Volunteers help poor kids in Yangshuo

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Volunteers help poor kids in Yangshuo Yangshuo, which lies in Southwest China, and is famous for its abundance (大量) of scenic hills and rivers, has attracted more than just backpackers. Many people from home and abroad have chosen to stay in this ancient town and are deeply involved in the local community.
Eighty-two-year-old Laurie Mackenzie has been living in Yangshuo for five years. About three years ago, the retired (退休的) professor from Canada started the V olunteer English Teachers Program. The program’s aim is to bring volunteer teachers to poor primary schools to expose the students to the English language, different cultures and give them the opportunity to mix with people from all over the world.
By improving their English, Laurie believes the students will have a greater chance to continue their education and secure employment.
“For example, there is one little guy who was in Grade 6 when I started. And I was rewarded when I saw him working as a waiter in a restaurant in West Street. He is now making money. Not a great deal but he is helping his family and he is living independently. He was a very good student. He picked up English very quickly. He had no fear of foreigners. He could walk up and talk to them. The boy has left Yangshuo and is now working in Shenzhen, one of the most prosperous cities in China. ”
Besides Laurie and his volunteers, there are also others donating materials and money to poor families and schools in Yangshuo. Anna Hua is one of them. She is the executive manager of the White Lion Hotel in Yangshuo, owned by Jeff Powell from the United States.
“The reason why Jeff opened the hotel is to use it as a way to help poor children and the disabled in the community. If an American can do it, I, as a Chinese, should bear more responsibilities to help others. Now the public-interest program has been running for 6 years and we have donated about 50,000 US dollars to help more than 600 people.”
Anna first came to Yangshuo in 2001 as a tourist. Then she quit her comfortable
job in Shaanxi province in Northwest China with a salary twice as much as she earns now and began to help Jeff run the program.
“It changed my life a lot. I never thought that one day I would live with children from poor villages. We share the same food, sometimes, even the same bed. When their parents come to visit me, I will show them around. But before, I thought it embarrassing to walk together with peasants.”
There are many others like Anna Hua and Laurie Mackenzie, who are doing good deeds directly by themselves, instead of via a charity organization.。