In May and June, 2016, the International Students Friendship Volunteer Association in College of International Education under Jilin University implemented their “Love Is Present” program. As with previous years, international student volunteers visited students of different grades in Xingfu Primary School, Shuangyang District, Changchun. Thus began their voluntary service of “big hands holding small hands”.
This activity was mainly about giving students from first to six grade handcraft lessons. The purpose was to improve their coordination between eye and hand as well as their ability to do manual work independently, bring into play their unique creativity and nurture their aesthetic faculties. After meticulous planning and preparation, the international students came to the primary school with all kinds of teaching tools.
The plan for June 2nd mainly targeted at students in the fifth and sixth grade. Upon arrival, the volunteers were infected by the lively and joyful atmosphere there. Children already arrived much earlier, waiting eagerly for their foreign teachers.
Unlike the usual volunteer associations, volunteers in the Friendship Volunteer Association come from different countries all over the world and most of them are from South Korea. This voluntary activity has been carried out for years continuously. Every year new volunteers join the team and improve the association with their presence.
The class began. And its assignment was to paste calendar cards of June. The teachers explained to students patiently and then made a simple demonstration. Children were very happy and already itched to try themselves.
Choi Jin Woo, who was responsible for organizing this activity, said that they did not have many opportunities to attend such activities in the University so they tried their best. Sometimes when they are dismissed from classes very late in the morning, they have to skip lunch and rush to the primary school. The work is tiring sometimes, but the happy smiles of children make it all worthwhile.
Every child took an active part in the activity and enjoyed it. With the help of their international student volunteers, all children finished their project. The project came to a satisfactory end, and the children happily said that they would hang their calender on the wall of their home. One important purpose of designing and painting calender is to teach children to make use of time and cherish every single day.
It was not until they walked out of the teaching building after the activity was over that the volunteers realized it was raining. They were wet all over, but they were beaming under sunshine. Children of this rural primary school look forward to every Thursday because they can play games with these big sisters and brothers and learn about things that are usually inaccessible to them in their classes. Always thinking about the wellbeing of the children, the volunteers want to help them with more, stay with them for longer and create some special and beautiful memory for their childhood.
