At 22:00 October 17, the 23-people SHSID Grade 6 and 7 Henan Charity Team arrived in Xiangcheng Railway Station in Henan province. In this team, we had 5 teachers (Ms. Shirley, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Tian, and 2 teachers from Sunrise Library), 9 students (Amelia, Tony, Jeffery, Angelina, Tiger, Zion, Daniel, Jason, Nini) and the students’ parents. Although the 12-hour journey on the old style train was quite exhausting, everyone was excited about the coming events in Henan.

We arrived at Jizhuang primary school the following day in the afternoon. The teachers and students there had already lined up at the gate to welcome us. We visited the book corner donated by SHSID, listened to the briefing of the drama clubs, joined a demo class by the local teacher, and even played a game with the local students.

Mr. Johnson and Ms. Tian had two demo classes there. Mr. Johnson was teaching math in English. The students’ English were not very good, but he still made them understood how to add and subtract fractions in five minutes. The audience was deeply impressed.

The next day we went to the Luzhuang primary school in Zhoukou. We attended the opening ceremony of the Shangzhen Library, which was donated by SHSID. The principal of the primary school and Ms. Shirley each gave a speech at the ceremony. We were very proud that the money we raised had been used in such a good place.

Then 6(7) Daniel’s mom explained the meaning of the library’s name: Shangzhen. Shang means Shanghai, representing for Shanghai High School International Division. Zhen means cherish. We hope the students there will study hard and cherish the books in the library.

After that, it was the talent show. The songColors of the Windby 7(2) Nini was wonderful. She also sangI and My Countrywith Ms. Shirley while the rest of students from SHSID were waving the China’s national flags. Then 6 (2) Zion read the poem One Book in both Chinese and English. After that, the students from Luzhuang gave us four well-prepared performances. Their smiles enlightened us.

At last, 6(7) Daniel, 7(4) Tiger, 6(10) Angelina showed their excellent basketball skills, Kendama and Rubics Cube. SHSIDers also had a hula-hoop competition and tug of war with the local students.

Tiger and Angelina donated a lot of sports equipment to Luzhang Primary School. They carried the equipment all the way from Shanghai to Henan. The kids there will have better PE classes with these goods.

The next day, we arrived at Shangzhen Library in the early morning. Our students had different jobs to help organize the books in the library. Some of them were inputting the books’ information into the system, while others were labeling the books for different sections. They had great teamwork and enjoyed their work.

Ms. Chen from Sunrise Library gave all the participants a diploma at the end. The Henan Charity Journey was a huge success. Thanks to Sunrise Library, all the team members, and everyone who participated in the Charity Fair in SHSID. We will keep carrying on the Visible Charity to help more kids in need.

This journey left a deep impression on each family.

Tony’s mom said, “Tony’s father was from Henan province. This is his first time to come to Henan since he grew up. He is very happy to help the children here, so that they can have a better education and enjoy the happiness of reading.”

Jeffery’s mom said, “This is the first time that Jeffery has taken part in a charity activity, which impressed him so much. He now has a clear recognition of his previous donation, therefore, he will work harder to participate in charity activities in the future.

Zion’s parents said, “The charm in charitable activities is the co-existence of helping others and your own self growth.”

Nini said, “It was also the first time for me to take part in a charity activity which impressed me so much! Next time I will join more activities like this!”

Amelia said, “The past three days I have been to two schools in Henan and have seen how much the children there love to learn. When we arrived at the school, the students were holding flowers and welcoming us. We attended one class at their school, and I saw how all the students would sit quietly and raise their hands to answer almost every question. When we went to the other school, we saw how much they appreciated our school’s donations and how much they liked to learn. I would like to participate in the next charity activity, too.”

Jason said, “This is my first time to do charity in another city. I learned a lot from this experience. I had fun during this Henan trip, and I also participated in building a library for the kids there. I hope there will be more activities like this in the future!

Angelina said, “This charity activity to Henan taught me lots of things. The students in the two schools are very smart. They are like us, they like to exercise, read, and like to play new things. Even if their learning community isn’t great, but they are still outgoing students. This trip was really fun and interesting. I am looking forward to attending activities like this more in the future.

Tiger said, “On this charity trip I am very happy that I could help people in need. We shared our favorite books and also did a talent show. They were very interested in my talent show because I played Kendama in the talent show and they had never seen one before. I found out that we have a much better condition so we should cherish what we have and work harder. We helped them organize their little library by scanning the barcode, putting on labels, and stamping the books. I am very happy that I could participate in this trip.”

Daniel said, “I'm very honored to represent the students of SHSID to participate in this public welfare activity of Henan. Through this activity, I have benefited a lot: As long as we love each other, children will be happy and satisfied. We should know how to cherish, study hard, and strive to be a person who contributes to the society!”

Written by Mr.Jahnson, Ms.Tian Pictures by Teachers and Parents