UM students offer creative courses in Guizhou

Students from the University of Macau (UM) Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College (HFPJC) participated in an eight-day service-learning programme at Congjiang No 4 Primary School in Guizhou province to offer local primary school students customised courses. To date, nearly 200 HFPJC service leaders have travelled to different provinces to provide creative courses to more than 20,000 primary and secondary school students.

Led by HFPJC Associate Master Vivian Jiang and Resident Fellow Sara Chang, the HFPJC team had extensive communication with the primary school to understand the needs of the students and developed a set of customised courses for them. The courses covered topics such as English, hygiene and safety, anti-bullying, Macao’s history and culture, Chinese etiquette from oracle bone inscriptions, and computer basics, among others. The team also prepared a variety of extracurricular activities, cultural performances, and booth games to celebrate the Children’s Day.

The teaching activities were well received by the local teachers and students. At the end of the service-learning programme, Ding Banghao, principal of the primary school, led the school management team and several teachers to discuss in-depth with the HFPJC students. The students shared their experiences and thoughts on the service-learning programme, and the local teachers answered the students’ questions based on their extensive teaching experience, promoting mutual growth in teaching and learning. In addition, the HFPJC team visited 14 families of Miao and Dong students to learn about the unique customs of the local ethnic groups.

Lin Zirui, a postgraduate student in the Faculty of Law, says that it was her third time participating in HFPJC’s volunteer teaching activities. ‘I have learnt a lot from the teaching activities and the interaction with the local teachers and students. I hope that our visits will plant a seed of a dream in the children’s hearts and that it will take root someday in the future.’

Since 2014, HFPJC has organised service-learning activities every year to provide volunteer teaching services for underprivileged children in remote areas in mainland China. Nearly 200 HFPJC service leaders have visited provinces such as Hainan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, and Guangxi, teaching over 400 classes in 13 schools and providing various creative courses to more than 20,000 primary and secondary school students. The creative educational activities aimed to help students in remote areas discover their potential, enhance their self-confidence, and cultivate their interest and motivation in learning.