Uncle Ice Cream shares the wealth

Purveyor of frozen desserts uses profits to support his philanthropic work

In China's westernmost city of Kashgar, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Iskandar is a household name.

The ice cream chain was named for the son of its owner - Tursunjan Abduryim, who is better known among the city's children as "Uncle Ice Cream".

The 50-year-old Uygur man was born into a poor family, not even getting the chance to finish primary school before he took his first job as a machinist's apprentice, learning how to repair electrical appliances and vehicles.

He married Horigul Hopur, a fellow Uygur, in 1989, and they were soon working on starting a family. Their efforts were frustrated by a series of miscarriages, however, until finally they had a son, Iskandar, who was born in 1992.

As the boy grew, he developed a taste for ice cream, which he proudly proclaimed as his favorite dessert.

So in 2000, Tursunjan got hold of a broken ice cream machine and repaired it, learning how it worked at the same time.

A short while later, he built a machine of his own and decided to take out a loan to open an ice cream parlor.

Thanks to his dedication, the shop soon became popular, and Tursunjan now own three stores in addition to his flagship location, bringing in an annual income of more than 100,000 yuan ($14,500).

This improved his family's living conditions dramatically, but Tursunjan dreamed of doing more: he wanted to give children in poor families the opportunity to receive the education that he missed out on.

In 2007, he established a private scholarship, also named after Iskandar, to support those students who perform well at school but need financial help to stay in education.

In the past decade, Uncle Ice Cream has donated 500,000 yuan and helped more than 200 students.

Given his own humble background, Tursunjan said he could emphasize with children who struggle to receive a good education.

"Money should not be an obstacle to those children who want to change their fate through education," he said.

"The money I donated is not crucial to me, but it might be life-changing for the next generation who will contribute to the city's future development."

Tursunjan's philanthropy has won him many adherents in Kashgar, with some coming to buy his ice cream just to show their support.

"I learned of his story from media reports. Now my family and many friends are fans of his ice cream. It's delicious," said Du Hao, a local resident and regular patron of the Iskandar ice cream parlors.

"A shop owner who wants to help those who are in need must be a person with strong social responsibility and will definitely make good-quality ice cream."

In addition to funding disadvantaged children's educations, Tursunjan has worked to boost sports development in Kashgar. In 2013, he raised 130,000 yuan to start a soccer team named Iskandar, aiming at encouraging more young people to participate in sports.

He also donated more than 400,000 yuan to support traditional folk sports, such as horse racing and buzkashi, which is played by two teams of horsemen competing to throw a goat carcass into a scoring circle.

As for Iskandar, the son, he is a sophomore majoring in soccer coaching at a college in Norway and plans to run a soccer club in Kashgar when he returns home.

Tursunjan is also looking to acquire new skills - he recently started to learn English and tries to read every day.

"My life changed because of ice cream, this sweet dessert, and I use what I earn from it to help others," he said. "My wallet has got thinner, but I have a rich and sweet life."

Contact the writers at yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn