We have received the following message from Marine in Danian:

“With great regret I must inform you of a sad loss for all of us. Jürgen Cohausz passed away on Monday 22nd October in the hospital in Shanghai after a long illness which he battled with exceptional courage.

Jürgen was a faithful friend to the organisation, as one of our most important donors, but also and above all a friend to all the members of the organisation who were lucky enough to meet him. We were happy that he was able to come to Danian to inaugurate the Dagou school which he funded, with his wife Linda Hua, in honour of their missing daughter.”

Having been lucky enough to meet him in Danian, after hearing so much about him from Fang Fang, I would like to describe this man and what we owe him. We met for the first time in March 2006 during his visit for the inauguration of the Muye Drum Tower.

He sponsored it after he had already contributed to the reconstruction of the Gulu Drum Tower on the other side of the river opposite Danian. There has been a fire in the Tower since then and we have reconstructed it in memory of Fang Fang. There is a stone marker there in memory of Jürgen and Linda’s support.

The Muye event was particularly festive. Jürgen could not resist attending, at the invitation of the Mayor of Danian. Jürgen was happy to be in good company with Fang Fang and the village authorities.

During our passionate conversations, he explained to me how strongly he felt about the preservation of minority cultures. His commitment was impressive. Generous, a man of great simplicity and modesty and a wise businessman, he would carefully check the details of any estimates. I was always proud of the considered confidence he placed in us.

Jürgen in Dagou

We would be happy if, in his memory, we could respond to other requests of this nature, without forgetting that to support the education of our ‘big girls’ is still the best way to maintain this culture which is so dear to them.

Jurgen had the same idea when he financed the construction of a primary school in Dagou. On this ocassion it fell to me to exchange emails with Linda, as engaged as he was in this project, and to whom we present our deepest condolences.

Philippe Marescaux

traduction : Juliette Rutheford

News of your sponsored child in your letterbox!

Tuesday, 31st July 2012 11:24 webmaster

Check your letterbox!

The first school bulletins for the sponsored children are beginning to arrive from Danian in the letterboxes of the sponsors - the latest news with school results, which will allow you to check the girls’ progress and to have a glimpse of their future pathways in their studies. The bulletins are also accompanied by a brief note and/or a drawing to say thank you.

Of course, the 2011-2012 school year has now finished, and the 2012-2013 school year is coming fast, at the end of August in China. It is time, therefore, to think about renewal of your sponsorship if you haven’t done this already.

For this purpose, you can download the form below, complete it and return it to the main headquarters of Couleurs de Chine.

Sponsorship or donations form (EN-en) (179.33 KB)

If you are not sure where you are with your sponsorship(s), write to us at the address for sponsorship management and we will reply as soon as possible.

Translation : Juliette Rutherford

The school year is coming to an end.

For the Danian office, it’s the beginning of the collection of school results. It’s a lot of work.

First of all, we check once again the addresses held in Paris for the sponsors and the sponsorships which are underway, on the basis of information supplied by representatives and intermediaries.

We then edit for each sponsored child a form completed previously with the address of the sponsor and a description of the girl’s situation.

The forms for the primary and middle school children are sent by the office to the establishments: over 100 schools, spread across the mountain range; 5 152 pupils to monitor.

The teachers transcribe the school results on to the prepared forms and the sponsored girls write a short note or do a little drawing (the younger girls are not able to write in Chinese characters).

The forms are then collected by the Danian office, who log the returns and send a reminder to the schools which are late in returning the forms.

The older ones, secondary school and college students, come themselves to the Danian office to provide their school results and to send a letter of thanks to their sponsors.

Once again, the office logs the forms as required. The secondary school and college students who don’t come are considered to have abandoned their studies.

Finally, the forms are divided into categories (China, Hong Kong and outside of China), put in envelopes and posted. Some are photocopied for back-up. They are all logged in order that they can be traced.

This work lasts all summer. Once the students who are changing school have been identified (going from primary to middle school, middle school to secondary school, secondary to further education), a new photo is taken and sent to the sponsor.

The Chinese postal system is reasonably reliable. But we often have returns with the words ‘No longer lives at this address’, sometimes for incomprehensible reasons. Future development of the website will allow sponsors to update their own address details and thereby reduce the rate of these returns.
Don’t forget to renew your sponsorship! And please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the outcome for your sponsored girl.
You can write to our sponsorship management service:HERE
Download the sponsorship renewal form: here (it is also included in bulletin no. 59 sent by post).

translation : Juliette Rutherford

Le 9 décembre 2008 disparaissait Fangfang, la fondatrice de l'Association Couleurs de Chine, dans l'incendie de sa maison à Danian. En ce 9 décembre 2011, pour le 3e anniversaire de sa mort, toutes les équipes de Couleurs de Chine Danian et "Pays Miao" ainsi que le principal du collège de Danian se sont rendus sur sa tombe pour une cérémonie.

Après un nettoyage des alentours de la tombe de Fangfang, il a été déposés deux photos d'elle afin de remplacer l'ancienne ayant subie les intempéries. Des offrandes, des billets et de l'encens pour se recueillir un dernier moment, puis retour au village pour un repas en l'honneur de Fangfang et de son action pour les petites filles des Grandes Montagnes Miao.