Longwan Home: A Full Day of Rain

Longwan Caring Home is located in Dahua County, which was listed as one of the poorest counties in Guangxi Province. Longwan Caring Home is a big family consisting of orphans, single parents, and abandoned children. The normal expense of the Home is sustained by plantation, breeding, and small business.
 
Teaching Diary 

It was raining last night, and when I woke up I saw kids already sweeping water on the playground and aisles. After eating breakfast and taking a group photo, the children of Jia Yuan quickly and neatly cleaned the school/home in order to welcome the visitors.

The days in Jia Yuan seemed to repeat.  Meng Meng and Shan Shan would definitely cry; the older boys would playfully be loquacious; the kids would quarrel and fight, but would reconcile at the end of the day. However, every day is a new day. Each of the kids has lots of talents and virtues waiting to be explored, but tomorrow we will have to say goodbye. 

To be honest, the place was totally different from what I expected. Before I came, I had heard that the children here would take care of each other, but I was surprised to find out that they had learnt how to cook  at the age when  was served food by others. I imagined that the conditions here would be as harsh as military boot camp, but I found out that everything was not bad, including accommodation, teaching and entertainment facilities, even an outdoor night Karaoke.
 
At first, I thought the kids here might be sensitive and shy, and a few of them might have been spoiled by their parents. Sometimes, I was frustrated by their mischievousness, but sometimes touched by their subtle, yet unexpected acts of gratitude and kindness. They are really just kids, not sinister in nature, and they would like to learn a lot of things if someone is willing to teach.  However, we, as adults with more knowledge and experience, never teach or help them in any way, and just call them naughty kids. In fact, we are the ones who are wrong. After we came here, we were taken care of by the kids in many ways, including being disciplined in the class, cooking, and cleaning. As the pillars of the school, the kids helped us all the times. At the age of twelve to thirteen, they are more capable than me when I was seventeen to eighteen. I feel a little embarrassed but also an indescribable feeling of admiration towards the kids. 

What makes me happy is meeting a group of kind and adorable kids and all of you who have come to help and teach here in this beautiful place. What makes me feel sorrowful is that at the end of my trip, I am still unable to learn what is hidden behind each bright, smiling face, unable to do my best to comfort them.

Original Article Written by Volunteer Yi Jie, translated by Jimmy Shong, edited by Yanyan Zhang