On the afternoon of March 20th, 2015, through the appeals of the International Student Service Department(ISSD) of the Sino-BritishCollege, USST, three foreign students and several ISSD members volunteered their time for the sunshine family in the Tianping community to spread the idea of green life and love.
The 'Sunshine Family' is a charity project carried out by the Shanghai government dedicated to helping the mentally-retarded to blend in with their community and the whole society. 70,000 mentally-retarded people have benefited from the project in the city of Shanghai.
For this activity, the purpose isnot only comforting and encouraging the mentally-retarded but also calling for thinking about green life.
Although it was a first-time experience for many of the volunteers, a bond of trust was built between them and the handicapped, both quicklywith sincere communication. Following this the volunteers prepared dyestuffs andstarted to patiently instruct their students how to draw colorful trees one step at a time. The tree isthe symbol of environmental protection and sign that we are living under the same blue sky, viewing the green scene andbreathing the same air – so it is our responsibility to protect the environment in which we live.
In the end, all the volunteers took a group photo with everyone from the “Sunshine Family”. Everybody looks forward to visiting again and drawing more people’s attention to the “Sunshine Family” and caring for the mentally-disadvantaged.
