Children from a village in Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, have a new place to spend their vacation: a library in a karst cave built by a charity organization.
Located in the village of Banwan and blending into the surrounding landscape, the library has become a place to visit not to be missed.
“Promoting a culture of reading in a rural environment is not easy, because it is not a necessity for the inhabitants. "That's why the library has an attractive style and a welcoming air, which helps encourage potential readers
," said Zhou Beilei, 32-year-old director of the charity Dashan Xiaoai (
Big Mountain, Little Love
).
To celebrate the opening of the eighth library built by Dashan Xiaoai, a concert was held at the library located in a karst cave in Banwan Village, Guizhou, on New Year's Eve. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
This is the eighth library that the organization has opened to help residents, especially children, get educated. Involved in rural education for more than 10 years, Ms. Zhou noticed that children from this environment, many of whom live with family members because their parents emigrated to the cities to find work, do not have nowhere to hang out after school.
Taking into account weekends, school breaks and public holidays, the librarian calculates that Qianxinan students spend more than 180 days at home, where most have no parental supervision or access to educational resources such as bookstores.
"That's why we decided to build libraries for children to provide them with high-quality, sustainable activities and nurture their love of reading
," Ms. Zhou said.
And to clarify that apart from books, libraries are public spaces that meet a wide range of community needs and objectives. In other words, each is much more than just a book repository.
The organization's first library was opened in March 2019 in the prefectural city of Qiaoma. It is divided into two parts, one for adults, the other for children, and offers a variety of after-school activities, including homework help, discussions with parents and film screenings.
To encourage them to read, children are given the opportunity to sign up for a free rewards program and earn points based on books read. After a certain number of points, they receive a gift.
Li Feng, a former volunteer, is delighted with the library's popularity among local children.
“Not all children come to read, but there are always a few who discover a passion for books
,” he notes.
Lu Xiaoman, a fifth-grade student and avid reader, wrote in the library's guestbook that
"it's my second home, but funnier and better
. "
Built with the support of local authorities, businesses and individuals, the association's eight libraries house around 120,000 books between them and receive on average around 18,000 visits per month.
“It took us five years to build and improve the libraries, which attract an increasing number of readers, from kindergarten and middle school students to adult residents
,” notes Ms. Zhou, adding that these establishments are likely to be life-changing of some readers and at the very least leave happy memories for children.
Students responding enthusiastically to Zhou Beilei, director of the charity, during a lesson. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
When she heard about the volunteer teacher program in Guizhou, the young woman, who was then in her second year at Shanghai Normal University, applied and during the summer vacation in 2012, went to Ayi, a lost village in Qianxinan Prefecture.
Although aware of the gap between urban and rural education levels, Zhou Beilei was surprised by the low literacy rate of students in her class. Many of them had problems understanding and writing. They often failed knowledge tests. But when their teacher left, many of them cried and asked her if she would come back the following year.
The month-long program made her realize the importance of bridging the gap in rural education, so during each of the following vacation periods, the young teacher returned to her students and began also to bring other volunteer teachers with her.
After graduating in 2014, Zhou Beilei joined the charity and became its first full-time employee. Faced with a shortage of teachers in Qianxinan, she and more than 900 volunteers taught a variety of classes, including English, music and artistic expression, to classes in 11 primary schools throughout the prefecture over the Last 12 years.
Cao Yiming, who served as a volunteer teacher in 2013, said students showed him a touching level of affection.
“Unlike the hustle and bustle of city life, life in the countryside is rewarding and the simpler things in life can bring pleasure
,” he comments.
Volunteer teacher Chen Zichao, who has been in the program for three years, wants to learn new things and help the 36 students in his class know themselves better, accept who they are and become better people.
During their teaching, Ms. Zhou and her team looked at several different programs to help bridge the urban-rural gap and create opportunities for rural children, including organizing trips to the city, managing a school lunch program and establishing dental services.
After the 12 years she devoted to rural education, Ms. Zhou says she is happy to see some of her former students return to the village to work with her.