In 1989, 4.8 million children in China, ages 7-14, were unable to attend school. 83% of them were girls. This shocking fact provoked deep reflection about the state of girls’ education in rural China among CCTF members and other members of Chinese society.

1.     Girls are very often deprived of educational opportunities by their parents, due to poverty and gender bias in rural areas.
   

2.     Girls without education often marry at a very young age.
   

In 1989, China Children and Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF) launched the Spring Bud Project, which aims to assist girls in poverty stricken regions without access to education, and to help them get back to school. According to an independent agency survey, during the past 19 years the Spring Bud Program has successfully helped sponsor the education and practical skills training of more than 1.7 million girls in China.