Learning Experience
Tell us a bit about Roots & Shoots' Poverty Alleviation Program in Anhui. Through a R&S school in Anhui we got connected to a primary school up in the mountains in Yangshan Village. We go there every summer to give them supplies and run a summer school. How do you select your volunteers? It's mostly high school students. Students submit applications to our office, then we conduct interviews. We screen the students because we want them to bring something to the village, not just go on an adventure tour. What sort of activities do you do? Obviously teaching but volunteers also visit families to find out their needs and learn more about the home environment of the kids we teach. It's a very educational experience. Especially for those going for the first time, they're always shocked to see the poverty. Are the volunteers local or international students? Oh local, all local. It's actually very politically sensitive to take foreigners there. We tried it once but it was too complicated. And, when you have foreigners with you, you aren't shown the real poverty, they take you to the families that are well-off. But showing off the wealth defeats the purpose. Are students able to funnel these visits back into the summer school? When they've seen the kids and met the families, they're so touched that they really want to give their best to the kids. Our students keep regular correspondence with the children to encourage them to continue to go to school. What's the next step? We're trying to figure out how to train teachers and help make them better educators so that the children have a better chance for higher education. Why is that? We don't want them to be dependent on us, material wise. It's not easy to identify those who are in the most need, either. We try to focus on the school and creating a better studying environment over the long term so that it's sustainable.

Details

What: Poverty Alleviation Program in Anhui
Who: Roots & Shoots
Tel: 6352-3580
Web: http://www.jgi-shanghai.org