15 students and staff from Cheong Kun Lun College (CKLC), led by Associate Master Dr. Kevin Huang, went to Congjiang County of Guizhou Province, for service-learning from 20 May to 29 May, 2019 (10 days). The program was to provide voluntary teaching and activities at Longtu primary school in Guandong Town of Congjiang County. In the meanwhile, CKLC group also arranged exchange with Grade 2 students in Congjiang No. 1 Senior High School to share the experience of preparing college entrance examination and adjustment of mentality. The program aimed to develop students’ awareness and ability to serve and to give back to society, to enhance students’ understanding of the culture and development of the southwestern part of China, and to deepen students’ sense of belonging to motherland.
This program was organized following Macao SAR government poverty alleviation project in Congjiang. CKLC arranged a pre-trip visit to Longgu Primiary School to collect their needs in March, 2019, with the help from Central Liaison Office in Macao. In order to provide a good teaching experience to 319 students from grade 1 to grade 6 in Longtu Primary School, a dozen of pre-trip meetings were arranged and the teaching plan was revised repeatedly.
CKLC students and staff also launched a series of charity sale activities to raise funds (3045MOP in total) for the kids in Longtu Primary School. With the help from ICTO and Vice Rector of Administration, 13 old notebook computers, which had been written off but with good quality, were donated to the school. The management team of the school was really grateful and they redesigned the computer lab plaque to highlight University of Macau’s Donation.
CKLC group successfully completed all the teaching tasks and achieved fruitful results in the 10-day service-learning trip. Every day, some children waited for our arrival at the school gate. After school, the children would like to play with us instead of going back home, and some children warmly invited us to visit their home. As we walked on the country road, we also received praise from the children’ parents saying that their kids would share with them excitedly what they had learned from the teachers of the University of Macau.
