Edited by Roseline Yang (Community Relations Officer)
The Seeds of Hope project is not just abour raising funds for the schools. An important aspect of Seeds of Hope, is the experiences our students have at the schools and experiencing life in these rural areas.
During the EOTC week when Secondary students travel around China, the Year 11 students, accompanied by teachers from Regency Park and Century Park campuses went to experience life in Lixian. Leo Lazo, our Character Education Coordinator, explains to us what is so special about this trip!
Before we talk about the trip, could you tell us what Seeds of Hope is?
To make a story short, Seeds of Hope comes from the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake Educational Development Fund. (S.E.E.D) created by Yew Chung Education Foundation (YCEF). The project was supported by the generosity of the parents, students and staff to rebuild the Minzhu Primary School which had been severely damaged during the earthquake.
Since then, the YCEF has partenered with the China Youth Development Foundation to establish “Hope Schools” in various parts of rural China. The aim is to bring educational “Hope” to children lacking in opportunity and the funds raised across the year, and for example at Charity Week, is to help local government organizations to build schools.
From the original school in Sichuan, YCIS now has 7 Hope Schools throughout various provinces in China. YCIS of Shanghai visits Lixian, Qufu and Xiuning on a yearly basis where our students and staff provides lessons and activities to their students.
What were the activities in which students were involved during their visit to the school?
Our Secondary students were involved in delivering lessons, games and activities in all subject areas with all age groups. They also demonstrated Michelin Star prowess as each team took turns cooking meals for the whole group. The washing up at the end, while not the favourite activity, was executed with the same level of teamwork we witnessed throughout the trip.
Little things we do can affect others greatly. Alice Ho 11B
What did students learn from this visit to the school?
They learned to live the life of student in a rural school. Lixian is 3 hours from the capital city. It was very cold and students experienced sleeping in the classrooms and there was no bathroom to take a bath every day. However, students were exceptional in their ability to interact, excite, and inspire the Chinese students with their creative approach to learning.
Having moments throughout the trip where I realized how fortunate I was to have such an amazing group of friends and teachers with me on this trip. Hannah Gan 11B
Is there anything you would like to share about this visit?
The Seeds of Hope trip to Lixian was a fantastic experience; it was a combination of problem solving, team work, endurance and lots of laughter.
We all received an overwhelmingly warm welcome from the school community as we drove through the school gates. Staff, children, parents and grandparents were there to greet us and help unload our bus of supplies.
And the last day took on a surprising twist, as the whole community, unbeknownst to us, had been practicing a singing and dancing cabaret of twenty-two acts for a whole month in our honour. We witnessed professional dancing, amazing costumes and an afternoon of fabulous entertainment.
In return, our students delivered a stunning performance of Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes followed by the Macarena! The audience loved it!
To read more about their whole trip, you can check the Secondary News Blog (password: family).