In response to the messages made by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the Symposium on Poverty Alleviation Cooperation between the East and the West, the CFLC “Silk Road Youth Language” Summer Social Practice Group recently gave a series of lectures at the Gaodian Public Welfare Library for children from the city’s “urban villages”. The lessons equipped the children with a great understanding of the “Belt and Road”, broadened their horizons, and helped instill a positive attitude in them.
The social practice group poses for a photo.
In the four-day lectures, the CFLC students introduced the countries along the Belt and Road and held a knowledge contest. The lectures covered many famous national foods, from Malaysian coconut milk rice and India curry to Kazakstan milk tea and central and eastern European special dumplings. The social practice group also talked about fascinating landscape of many cities and countries, ranging from Xi’an, Lanzhou, Yongjing and Zhangye in China to Johannesburg, Saudi Arabia, Bam, India and Kazakhstan. These lectures equipped the children with a greater understanding of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The children listen intently during a lecture.
In addition to the lectures, the social practice group also designed a “mock bazaar” game with landmark jigsaw puzzles. In the game, the children not only gave full play to their imagination, but also developed their hands-on ability by kneading rubber mud into all kinds of creative “handmade dishes”. With the four-day lectures, the children made up their minds to contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative when they grew up. The seeds of determination were planted in the young minds and were set to sprout robustly.
The CFLC students organize a “mock bazaar” for the children.
The children enthusiastically raise their hands to answer questions.
Through on-the-spot interviews and research, the social practice group gained an in-depth understanding of the living conditions and aspirations of children and families in “urban villages”. During an interview, the head of the Gaodian Public Welfare Library said: “Due to occupational characteristics, financial difficulties and other factors, parents in ‘urban villages’ spend relatively little time with their children. Moreover, their educational level is low and their ability to supervise their children is limited, so is their understanding of the importance of the family environment to children. As such, our library has taken action to help parents update their educational concepts by holding events such as the ‘parents club’.” Moreover, the library provides a “Great Prospect” service platform for aspiring volunteers. Whether it is handcraft or painting and calligraphy, as long as you have a skill and ideal, you can give full play to your talents here. A single spark can start a prairie fire; only everyone contributes their own strength can society continuously enhance the educational environment of the “urban villages”.
The social practice group poses for photo with the head of the library and the children.
The 19th CPC National Congress called for stronger efforts to combat poverty, a common problem faced by many countries in the world. The “Belt and Road Initiative” is set to become a “new engine of power” for poverty alleviation. Therefore, university students are expected to actively respond to the call of the era, contribute to the development of “Belt and Road Initiative”, and make efforts to help poverty alleviation.
