Many elementary school students in the Yunnan Province are forced to board at the local school because their villages are so remote. Unfortunately, these students often face meager living conditions at the schools. My service team just traveled to a school that didn’t have enough fresh water for all of its students. I took a few pictures of the small room that housed 15 of the boarded students:
Pretty upsetting, isn’t it? To think that children from ages six to twelve could call this “home.”
Praise Him for calling a group from Orange County, California to serve these students. The team traveled halfway around the world to dig a hole for a new cistern at the elementary school and to conduct hygiene training for the students. The cistern will provide more fresh water for the students, and the hygiene training provided the educational component of the project. Most importantly, the team came to show love to the children/villagers and to serve Him.
Upon our first visit to the elementary school, the students gave us a welcome fit for a king/queen. The children lined both sides of the road, clapped their hands, and sang a welcome chant as we all walked past them. It brought tears to my eyes and was incredibly humbling --- these dear children, that have so little, greeted us with such warm hospitality.
As we trained the students on personal hygiene, we practiced washing hands and brushing teeth. The basin of water the children used to wash their hands was tar black when they finished; it seemed as if they hadn’t washed their hands in weeks. And as they brushed their teeth for the first time, the children’s poor little gums started to bleed because many of them had never brushed their teeth before. Heart-wrenching.
It was fun to watch the service team and the students interact though. They would brush in little circles in the front of their mouth and in the back, then brush their tongue; they would practice spitting their toothpaste out and rinsing their mouths. Priceless!
The next day as we interviewed a few of the village families, one father told us that his son had rushed home from school to tell his family about the foreigners he had met. The son immediately showed his father the health kit he had received (the group donated soap, a toothbrush, and toothpaste to each student) and he demonstrated in great detail how to brush his teeth. When he had finished teaching his father, the son placed his toothbrush prominently on the kitchen counter.
The time we spent digging for the cistern are some of my most memorable moments from the trip. The government officials, the school leaders, and the local villagers all wanted to help with the digging to show their support of the project. For an entire afternoon, our team and the local people worked side-by-side to chisel away the boulders, shovel the dirt, and haul the debris away. As we were working, our many differences didn’t matter; we were all united in our desire to provide fresh water to the elementary school. Even though most of us could not communicate, we shared smiles, encouraging words (like “jia you!” which means, “Keep going! You can do it!”) and snacks (although our new Chinese friends didn’t like the Skittles I gave them. I tried not to take it personally… I definitely learned that from now on I’ll only share my special American candy with people who will really appreciate it!)
One of the government officials enjoyed teasing me while we were working. He would come up to wherever I was working and dig beside me; then it would turn into a competition to see who could hoe and remove the dirt the fastest. I obviously lost every time! Then, as a peace-offering, he would try to teach me how to properly use the hoe. Hysterical.
When we left the elementary school, the principal continually told us thank you, and one of the teachers actually followed us onto our bus in order to shake hands with each of us individually. You could see it in their eyes just how grateful they were.
From an organizational standpoint, the significance of our trip can be summarized in an event that occurred on the last day. As we were talking with the government official, he requested that we return to the village to teach English lessons to some of the local officials. Although it may seem miniscule, his request holds great value. The leader’s desire for CWEF to return to the village signifies a continued and deeper relationship. As we’ve discussed, relationships or “guanxi” are of the upmost importance in doing business in China; and from our perspective, building and maintaining relationships is the key to broadening the scope of our work. Our hope is that with the leader’s request and others like it, more doors will open for CWEF to touch the people in Yunnan.
On a personal level, the blessings from this trip were abundant. We helped the villagers while continuing to build relationships with the local leaders. Moreover, I was also greatly blessed by my California team members. I was so encouraged by this group (even though they teased me for being a country (MO) girl :) and I was moved by the sacrifices they made to come and serve the villagers. It is so uplifting to see how people all around the world have a heart for the people in Yunnan. Love you guys!
The service team with the elementary school students
Banana plantations covered the sides of the mountains.
Gorgeous!
Megan & Me on a bamboo suspension bridge over the river.
Pretty scary!
The villagers were part of the Miao (called Hmong in the U.S.) minority group; this woman is wearing typical miao dress.
