LOCK HAVEN – The Sichuan Province in southwest China is many miles from the cities of Beijing and Shanghai. Life is more traditional and agricultural there. The majority of people live in poverty with some areas lacking electricity and running water.
In 2008, an 8-magnitude earthquake struck the Sichuan Province, killing 68,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless and lacking basic necessities.
Zhongli Xu, an exchange student studying at Lock Haven University, is from Yiyang City, which lies in a province that borders Sichuan. Her home university is Changsha University of Science, a partner institution of Lock Haven University.
She saw first-hand the many difficulties facing the people affected by the earthquake. Together with her friends, Zhongli started Kids Dream China to help the people of Sichuan Province.
Kids Dream China focuses on educating the children and fighting poverty. Over 180 students from across China volunteered to teach in the region. Volunteers provide school supplies, help students to buy books for school, teach all subjects and help students prepare for the college entrance exam. University student volunteers also help to bring a new perspective and insight to this very remote and isolated region to help reshape traditional attitudes about the importance of education, especially for girls.
Kids Dream China has received support from businesses in China. In addition, the organization receives one million Yuan each year from Soho China, a real estate development company, to help with funding and also to rebuild schools and libraries.
Kids Dream China recently built a new library in Sichuan and is working on constructing schools and hopes to continue working in the region.
Zhongli is majoring in English Literature with a minor in accounting. She will return to China after this semester to finish her degree at Changsha and will graduate in June 2011.
After graduation, Zhongli hopes to attend graduate school and to expand the Kids Dream China organization in the United States.
When asked to describe her feelings about volunteering in the region, it was hard for her to put all her experiences into words. Instead, she gave a small quote to sum up not only her work, but also a mission of the organization, “with heart we teach, for dreams we reach.”
Lock Haven University is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 405,000 system alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.