LRS Summer Camp 2016: Day 1

LRS Summer Camp 2016 has begun!

The morning of August 8, 2016 marked the start of the Little Red Scarf Summer Camp. The four teachers arrived early in the morning. Teacher Guan and Teacher Wang first went to visit the children in the hospital, and Teacher Yun and Teacher Chang brought three volunteers (Xiaowen, Lina, and Xiaoxiao) to the offices to await phone calls from the families. They prepared to go to the bus stop to pick up the campers. 

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Children Check-In and Arrive

This is Lulu’s family, whose family was the first to report to the office. When Lulu’s mom saw the teachers taking photographs, she excitedly gave the peace sign to the camera. She had just finished some work on the farm and looked exhausted, but when she saw the Little Red Scarf teachers, her face brightened up.

The children arrived steadily, one after another, and volunteer Lina made an effort to get to know all the campers. Check-in for the camp began at 8 in the morning and ended at 3:30 pm. Different families checked in at different times, so while we waited for all the families to arrive, we gave the children some newly-made Little Red Scarf brochures, which they read intently.

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Sleepy Bus Ride

At 3:30 when the registration for camp was over, we all got on the bus from Lanzhou to Yuzhong, and headed to our camp location. This was the hottest time of day, and soon many of the kids had fallen asleep. These sleeping children were beautiful and charmingly naive. We couldn’t help but laugh. ​

When the bus is moving, photography is prohibited due to safety concerns, so there are only a few photos from the bus ride.

Baoxia and Xiaohongxia

This is Yihong and her younger sister Yixia.

Caiman and Chenyang

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Zheng Family Courtyard

At 5:30 pm, we arrived at our destination—the Zheng family courtyard at the foot of Xinglong Mountain.

This is a view of the interior of the courtyard.

After we toured the interior courtyard, we observed the characteristics of the corridor.

Our banners fluttered in the breeze, like open palms welcoming us in.

View by the foot of the stairs

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Welcome and Settling In

After we finished observing the courtyard and its many embellishments, we all went to the summer camp’s welcome ceremony. Teacher Yun talked to the children about the summer camp rules and important information.

Distribution of materials and room assignments

Then we had some free time. After the children had settled in with their luggage, they soon began to play around in the yard.

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Gratitude from Gansu

Most of these children have been financially helped by Little Red Scarf, and are now grown up. Many years have passed, and seeing them now still leaves me moved. Seeing them happy and fulfilled, able to overcome their physical defects, made me even more thankful for the founder of this foundation, as he is the one who gave these children their present happiness.

Right now, I want to once again thank Little Red Scarf’s founder, Mr. Chao and his wife. They have experienced so much hardship, and yet they still persevered to develop this public service. It is their far-reaching love that impacts people on this piece of land we call Gansu. Children and their families living here ​are lucky to know him. With help from him and other donors, people are able to take steps towards a better life.

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Dinner and Singing

At 7 in the evening, dinner was served. After dinner, a light breeze blew, sweeping away the heat of the day and bringing a peaceful coolness. Two volunteers began to teach the campers songs. “The most beautiful light” is the camp song this year. The children’s sweet voices in the cool dusk was a pleasure to listen to. Even the other people in the courtyard lowered their voices. The peaceful night combined with the music was such a pleasure. We look forward to an even better day tomorrow.

Original article written by LRS staff, translated by Emma Cockerell, edited by Carolyn D.