In response to the “Belt and Road Initiative”, from June 20 to June 26, CFLC’s “Needs for Stars” summer social practice group gave lessons to students at Xiamen Binhai Elementary School. These lessons enabled the children to learn more about the cultures of the countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”, broadened their international horizons, opened their eyes to the pluralistic world, and built up cultural self-confidence. This summer volunteer service program concluded with artistic performances with the theme of “imagining the future”.  

The CFLC volunteer group and Binhai Elementary School students pose for a group photo

Need for Culture

The summer volunteer service program revolved around the “Belt and Road Initiative” and the countries along the “Belt and Road”. It increased the children’s knowledge of the history of the “Belt and Road” and built up cultural self-confidence in them with lessons on the architecture, scenery, history and culture of the countries involved.

A member of the volunteer group teaches the children papercutting

With plain language and interesting documentaries, CFLC’s volunteers equipped the children with a better understanding of the history of the “Silk Road” and the developmental history of the “Belt and Road”, as well as the culture and history of the countries and regions along the route.

A member of the volunteer group explains the “Belt and Road”

In the artistic performances with the theme of “imagining the future”, the children fully demonstrated the results of classroom learning by displaying their handiworks and staging a dancing and singing performance in ethnic costumes.

The children’s fashion show

Need for Creativity

In order to further cultivate the children’s practical ability and creativity, the volunteer group familiarized the children with the architectural styles of various countries and prepared three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles featuring buildings from across the world. With the joint efforts of the children, the jigsaw puzzles of Taj Mahal, Notre Dame and other landmarks in the world came to life. By building a jigsaw puzzle models, the children not only enjoyed the fun of being creative in class, but also demonstrated their great hands-on ability.

A member of the volunteer group teaches the children to compose jigsaw puzzles

A child displays a completed Notre Dame model

Need for Knowledge

To test how much the children had learned from the lectures, the volunteer group organized two “Belt and Road” knowledge contests, one for individuals and one for groups. In the contests, the children showed great enthusiasm and demonstrated good teamwork. They competed with one another to answer the questions, filling the classroom with excitement.

The children compete with each other in the knowledge contest

At the end of the contests, the winning children and teams were awarded elaborate prizes amidst applause and cheers. The knowledge contests not only reinforced the children’s memory and understanding of what they had learned, but also helped instill patriotic enthusiasm and cultural self-confidence in them, which would benefit their future growth.

A winning child displays the prize that he has won from the knowledge contest

Through the social application program, the volunteer group learned a lot as well. In the first days, members of the group found that some children in the classroom were too shy to raise their hands to answer questions even though they knew the answers. They then talked to the children after class to encourage them to be more active participants in classroom activities. The children’s serious attitude towards the lessons also greatly inspired the volunteer group.

Zhang Li, a member of the group, said that she had benefited significantly from the program. She had carefully prepared for each lesson and did her best to present her side to the children. The great performance and enthusiastic participation of the children in the classroom activities pleased her, bringing her an indescribable sense of achievement and joy.

The volunteer group appreciated the opportunity to take part in this volunteer service program and to make friends with these lovely children.