During a week-long mission to Yunnan, SUIS Qingpu high school students and teachers visited a primary school in Dahai, experiencing much from spending time with the children at the school. High school students volunteered to prepare many activities and gifts for the Dahai students, and our teachers offered long, elaborate, open classes in multiple subjects, unique and creative activities, and cultural performances. Our teachers and students all carried their hearts and goodwill to this far away land and delivered hope to the school’s students.
OPEN CLASSES
Student volunteers from SUIS Qingpu’s High School provided lessons for a variety of subjects, including Chinese, mathematics, art, English and science, to different grades, and helped to develop the first graders’ musicality and coordination skills. In the Chinese Open Class, a lesson on classical Chinese was provided, and sixth-grade students learned to appreciate the charm of ancient Chinese.
FUN ACTIVITIES
Our volunteers prepared a variety of activities for the Dahai Primary School students, including rugby, frisbee, tea art, board games, football and handicrafts, enriching their after-school lives and enhancing their multi-faceted skills.
In advance of the trip, we had sent to Dahai Primary School two large boxes of stationery, sports equipment, books and other materials.
WORDS FROM VOLUNTEERS & TEACHERS
CHERISHING and THANKSGIVING
During this volunteering trip I learned and experienced a lot. I learned how to communicate with children and how to understand them better. I realised that the environment we have now is very rare. In Yunnan, students could rarely take a shower. It was not because they didn’t want to, but because the environment they lived in did not allow for it. When I returned to Shanghai, I cherished what we had even more. If there is still a chance to go back to Dahai Primary School, I will not hesitate to sign up and do my best to bring about positive changes to the lives of the children there.
SURROUNDED by LOVE & AFFECTION
The children reminded us of a group of small, cute fairies. They were smart and their eyes were full of wonder, something I have not seen in young children here in Shanghai for a long time. I was surrounded by love and affection every day there.
ILLUMINATING CHILDREN’S DREAMS
Before setting out for Yunnan, I had been worried that the volunteers would experience altitude sickness, that we would not be able to adapt to the unknown countryside, or that some of us would simply give up. However, when I saw the volunteers standing confidently at the podium, or when I heard the students cheering for their big brothers and sisters, I realized how much everyone supported each other. Countless touching moments showed me that the volunteers were stronger than I ever imagined. They were like the tiny fireflies outside on the mountains, illuminating children’s dreams with love.
CHALLENGING BUT REWARDING
When I first found out that I would be going on this trip, I was very excited for myself and the volunteer students. I knew that none of us had ever experienced being in that sort of environment before, and that it would be an incredible experience…something that we would all cherish and talk about for years to come. I was also nervous, because I knew that there would be a lot of difficulties and challenges, as we would all be taken out of our comfort zones. I wasn’t sure if the volunteers would be able to overcome the challenges.
Once we arrived at Dahai Primary School all my worries about the students were wiped away, as all the volunteers bravely took on every challenge with a smile on their face and exceeded my expectations. The school itself and all the staff and students were extremely welcoming, making us all feel a part of their small but loving community.
This whole experience was certainly challenging, but also amazingly fulfilling and rewarding. This type of trip is something that I would not hesitate to do again, and I am sure all the students who had volunteered feel the same way.
In those short six days, volunteers spread the power of hope, continued to inspire children in the mountains, and opened a window for them to see how big the world is. Similarly, the children’s simple smiles gave every volunteer the courage to overcome difficulties and challenge themselves.
