Rainbow Village: Dreaming Worlds on Drawing Boards

Rainbow Village Help Center, a TFish Associate Member, provides aids to impoverished children. This is an article about bringing drawing boards to children in a distant village in Yunnan Province. To learn more about Rainbow Village Help Center click here.

With their innocent faces and bright eyes, children are angels on earth. Unfortunately, some angels are neglected in some corners of the world.

Every child has an inner world full of colorful dreams - even those who live in underdeveloped mountainous regions. Some want to be teachers, some doctors, some cooks or drivers. One of them even wants to be an apprentice of Zhao Benshan, a famous comedian in China, and he aspires to be another household name.

The people of Shanyao nationality settled on the top of a mountain in Longmen Village, Yunnan Province, upon escaping the war. Because of their long-time seclusion from the outside world, the children’s education level is below average, and there are not even art classes offered to them. We hope to allow them to express all of their dreams and aspirations through providing simple palettes for them to draw on. Our desire is that these children will be inspired and motivated to strive for their goals.

Many people of Shanyao nationality are still living in shabby thatch houses. Children have to walk for about two hours to go to school.

This is the Shanyao village. It took us several hours to get here.

When the children heard that we were bringing drawing boards and sports equipments, they ran across the rugged mountain roads as fast as they could on bare feet. Their shoes have been worn out by the rough terrain, but their parents cannot afford to buy them new shoes. Below are two boys who eagerly volunteered to carry some of the load.

Below is a photo of the Yansang Primary School. There are 37 students and one teacher in total. Teacher Pan has been here for several decades and he teaches in the Shanyao language.

The children were very excited to play on the drawing boards. They had never seen anything like it before! Below are some photos of the children enjoying their new gifts.

These students learned so quickly! Now they can let their imagination fly and express their dreams to one another.

Original article written by Quandi Cheng, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by interns Emily Cheng and Isabel Auyeung.