Sowing seed of hope

A team of XJTLU volunteers discovers the transformative power of education and commits to support and mentor underprivileged students in rural Guizhou.
西交利物浦大学志愿者团队探索教育的变革性力量，并决心持续支持与辅导贵州乡村的贫困学子。

By YUNQI LU
The school motto of Dushan No. 2 High School in Guizhou Province is “Noble in ambition, diligent in pursuit.” For students who are rural children, this isn't just a phrase — it's a necessity. Last summer, a team of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University volunteers arrived to help them on their journey.

The school mainly serves students from the surrounding Jichang and Yushui Town. The Dushan County government noted on its official website that many parents have left their children behind to work in bigger cities, causing long-term seperation.

A 2024 study published in China Population and Development Studies found that Guizhou has over 2 million left-behind children, with 58.3% of them living with their grandparents.

“The greatest merit of children is that they have simple and kind minds, study diligently and hard, and have a strong desire to pursue excellence,” said Wenbin Wu, one of the teachers at the school. “Many children hope to leave the countryside through education and contribute to the country when they grow up.”

The volunteer team consisted of 15 XJTLU students, including 4 coordinators and 11 students. They come from different programmmes across humanities, biology, and business.

Students engage in outdoor activities. Photo by Yunqi Lu.

A novel experience

Upon arrival, the volunteers from XJTLU were each assigned a staff member from the local school, who would offer guidance in specific subjects.

A wide range of subjects were taught by the volunteers, including English, math, geography and music. The local school staff granted the volunteers considerable freedom to design their own classes.

In addition, the volunteers offered a special course in Spanish, which attracted a large number of students. In the class, Han Yao, a third-year student in International Relations, played a video to explain pronunciations in Spanish. Students learned how to use the language for fundamental greetings, salutations, and emotional expressions.

The entire class was deeply engaged and Spanish, a completely new subject for them, turned out to be the most popular of all the courses.

“The volunteers have provided our students with a variety of courses, especially Spanish, another foreign language besides English. Many students find it very interesting,” said Wu.

“I really like Spanish class because it has exposed me to a new language," said Ziqi Zeng, one of the students who took Spanish class. "This was my first time to come into contact with Spanish. We don't usually get to have classes like this.”

Passing through the gate

The senior high school entrance exam often takes place near the end of June. As an annual tradition, Dushan No. 2 High School would organise a special ceremony to encourage senior students who are about to take the exam.

The volunteers witnessed the whole ceremony during their stint. One special session that impressed them was the picking and presenting of sunflowers. In Dushan No. 2 High School, every new student plants a sunflower upon admission. When a student completes junior high education, he or she takes the sunflower home. The school believes that there is a larger cause to this rite of passage — the varying heights of sunflowers symbolize different generations of students.

“It is not common to see such a large number of sunflowers in a junior high school,” said Ziyao Geng, a second-year biology student, working as one of the coordinators in the volunteer group. “Eventually, I find this activity quite impressive because it indicates great hope and spiritual value. Those sunflowers are really meaningful.”

Another highlight was the activity called “Leap through the Dragon Gate,” which is inspired by a fable in Chinese culture, where every fish that jumps over the ultimate obstacle will transform into a dragon. All the students who were about to take the senior high school entrance exam walked through a red gate, which symbolised the school's best wishes for them.

“All the teachers and students are cheering for the third-year junior high students,” said Shengtianzan Han, another volunteer teacher who taught music and history. He was present at the event. “I believe that encouragement from the teachers and blessings from the younger students will give more confidence to these students who are about to take the exam.”

The sunflowers planted by students. Photo courtesy of Ziyao Geng.

Enduring the heat

The volunteers still faced several challenges. For instance, Wu explained that their accommodation conditions were limited and the living environment was not modest enough. “I'm worried if everyone has had a good rest at night,” Wu added.

Each dormitory room has three bunk beds and a private bathroom but lacks air conditioning and a washing machine. In Guizhou, the weather is humid, so quilts easily get moldy, and there are also mosquitoes.

Although the conditions were much better than he expected, Han said, they often had to endure the heat. Sometimes they didn't have hot water to take a bath.

Two volunteers got sick during their stay. One suffered from a stomachache and the other developed a fever. “I think this is because I am unaccustomed to the climate of a new place,” said Geng, the volunteer who came down with a fever. “I suggest other volunteers get to know the geographical conditions in advance.”

Volunteers have dinner together after class. Ph oto by Yunqi Lu.

From volunteers to benefactors

After the volunteers completed their service in Guizhou, eight of them began to financially support two students from Dushan No. 2 High School – Hongyan Luo and Ziqi Zeng. Luo and Zeng were chosen because they are economically disadvantaged but have performed extraordinarily in school. In addition, they have been recognized for their virtue. The eight volunteers would provide a monthly stipend of 500 RMB throughout the academic term.

The two beneficiaries would use the money mainly for books, stationery, or tuition. On a thankful note, Wu, the head teacher, said, “Your financial aid has alleviated the burden on these two students' families and enhanced their confidence in life, as this fund has truly addressed their basic living needs.”

“I was excited when I heard this news and I will work hard to deserve the support,” Zeng remarked.

To financially support the two students means a lot to the volunteers because it constitutes a significant commitment. They have supported around 5,000 RMB to each student since last September. The motivation that drives the volunteers varies, though.

For Geng, her mother is the inspiration, a woman with a history of supporting young people. “She had supported another student before I came to Guizhou and that student successfully got into a very prestigious school,” she said. “I am touched by the warm connection between the two people.”

Han finds a profound personal reward in philanthropy, explaining that while helping others, he can also “gain recognition of our self-worth.” He described the recipient of their support as a very kind girl who was also a "left-behind child," living with only her grandmother for support.

He emphasized that despite these circumstances, “she is very cheerful and filial” and ranks among the top students academically. For Han and the team, it is this spirit that convinced them to support her, believing that “she deserves a better future.”

Story: YUNQI LU/ X Mirror.

Courtesy of the scholastic journalism team, Department of Media and Communication, XJTLU.