corporations and individuals. Since its establishment, the association has been funding educational poverty alleviation activities in minority areas of Yunnan for a long time. Through the program, the association has forged a deep friendship with Kunming Girls' High School and its students.

With the spread of COVID-19, Japan is facing a shortage of epidemic prevention materials. The girls who had received the association's help care deeply about the situation in Japan which prompted Xia and two other students to launch a charity fundraising activity.

"When I heard what she said, I felt surprised and touched," Ding talked about her feeling of receiving the call. "I received the children's kindness but really don't want them to spend a lot of money. I have repeatedly declined."
But the children were determined to help. Xia told Ding that they had received assistance during the most difficult times, which gave them hope.

"How can we stand by and do nothing when there is an epidemic in Japan?" she said.

In a short period of time, Xia and her classmates launched a fundraising campaign that received donation from 233 school graduates. The donation was spent on buying masks which were quickly sent in batches to Japan. The association has received the first batch of the donated masks.

"The warm action of the students showed their kindness and the moral character of repaying gratitude, touching us deeply. On behalf of all the members of the association, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the students for their kindness," Ding said.

"We firmly believe that China and Japan in joint efforts will overcome the difficulty and achieve the final victory in fighting the epidemic," she said.

Editor: John Li