Are we really welcome?
Sara recommended the following article. It reminded her of the 三下乡 activities that some universities arrange for their students to experience rural China. It also raises questions about our Volunteer Program. We try to prevent such exploitation by examining the motivation of volunteers during selection, but can more be done from the side of [...]
The successes and failures of volunteering in rural China
Vivian Chow participated in the Volunteer Program 2007 and went to teach in Dongbaoquan Village (Hebei Province). Recently, she wrote the following fascinating and insightful article about the joys and frustrations of her summer teaching for the Beijing magazine tbjkids.com. What are your thoughts about it?
By my third day of teaching in Dongbaoquan village, my [...]
Runzhen, Shaanxi: Evaluating the Volunteer Program
After the 2007 Summer Volunteer Program ended, volunteer Jikky Lam stayed in China to conduct a half-year research internship with RCEF. Her job was to evaluate the Summer Volunteer Program by returning to village schools and interviewing the students, teachers, and villagers about their experience with RCEF. Below are her reflections on her trip to [...]
Jikky Lam’s evaluation report from Henan site
In November, RCEF Intern and VP07 volunteer Jikky Lam went to Dayang Village, Henan Province (河南大杨村) to investigate the impact of the Volunteer Program 2007 on the children. She used a variety of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. Here is what she wrote during her stay:
“Until now I’ve been doing written questionnaires with three grades [...]
