Contributed by:
Tammy Zhang Primary House Master / Primary Teacher
The annual Read to Feed charity reading event is an important philanthropic activity at Pao School. For this, Pao School students accumulate daily reading time in exchange for donations from family members and friends. These donations, like the trickle of milk from a cow, are collected through the Read to Feed organisation and then sent to impoverished villages in China’s remote mountainous regions, where they are used to support the learning needs of primary school children.
Whenever I have the chance, I encourage Pao School students to read voraciously, not only for their own benefit, but also because their reading time in this context can help make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children who have not had the opportunity to regularly read books.
Every year during Book Week, the names of the children who read the longest and have donated the most are announced. The list can become long indeed during the Labour Day holiday. After fundraising is finishes, under the guidance of the head of the Read to Feed organisation the students may visit the regions to they have donated to and speak with the students and teachers at these schools.
One year, I finally had the opportunity to go to Qingshen County in Sichuan Province to teach the children of Hope Primary School as a teacher volunteer. When we arrived, the whole school held a flag-raising ceremony to welcome us. When we raised our heads and stood to attention, we could see the mountains rising in the distance like a towering wall behind the Chinese flag. In the TV reports of our visit, I was suddently reminded of the scenes of the mountains seemingly extending infinitely into the sky.
When it was time for class during the visit, I walked into the classroom with the children. This time, Pao School students would serve as teacher. It was a chance for them to learn about both educational instruction and the art of performing. Of course, the Pao School students did have some help in this endeavour. I helped them choose the content of the class and explained to them how to tell stories to the Year 1 children. The day before I left, I reminded the students that they are not only little teachers, but also learners. In response, one of the students asked me if the group could prepare some small gifts for students they were visiting. I was very moved, "Of course you can," I said, "You are really thoughtful! I'll prepare some today!" When the children in Qingshen County saw us take out various small gifts and stationery, their eyes opened wide and all of them raised their little hands in a rush to answer questions! It is a joyful memory, standing to the side of the classroom and watching my students tell stories and ask questions to the children...
At noon, everyone lined up one by one with their classmates for lunch. I counted the number of people with a lunchbox and found that one of the students did not have anything to eat. Just as he was about to go to the playground, a student from Pao School, Kaka, ran in with a big bag full of goodies. When he had seen that the students did not have milk or desserts for lunch, he secretly went out to the only shop in the village and bought almost all the milk popsicles they had to share with everyone. It was a heartwarming gesture: what a kind and thoughtful child!
After everyone had received a popsicle, a child suddenly cried out. His popsicle had fallen to the ground and smashed, and Kaka and his classmates didn't know what to do. I hurriedly retrieved the last popsicle from the bottom of the bag. I walked over, held the child’s hand tightly, wiped his tears, and said, “Look, there is one last surprise! How lucky you are!” The child burst into tears. Kaka and his classmates were also relieved and smiled happily.
As I watched my students devour their simple lunch boxes, I felt very proud of them - they not only read voraciously, but are also compassionate and generous people!
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