Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    ZHANG JUNZHI had been back home in Shenzhen for one month when the headmaster phoned from the school in Lianhua County, Jiangxi Province, where Zhang had volunteered. The school master informed him that the class Zhang had taught had surpassed the national average in exam results for the first time, and was ranked fifth among the townships.

    More good news followed, a Shenzhen entrepreneur phoned Zhang to say she would donate 20,000 yuan (US$3,252) to build the school a new playground and a multimedia room.

    “The average English examination results for the students from my class is 12 points higher than the national average. It seems interest is the best teacher,” Zhang said at an interview.

    Zhang was one of 50 volunteers in the Voluntary Teaching Program who left Shenzhen in February to teach elsewhere in China for one term. They were sent to remote villages in Jiangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Shandong and Shanxi, sharing their knowledge and enriching the education experience of village children.

    Under their teaching some schools held their first painting competition, and some students could use English to introduce themselves correctly for the first time ever. Since the program was started in February 2006, nearly 1,000 Shenzhen volunteers have taught in villages and townships in 16 provinces and autonomous regions across the country. The program itself won the sixth China Charity Awards and was listed as one of five social organizations in Guangdong that should be used as a model for combatting poverty. The 2011 volunteer team also became Moving China candidates.