On 8th-9th September, staff from the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai and associated members headed West in a charity trip to Lixin, Anhui province. Two SBC students, Chen Tianyu and Lu Feifei, joined the group and witnessed first-hand improvements to the standard of education and general living of the students in the small city, all thanks to the generous support that has been provided by the Chamber and its members.
This was the second time volunteers from SBC’s student body had visited Anhui, following a two-week voluntary teaching programme in the summer at Hezhong Primary School at Anhui’s Xiangshan, Huaibei City, when our students provided voluntary Chinese, Mathematics and English teaching support on the subjects of for 89 children less fortunate than themselves
In this instance, students commented that the British Chamber of Commerce had provided huge support for the improvement of the learning environment in Lixin. Schools here, they found, were far more disadvantaged than those where they taught in the summer gone by, not only needing help to improve learning facilities, but also suffering from a lack of teachers. At one of the schools visited, only 6 teachers had the task of teaching 9 classes.
It is also worth mentioning that SBC students helped the Chamber finding donations for the school. The British Chamber of Commerce raised RMB 90,000 for Lixin Charity Association, a local charity group in Lixin, Anhui Province, back in June. These donations were made at the Chamber’s “Coronation-Celebration” Charity Ball, where money raised for the purpose of improving learning facilities for local disadvantaged schools in Anhui. SBC students were invited to perform group dance and work as volunteers at the ball .
