By PIng

In September of 1998, I came to Zhuhai with my family looking for a home. Zhuhai seemed to be the best and also the last choice for our home. We have moved to so many homes and cities in China, since our return to China in 1993 from our five years stay in the USA. I was hoping to find a job as an English teacher. but I realized that I did not have much chance. None of the English schools in Zhuhai were willing to hire an English teacher with a Chinese face. With encouragement from my dear wife Gerda and my American "mother" Jene Bellows, I decided to try my luck and opened an English Club called International Peace Club . I was hoping to create an English "Swimming Pool" as I was convinced from my own learning experience that Chinese students need more practice with their English than studying it from books.

At the start, I was the only full-time teacher with four or five Chinese staff and a few volunteers. Two American friends, Ruth Campbell and Michelle Dammon, very kindly offered their services to the Club without any pay. We had no students, only Club members and the membership fees were barely enough to cover the monthly cost of the operation. We were trying to sell water, one yuan a cup, and roses, five yuan each. Staff lunches were cooked by my mother and the maid at my home during the early stages of GLV.

GLV is quite different from what it was four years ago. Now over 30 fulltime, experienced teachers of different ages, different races and different cultural backgrounds are bringing the world to China and Zhuhai. In the last four years, our total immersion training method and English-only environment have attracted over 2000 students from all over China as well as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Korea. We have even had students from as far away as Brazil and Colombia. Large multi-national companies as well as government organizations have sent their top executives to GLV for language and management training. TEFL-International, a leading trainer of ESL (English as Second Language) teachers, cooperated with us to set up the first international certified ESL teaching training program in China in May of 2001. Over 100 international teachers are trained here each year.

The story of GLV is a story of good will and dedication. The growth of GLV is a fine example of teamwork and team spirit. I am very convinced that people, more than anything, are the key factor in the development of any organization. A good school is not its building nor its equipment, but rather its people, its service style and its team spirit. Throughout these four years, many people have been attracted by the vision of GLV (previously known as The Peace Club) and have dedicated a part of their lives to help the growth of this incredible educational institution. It is because of this spirit that many students feel a difference here. They are not just learning to open their mouths and speak English; they are learning to open their minds to new ideas and to open their hearts to accept peoples from different countries and different cultures. As one wise man said;"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom." We are not only discovering the gems locked inside our students, but also among all our staff, our teachers and each of us working here.

I personally believe GLV's success has much to do with Yuan Fen (the Chinese word for Fate, Destiny and Blessings). Many of us were strangers struggling to survive in different parts of the world in different occupations with different goals in life. Now we have come together accidentally, or providentially, to serve and to work for the betterment of China and the world through learning each other's languages and cultures. We work and study together and we have found friendship, love, transformation of ourselves and a common purpose for our lives.

We are very fortunate to have our school in this beautiful seaside city of Zhuhai with very good Feng Shui. Zhuhai is considered one of the most livable cities in China, blessed with green mountains, blue sky, a constant ocean breeze and, rare in China, a peaceful and tranquil environment. Zhuhai is the most accessible city in China - a one-hour boat ride from Hong Kong or a 10-minute walk from Macau. It truly is the best gateway to China and a bridge connecting China with the outside world. At GLV we work in close collaboration with different government organizations to help make Zhuhai an international center for education and culture.

Our success is also the result of good timing and the networking of people and ideas in this age of the Internet. Word of mouth has brought many of our teachers, staff, and students to our door plus a constant stream of visitors from all over the globe. All are points on a giant GLV world-embracing network. Every one of us is a living advertisement for the school and an ambassador for its aims of goodwill between China and the rest of the planet. The motive is not financial reward but reward from service. The service motto of GLV is: Management serves Staff, Staff serves Students and Students serve Society. We are far from perfect but we are doing our best to create a new model of education and enterprise.

Life is full of surprises, wonders and opportunities. One small encounter, one class, one talk, can change someone's life forever. At GLV, we are trying to create the right stage, the right atmosphere and the right structure so that every one of us will find the right place to express ourselves, our potential, our creativity and our talents. We are not just an ordinary school. We are a learning community like a small United Nations, but with a big dream of building a better world.

To all of our friends and supporters: Thanks for being with us, yesterday... today... and tomorrow.