A team consisting of fifteen teenagers and one leader from the American Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA joined in a month long program in China from July 7 to August 6, 2017, partnering with YMCAs of China.
The theme of the program was "to serve the left-behind children, migrant children, and communities in China."
A report from the National Council of YMCA of China said that the trip marked the tenth year of regular exchange activities. Together with Chinese volunteers, the team carried out several types of activities for the children and adolescents in Beijing, Xi'an, and Guangzhou.
In Beijing, the members and other fourteen Beijing volunteers taught English and football to more than 40 migrant students in a primary school. In addition, the team visited the National Museum of China, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and learned Chinese martial arts. They experienced playing drums, a facet of Beijing folk culture.
In cooperation with the volunteers of Xi'an YMCA, the group participated in a four-day camp for over one hundred rural pupils in Xi'an. They led the left-behind children to do morning exercises and take a part in interesting programs like character education, interest-oriented classes, and a fete.
In Guangzhou, the team served two local communities to serve the elderly, create graffiti on wasted walls and provide services for teenagers.
- Translated by Karen Luo
