When Learning Becomes a Burden and Family Becomes Pressure,
How Long Can Children in Disadvantaged Environments Hold On?

For many children growing up in economically disadvantaged, single-parent, or grandparent-led households, falling behind in school is not a matter of lacking effort.
Rather, reality constantly reminds them of what they must carry first:
their families cannot afford after-school tutoring, they are needed at home to help with caregiving, and daily life presents too many urgent responsibilities that demand attention.
Gradually, learning turns into a burden—sometimes even a luxury.

Hsun (pseudonym) is one of the children who grew up under such circumstances.

When his family could no longer bear the weight alone, Bo Ai Foundation stepped in to support him.
Beyond academic tutoring, the Foundation also provided emotional companionship, helping children navigate anxiety, uncertainty, and the challenges of growing up. It reminded them that even at their most difficult moments, someone was willing to walk alongside them.

From elementary school through junior high and high school, Hsun continued forward with this steady support.
Even after graduating, the Foundation maintained regular contact, checking in on his life and well-being. He was not a child of many words, but he always replied to his teachers’ messages.
Once, he sent a simple line:
“Thank you, teacher. I know how hard you work too.”
It was not a polite formality, but a quiet reflection of a child who, after years of being understood and supported, had learned how to respond to care with sincerity.

This year, after graduating from high school, Hsun returned to the Foundation as an administrative volunteer while applying for a scholarship.
Teachers noticed that he had become more emotionally stable, more humble, and warmer in his interactions.
This transformation did not happen overnight—it was the result of years of consistent companionship, slowly nurturing the strength to move forward.

Through its long-term collaboration with the Bo Ai Foundation, iST has come to recognize an important truth:
what truly supports children through adversity is not one-time assistance, but uninterrupted, long-term support.
iST has continuously sponsored scholarships at the Bo Ai Foundation’s Zhudong Center, not only to ease students’ financial burdens during the high-cost university years, but also to reduce fundraising pressure on the Foundation itself. This allows the organization to devote more energy to what matters most—supporting children’s learning and personal growth.

When companies choose to stand steadily behind those who provide companionship, nonprofit organizations are better able to sustain children through their most vulnerable and critical stages of development.
We believe that transforming a child’s environment is never a solitary effort.It comes from repeated choices to walk together.

iST sincerely invites partners and friends who care about education and children’s futures to join us in paying attention to the learning challenges faced by disadvantaged children—
so that long-term companionship may continue to nurture the power of meaningful change.