The continuous rainy days in Kunming did not add many obstacles to our journey to Zhenkang. Zhenkang is located on the border of Myanmar and Yunnan, and the exquisite scenery all the way made us forget the fatigue of the journey.

Exquisite Scenery in Zhenkang

To shoot the video materials of the Preschool of Future Project, Wang Fan and Dong Yubo, both major in the film and television of Yunnan Arts University, were invited to assist in the filming work during this trip. This was my first time to Zhenkang County, where I personally visited our preschools, and learned and experienced a lot.

Our working team was engaged in work on the second day of arriving at Zhenkang. Luo Ruhong, Project manager, arrived at the hotel on time every day to pick up three of us and a full load of equipment, and drove on the winding mountain road for at least half an hour to the nearest school. It is said that it would take one and a half hours to the farthest school one way. We all praised the excellent driving skills of Luo Ruhong, who can go back the same way with eyes closed.

The preschools to be visited and filmed are all set up in the village. The rural idle school buildings are reused as the classrooms, or other places are used as the classrooms of the preschools, such as village activity rooms, culture rooms or reading rooms. The project is equipped with classroom tables and chairs, basic equipment and materials. The teachers in the preschools are local people recommended by the Parent Committees, who may be women working at home after graduating from junior high school, or young people returning home after working outside, or former substitute teachers. They are rooted in the local communities and are trained in all aspects for three years by HUMANA. They will become the seeds scattered in communities at the end of the project, and play a greater role in promoting the development of the communities.

The Taozizhai Preschool of Future Project is the first site we shot. This preschool is also the one with the longest running time, which has been run for ten years from 2008 to now. Teacher Li Guojun, who returned to his hometown without hesitation and became a preschool teacher in a small mountain village when he learned that teachers were demanded for the project, has been sticking to his post all the years. With ten years of teaching career, he slowly understood the duties and responsibilities of being a teacher, and also felt the eager needs of the villagers for education. The day-to-day changes of the children and the support of the parents are his greatest gain and the driving force that supports him to stay here all the time!

Outdoor Games of Taozizhai Preschool

We were deeply impressed by the warm-hearted Granny Chen from Taozizhai community. "Today is a good day, and I come to the stage to sing a song. I don't sing for Zhang or Li, but sing for the cute preschool. HUMANA and the Foundation come to help and fund to run the preschool. The children could go to the preschool, and have the fullest knowledge..." This is a song composed by Granny Chen herself. After the Preschool of Future Project came to Taozizhai, a lot of changes took place to her family. She supported the operation of the project enthusiastically, ran around the villagers, mobilized everyone to send their children to the preschool; her grandson did not adapt to the life of the preschool at first, but she insisted on accompanying her grandson for several months and staying outside the classroom to encourage her grandson. Enthusiastic, positive and hospitable Granny Chen witnessed the changes that the preschool brought to the community.

Song written by the Granny Chen Fangshu, villager of Taozizhai

We rushed to other schools after finishing the shooting of one place. We were also invited to participate in an evening party prepared by the preschool right on the occasion of the Children's Day. The teachers and the parents participated in the party together, who were tying balloons, hanging curtains, arranging tables and chairs, preparing snacks, preparing for the evening party of the Children's Day, etc. As the twilight came slowly, the villagers came one after another. The children prepared dances, poetry reading and songs, and the parents also prepared group dances and other performances. The children and parents performed very seriously on the stage. It could be seen that they had practiced for a long time; the parents also actively cooperated with the preschool to conduct the activities and participated in them enthusiastically.

Activity of Children's Day of Koumen Preschool

Activity of Children's Day of Koumen Preschool

The children in the preschool were very cheerful and very active in front of the camera, which made our shooting work very smooth. They could dance and sing along with the melody when the music rings. Thanks to the patient teaching of Ms. Jin, the children from Xiahuyu Preschool are outstanding in dance in particular. Ms. Jin is a Dai people, who lives in Xiahuyu Village, and became a teacher of the preschool upon the recommendation of the villagers and the support of the family. She is good at singing and dancing, and has cultivated the children in the preschool in art education very well. Not only that, most children are able to wash their hands before and after meals, wash their faces and brush their teeth on time, manage their own belongings by themselves, and put the books, brushes, and small cups for drinking water back in place after use in daily life. The small team on duty collaborates with each other to sweep the floor, wipe the tables, wash the small cups, and organize the tables and chairs every day. The children have brought these good habits developed in the preschool into daily life, and are able to complete these tasks on their own after returning home without parental supervision. The little change of the children is inseparable from the devotion and education with love and patience of Ms. Jin for the children.

Dance class of Xiahuyu Preschool

Lovely children in Xiahuyu Preschool

The shooting work was coming to an end in just a few days. Our camera was full of materials, and our heart was filled with innocent and happy smiles of the children in preschools, the teachers' talking to us, and appreciation of the parent villagers! We really felt the support and dedication of all project staff, teachers and parents, who are willing to see children running from childhood to youth, to a better tomorrow!

About the Project:

The Zhenkang Preschool of Future Project is funded by Tin Ka Ping Foundation. The purpose of the community preschool education program is to help poor children get rid of poverty by running preschools in natural villages in remote and poverty-stricken areas and closing rural scattered teaching schools and some classrooms transformed from various types of rooms. Preschool teachers are recruited and trained locally and parent committees are set up. In addition to conventional teaching subjects, children also learn knowledge about nature, animals, nutrition and health, and learn how to express themselves through art and music. These children, usually 3 to 6 years old, can be well prepared for entering primary school by attending preschool education.

The Project is funded by Tin Ka Ping Foundation.

The article represents the author's own opinion only and does not represent the standpoint of the Foundation.