Youliduzi Sidike and Kuniduzi Sidike were born in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The twin sisters have had rich life experiences during the past 16 years; they have danced on stages around the world, they have been recommended as exam-exempted postgraduates, they have studied in Ph.D. programs in the United States, and they have established a fund to help impoverished children in Xinjiang receive an education.

Kuniduzi Sidike and Youliduzi Sidike loved to dance when they were young. The sisters passed the entrance exam to get into a good junior high school after they completed primary school. However, they chose to study dance at Xinjiang Arts University. "My parents have not forced us to do anything since we were young. Even though they thought we were wrong, they only asked us to make the decision," recalls Youliduzi Sidike, the elder sister.

Kuniduzi Sidike and Youliduzi Sidike [Photos Supplied by Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund]

The twins became professional dancers, with the China National Song & Dance Ensemble, in 2001, after they completed the courses at the arts university. They not only performed in many large-scale performances in China, but they also performed in many other countries, including Singapore and the Republic of Korea. They earned good salaries. However, they were not satisfied. "We were not well-educated. We could not communicate with the locals in English when we performed in foreign countries. So, we decided to resign and continue our studies," says Youliduzi Sidike.

The sisters left the troupe in 2003, and they returned to Urumqi. They studied hard for several months, and then they passed the college-entrance exam. They were enrolled by the School of Foreign Languages, under the China University of Geosciences (CUG) (Wuhan). "It was really a hard time after we entered the university. Teachers gave lessons in English, and we could not understand a word. We received many awards for dancing in the past. However, we became the last one in the university," says Youliduzi Sidike. "To catch up with our classmates, we got up at five in the morning. We read English texts loudly in a place where there were few people. Our classmates often helped us study English. The foreign teachers gave us lessons for free on weekends."

[Photos Supplied by Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund]

The sisters made great progress after four years of efforts. They received good marks for their graduation theses. They were recommended as exam-exempted postgraduates, in 2008, and they continued their studies in CUG (Wuhan). In 2010, they passed the oral examination that allowed them to study Ph.D. programs at CUG. The CUG also sent them to study in some Ph.D. programs at Pennsylvania State University.

More than Donations

Ayiximu Bawudu, the sisters' mother, always told them to assist people in need. One day, in November 2014, they learned about an ethnic Uygur man when they were reading the website of Tencent's charity foundation. The foundation appealed to netizens to donate money to the Uygur man, so he could afford the expense of treating his son, who had suffered from severe brain paralysis. Later, the sisters got in touch with the man, and the man told them he had received all of the money donated by netizens. The sisters decided the online charity platform was useful, and they hoped to use the platform to help people in need.

Ayiximu and Sidike Kasimu, the sisters' parents, were once appointed village cadres in Yuerqi, a township in Akesu, a prefecture in Xinjiang. The sisters learned from their parents that many school-aged children in the township dropped out of school. The sisters started a program, Xinjiang Underprivileged Primary-school Students, on April 2, 2015, on Tencent charity foundation's website. The program's purpose was to raise money to help impoveris hed children in Yuerqi. They raised more than 27,000 yuan (US $4,030) in one day. Nearly 480 people donated money.

[Photos Supplied by Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund]

The sisters used the money to buy schoolbags, pencils and water-color pens. They handed out the items to impoverished students in Yuerqi. "What we want to do is more than donate stationery. We went to study in the United States, and we realized our dreams by working hard. So, we want to tell the students that they need to study hard, go out of the village and change their destinies on their own," says Youliduzi Sidike.

"We do not want the students to think they deserve the assistance. We talk with teachers before we give lectures in a school. The teachers will arrange learning tasks for their students in advance. Only the students who complete the tasks can get our gifts," says Kuniduzi Sidike.

[Photos Supplied by Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund]

The sisters established the Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund, in November 2015, to assist women and children in remote areas in Xinjiang. They hope the parents and children in remote areas will pay more attention to education. They have also organized teachers to support education in schools in remote areas, and they have helped improve the educational facilities in the schools. They have encouraged the students to study hard, and to leave the remote villages and study in big cities.

To date, 35 teachers have participated in the fund's education-supporting program. "The teachers help the local children learn about the outer world. However, there are not enough teachers in poverty-stricken areas in Xinjiang … We hope more teachers will participate in our program. We have cooperated with other funds to initiate more than 30 programs since our fund was established. We have raised more than 2.2 million yuan (US $328,358). We have helped more than 1,400 impoverished students (100 of them are university students), and we have given lectures in more than 30 schools," say the sisters.

[Photos Supplied by Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund]

Sparking Children's Dreams

The sisters often ask students what job they want to perform in the future. "They tell us they want to be doctors, teachers, engineers or policemen. We hoped the children could have their dreams," say the sisters.

[Photos Supplied by Yultuz & Kunduz Charity Fund]

In the past, many primary schools in Hotan Prefecture, in Xinjiang, only had small libraries with a few old books. So, the sisters started a program, Loving Libraries. They bought children's books, and they distributed the books among the schools. They have established nine loving libraries in Hotan. "After we arrive at a school, we will give a lecture, hand out schoolbags to the students and talk with the students. We are all in at the end of the day. However, when we see the smiling faces of the students, and their desire for knowledge, we never feel tired," says Kuniduzi Sidike.

Now, the sisters are preparing to open a high-end, education and training institution, to help children receive some courses about traditional and modern Chinese culture.