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Manman 曼曼
and Qin Zuchu 覃祖初 |
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LOVELY VOLUNTEERS
My Experience of Volunteering in Wuxuan
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Sitting beside the window of the train, seeing the scenery moving fast outside the window, I couldn't help thinking of the experience I have gone through during the past two days. Just like a film it played in my mind.
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| Manman 曼曼 with her sponsored boy, Qin Zuchu 覃祖初 |
It is indeed the first time that I took part in a volunteer activity, but I think it will not be the last time; because what the other volunteers have done greatly encouraged me to do it also. Despite the burning hot and dazzling sunlight in summer, all the volunteers (even the youngest volunteer, who was only 4 years old and came with his granny) arrived at the children's houses, bringing gifts along with their loving care.
What impressed me most was not the anxious eyes and the big smiles on the children's faces, but how the volunteers tried to make them smile. Betty Cutts, you were so careful and considerate in arranging everything from big events to small tiny stuff, like selecting the proper sticker for each child.
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| Wang Hongying 王宏英, gave gifts to all the children. |
Wang Hongying, who is a farmer as well as a volunteer, spared her valuable time to show us the way to every child's home. In China, Chinese farmers seldom get involved in voluntary work because they have to spend all their time doing farm work. It was she and other volunteers that found the 12 children from one village to another by bicycle or motor bike (because they have no car) and got all the children's information we needed before we arrived.
Shasha, (elder sister Shasha is what she wants us to call her) is active and experienced, for she has been involved in other charity activities for a long time. Not only did she find a van to carry the rest of the volunteers, but she also introduced her unusual experiences of volunteering in Rongshui County to us.
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| Volunteers from Wuxuan found the children and Blessing Hands found the sponsors. |
Tina is a hard-working interpreter. In fact, she had to switch between Mandarin, the local dialect and even English when we visited with the local people and other volunteers from different districts. Many other unknown volunteers were there, who were so friendly and warm-hearted.
I really feel the feeling of happiness when I give a hand to those who need it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help them-the lovely children. Thank you for giving me the great moment to be with you - all the volunteers-my dear friends.
-- By Manman Shi 来自施曼曼A Chinese volunteer
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Manman 曼曼 gave gifts
to her child. |
Manman 曼曼 wanted to meet her sponsored child in Wuxuan County, Guangxi, China. She asked if she could come along as a volunteer on our summer team. She also wanted to meet her friend's sponsored child. She had such a good time she wants to come back next year. Meeting her sponsored child was very rewarding to her.
Enjoy the video below of another family we visited.
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Our Volunteers Spent 2 days with the Miao Families
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| Eric Zhang, a board member of Blessing Hands, asked us to help in Yunnan, his home province. |
Blessing Hands began helping Miao village children in the fall of 2014. We started with 10 children and added more as we found donors to sponsor them. By the spring of 2015, we were helping 30 students and their families. We plan to add 5 more this fall.
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| Matthew Liu, Eric Zhang and Betty Cutts with Zhang Minjuan 张敏娟 and her mother. |
The Miao students were shy but glad to meet our team. We had small gifts like pencil cases to give them. No other charity is aiding the Miao in that area, so we are really welcome. We help Miao primary and lower middle school children with school supplies each semester. Even the small Children attend boarding schools during the week and go home on weekends.
Use this Link to see more Yao pictures or click on any photo.
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Miao parents need help sending their children to school.
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Ms. Zhang visits
the homes for us. |
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| Families were very hospitable. |
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Our team needed two vans the first day. Sometimes we had to get out and walk because the bumpy dirt road was so steep.
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Volunteers Visited Lin Wang School 林旺小学 and Wei Senbao 韦森宝.
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Wei Senbao 韦森宝
Update Video |
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Suzi Deng helped us talk to
Dr. Dai, who is our volunteer administrator there. |
We found Wei Senbao韦森宝and Lin Wang School 林旺小学 much improved since our last visit. You can barely see the scars from three surgeries on his birth defect. The school has a new building including a kitchen and teacher's dorm room. The teacher lives there during the week and goes home on weekends.
The one-room classroom has ceiling fans, a wide screen TV, a new blackboard, and metal desks. The new concrete playground even has two basketball goals.
The kids no longer show signs of malnutrition since the government began a school lunch program. With their own cook they get protein and rice for lunch. Their hair is a rich black now instead of brown.
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The kids got small gifts
from volunteers. |
Several volunteers joined us to help translate and give out gifts. The steep narrow road to Lin Wang drops off to a deep valley below. We had to get out and walk up steep hills.
The students speak Yao, but learn Mandarin when they go to school. This school is for K- 3. Blessing Hands collects small change in jars at Chinese restaurants to give school supplies and sports equipment to three Yao schools in the Longfu Township.
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Allen Chen volunteered as a
translator for several days. |
Charities are very dependent on volunteers since we are non-profits. We are grateful for the wonderful volunteers who serve Blessing Hands both in China and in the USA. We have a wonderful board of directors and many friends and sponsors, who have been very helpful to our students. This year more people joined our team for various lengths of time than ever before.
Thanks and blessings,
Betty Cutts
Director of Blessing Hands
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