TWENTY orphans from Zhuhai Fuli Orphanage had fun being shown around campus, meeting schoolchildren in their classrooms, playing football, watching morning assembly presentations and, notably, being presented with hundreds of new books at Zhuhai International School on Qi’ao Island on Friday.
Eight orphans were warmly met when they stepped into the Year 10 classroom on the second floor. Elissa Ballard, a teacher from Canada, asked her students to share their names, ages and where they are from with the visitors. As a result, children from Italy, Britain, America, Japan, China and other countries and regions introduced themselves separately in Chinese.
In response, the orphans told the hosts their names, ages and grade levels. Some were courageous enough to speak in class whereas others found it difficult to express themselves in front of strangers. With repeated encouragement from a teacher, a 7-year-old girl eventually murmured her name and age after having demurred for a long time.
Nevertheless, a few older girls from the orphanage found it much easier to mingle with ZIS students in another classroom. With active guidance and help, the orphans drew or erased lines with tools on a large computer-based interactive whiteboard. They learned it quickly almost without communicating orally.
“I’m really touched seeing the children introduce themselves to each other. It is totally different from previous donation activities, which show some distance between donors and recipients,” said Zhu Zhengxiang, vice director of the orphanage.
“Both parties forgot about their identities and treated each other as equals, which impressed me immensely and gave me a hint on treating our children in a new way,” Zhu continued. “What really counts is not what we have materially, but in spirit. This is what I learned today.”
Some orphans joined the enrolled boys and girls in playing toys on the floor mat of the class while others mingled to play games and football. They showed curiosity but somewhat timidly about the toys and the football. A teacher surnamed Xiang from the orphanage explained that the toys and football are rarely seen in the orphanage where basketball is the most common sports due to space and financial constraints.
Two orphans were recruited as goalkeepers but found it tedious to stand there doing nothing but watching others kick the ball. They soon walked away to the nursery playground. However, one of them was drawn back to the playground and became dedicated to the game, rushing around and sweating. The game ended when an orphan kicked the ball high into a tall tree at the fence.
Xiang observed that the orphanage children were relaxed and happy to join the ZIS kids. “It’s very seldom that they are so dedicated to play with strangers without caring about their own identity,” she said.
Assembly started at 10am, which had been scheduled an hour later than usual so that the orphans could move around on campus, according to ZIS Principal John Drummond. The morning assembly takes place on Friday for presentation of what the children have learned in the week and performances by selected year-grades, explained School Office Manager Lilian Zhang.
The orphan representatives were seated at the front right while the ZIS parents sat in the back of the audience, watching singing, speaking, skit, and presentation of patterns the younger children had learned and cartoon figures the older students had drawn.
The assembly climaxed when the 20 orphans were presented with new books by a similar number of ZIS students on stage. The rest of the books piled on a desk were taken to a van for delivery to the orphanage.
A hundred little-bear cookies produced by South Korean Meesotte Bakery stationed at the school were donated to the orphanage along with the books. The orphans were greatly delighted to be nurtured in both body and soul.
ZIS raised money and bought a lot of blankets for the elderly in Zhuhai last year, which would help keep them warm during this year’s chilly cold, John noted. This year the school wanted to do something for the younger people, and decided to raise money and buy books for the Fuli Orphanage. Nearly 5,500 yuan ($805) has been raised at school and 363 Chinese books bought for the donation, John explained.
“We want our students to be always aware we’re lucky. They come from families which have more privilege, but there are lots of other boys and girls and other people in the world who are not as privileged. The nationals should always look after those people and help those people,” John said. “It does help nurture the children.”
Just before last Christmas, ZIS raised over 13,000 yuan ($1,900) and donated the money to the Pennies for Peace Organization to help build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, John noted.
An orphan teenager told the principal he wanted to go to ZIS, to which one of his pals said, “No money, no talk,” and aroused laughter. Some orphans showed reluctance to leave the school as they passed slowly through the gate.
Could someone explain to me the logic behind giving poverty stricken children a 'taste' of something that cannot have? To read the last line of this article made me very very sad. How those poor kids must have felt. I think this event mostly served the ZIS students who may think, " 'There but for the grace of God go I" . This event was a bad idea for the orphans, no matter how well intentioned it was.