Shen Qianqian was chosen as our 2008 He Ming Qing Scholar in Hebei Province.
She was 20 years old and vcame from a remote village in the Taihang Mountains, south of where Kathleen Hall was working. Shen received no support from any other source than her family, who are poor farmers. She was an average student but had a strong commitment to her profession.
Dave Bromwich reported that Madam Ma Baoru took Qianqian under her wing and called her “Daughter”; Qianqian called her “Auntie”. Mao Baoru was the woman Tom Newnham approached in Baoding’s Tourism Office to help him find the mountain villages where New Zealand missionary nurse Kathleen Hall had worked in the 1930s.
(See Diana Madgin’s article on Kathleen Hall)
Ma Baoru has told Shen many Kathleen Hall/He Mingqing stories, which have moved her. Madam Ma later visited New Zealand to find out where Kathleen Hall came from. She was Shen’s mentor for the scholarship and reported to NZCFS regularly.
Introducing Shen Qianqian
(Report from Dave Bromwich, who met her 25/9/08 in Baoding)
“Qianqian is lovely. She is quietly confident, considering the first meeting with a foreign benefactor. She considers herself very lucky, and promises to work hard. Her academic skills are mid-level, and she expects to complete her studies with no problem. She has completed 3 years, has started her 4th year of study and will have one further year of practical study before completion. So we have 2 years of support.
“Qianqian comes from a village in the mountains of Shi County, Handan City, in the south of Hebei. Her parents are farmers with 5 mu (5/8 acre), grow several grain crops, and have 4 pigs. Her older brother is a chef in Shanxi Province. All have been contributing to her study fees (3000rmb per year for first 3 years), but her mother now has throat cancer and cannot work. (It is expected she will recover.) So the farm income has dropped from average to below average. Without support she would have difficulty to continue her study.
“When Qianqian was 14 she had a toothache, and was treated by a nurse. She admired the nurse’s competence, and decided at that stage she would like to be able to assist people in this way. She is still committed to this profession. She will be able to complete her practical study in Shi County hospital, where her uncle is an anaesthetist.”
Graduation July 2011
Ma Baoru has reported that Shen Qianqian has now married and move to work in the south of China. We have lost contact with her at present but will up-date when we have information.
Ma Baoru has told Shen many Kathleen Hall/He Mingqing stories, which have moved her. Madam Ma later visited New Zealand to find out where Kathleen Hall came from. She was Shen’s mentor for the scholarship and reported to NZCFS regularly.
