Teacher Reunites With Farmer Who Turned Desert Into Forest

When Ronald Sakolsky arrived in Inner Mongolia last month, he barely recognized the landscape where he'd once planted a finger-thin sapling in barren sand.

The retired American teacher had returned to reunite with Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese farmer he'd helped support 26 years ago. Back in 1999, Sakolsky was teaching English in Henan Province when he saw Yin on television, planting trees alone in the vast Maowusu Sandy Land.

Moved by her determination to fight desertification, Sakolsky contacted American organizations until a Boston charity provided a $5,000 grant. Yin spent every dollar on saplings instead of improving her family's living conditions, keeping only a single banknote as a keepsake.

When Sakolsky visited in May 2000, the area looked hopeless. The fragile young trees seemed destined to fail in the sandy wasteland.

He and Yin couldn't speak each other's language, but they communicated through smiles and gestures as she taught him to plant a tree. Then he returned to America, and they lost touch.

For years, Yin kept his photograph and asked every American she met if they knew how to find him. Earlier this year, she posted a video online inviting him to see what had become of those trees.

The internet worked its magic in less than 26 hours. Sakolsky saw photos of what had grown from those struggling saplings: more than 50,000 trees covering roughly 11,500 acres.

On August 23, Yin welcomed Sakolsky back to Ordos. The next day, she brought him to the Maowusu to see the poplar tree they'd planted together.

That finger-thin sapling now stands over 30 feet tall. They celebrated by planting another tree side by side.

The Ripple Effect

Yin's family has now planted trees across about 11,500 acres of former desert. Official figures show that roughly 85 percent of the Maowusu Sandy Land has been restored from wasteland to forest.

The transformation represents one of the world's most successful desertification reversal projects. What began with one woman's determination and one teacher's $5,000 grant has helped rebuild an entire ecosystem.

"I planted a friendship tree in Inner Mongolia," Sakolsky said during the visit. He told reporters he never expected anything in return when he raised that money in 1999.

"You can't give something and then expect something back," he explained. "I raised that money because I wanted to thank China, and I wanted to help her make China a little more beautiful."

Sakolsky stayed in China through September 1, participating in teacher exchanges and visiting Henan where he once taught. Their reunion proves that kindness and persistence can grow into something far bigger than anyone first imagined.