The University of Macau (UM) Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College (HFPJC) recently donated over 2,200 books to Guping Primary School in Congjiang, Guizhou province. The donation aimed to foster a habit of reading among children in the primary school to help broaden their horizons.

During a service learning trip to Guping Primary School in 2019, HFPJC students who served as service leaders learned that the books in the primacy school’s library were inadequate to meet the children’s learning needs. To address this problem, the students organised handicraft workshops and charity events after returning to Macao to raise funds for a book donation. The book donation project was realised this June with the generous support of Dr Lee Chau Ping, the founding president of the Arts, Painting and Calligraphy Association of Macau and a long-time supporter of HFPJC. 

The books on the donation list were carefully selected to cater to the literacy levels and the different interests of the students. They cover a wide range of topics, including science, art, literature, and culture. Some books come with Pinyin annotation while some are picture books in English designed to stimulate children’s interest in learning English. 

‘Our students love these donated books. They can easily find books that interest them and have spent most of their recess time reading,’ says Li Xianlin, principal of the school. ‘The children are also eager to share and discuss what they have read with each other. This is a very good start in developing a reading habit among them.’

Since 2014, HFPJC has been organising annual service learning trips to rural areas in mainland China where students provide volunteer teaching children from ethnic minority groups and low-income families. So far, more than 160 HFPJC service leaders have given lessons in different parts of mainland China, including Hainan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, and Guangxi. They have taught a total of 320 classes at ten schools to over 18,000 students. The service learning programme this year was suspended because of the COVID-19, so the HFPJC decided to organise this book donation campaign to encourage the children at Guping Primary School to keep learning and pursue their dreams.

Source: Henry Fok Pearl Jubilee College

Media Contact Information:Communications Office, University of Macau

Albee Lei     Tel：(853) 88228004Judite Lam  Tel：(853) 88228022Email：prs.media@um.edu.moUM Website：www.um.edu.mo