Nan Nan

    there_sun@163.com

    A BUZZ of activity was around the Sixth Funful Kidz With Heart Mini Olympics, which was held at the Jingshan Villas in Shekou, Nanshan District, on Saturday.

    More than 150 foreign and Chinese children, aged between 5 and 11, participated in various Olympic-style events, including soccer and basketball shooting, short and long-distance foot races, a three-legged race, bean bag toss, ping-pong ball delivery game, archery, long-jump and a limbo event, according to the organizer — Captivating International.

    Captivating International is a Hong Kong-registered charity that works in partnership with registered grass-roots Chinese charities in remote locations of China, and operates a charity fund under the guidance of the Shenzhen Charity Federation.

    Sponsored by Funful Bilingual School, the event aimed to raise funds to help impoverished children in China reach for a better tomorrow.

    Participants paid 200 yuan (US$29) or 250 yuan to attend, but most of the money came from the sponsors, according to Claire Taylor, a British volunteer who came up with the mini Olympics idea so children could have fun doing healthy outdoor activities while raising money for Captivating.

    The event has been held over the past five years, and Captivating has gotten very good feedback from children, parents and sponsors, Taylor said.

    As the event is so popular, it keeps getting bigger, and this year another mini Olympics will be held at the Shen Wai International School in Futian District on March 25 to provide more fun for both children and parents.

    “The event is good for children to be active playing outdoor games with friends instead of staying at home and playing iPad,” said Hendrik Collin, adding that this was the second time he and his son Remi had participated in the event.