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July 14, 2015

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HomeDistrictSongjiang

The shock of adapting to rural life

Eleven children from Songjiang traveled to a rural village in an impoverished area of central China鈥檚 Henan Province to experience life they have only read about in textbooks.

Even that didn鈥檛 prepare them for the life they found in Chenzhou, where they were sent as volunteers to help Zhangjiazhuang Elementary School.

As soon as they arrived, staff there took away their cell phones and tablet devices. After the initial shock of losing their prized digital gadgetry, the volunteers forgot their troubles by immersing themselves in village life.

Used to fancy, modern city buildings, the volunteers were taken aback to see the broken windows and peeling walls of the shabby schoolhouse. They decided to help make the school a nicer place to study. They swept the floors and painted the walls.

鈥淎t first I had to flatten the walls with a shovel before I could even paint them,鈥 said volunteer Chen Jiakai.

The volunteers taught their hosts songs and games. They also helped them with homework.

鈥淲hen we are at school, we can鈥檛 wait until class is over and we can rush out to play or watch TV,鈥 one volunteer said. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 nearly as hard-working as these rural children.鈥


 

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