“Not only is she a whiz at her studies, but she’s also become a great role model. In this day of greedy capitalism, excessive individualism and loose moral, Shen Xin-ling seems like an angel that fell out of heaven.” – Times for Student
Ordinary girl creates extraordinary life
Born in 1989, Shen was an only child. Before she arrived, her parents worked in their own small contract garment manufacturing business. In the mid-1980s, however the NT dollar soared against the US currency, putting pressure on the export -oriented textile trade. Eventually, because of problems with suppliers, the Shen family business finally closed its doors with huge debts.
When she was a child, she’d travel with her parents, setting up roadside stands so the family could make ends meet. She has lived in container houses and in leaky huts make of corrugated metal, and often slept in the back of her parents’ truck.
Because of their unsettled lifestyle, she never had the chance to go to preschool as other peer. However, poverty never stop her from learning. She learned words from old newspapers and shop signs she saw on the streets. Her mother also bought used book from old bookstall to her. She jumped at the chance of every learning opportunity.
Using her remarkable computer skill
In forth grades, she became more and more interesting in computers. Although her family is poor that can’t afford a computer, her mother sold her exquisite jade bracelet to buy her a one. She never let her parents down that she used this computer to acquire computer skills by reading books online for hours every day, and finally she got thirty-seven computer certificates when she was seventeen years old.
Most important, she used her remarkable computer skill to set up a website named ananedu.com to help those children in need with free educational materials for elementary and secondary school students. This free-learning website has developed a reputation as one of the best learning resources and has over six million users from Taiwan, mainland China and Honk Kong so far. She also organized free summer camp for children who is from families in poverty to learn English. She is dedicated to creating the fair chance for every child to learning.
Not only she cares about student from poor family but also focuses on vulnerable farmers. She made an online system to help disadvantageous farmers to sell their agricultural commodities and promote local farmers to establish their own market model.
Being a philanthropist
With the encouragement from her parents, Xin-ling Shen started dedicating to education and agriculture when she was only eleven years old. Like she always says, “You don’t need to wait till you grow up to help others!” Being a philanthropist is not a matter of how old you are, but a matter of how dedicated your heart is.
