A visit to Bengbu #2 Middle School

In 2007, I was graciously given the honor to visit the Bengbu #2 Middle School, which is locally known as the best middle school in Bengbu, and where competition is fierce to attend as a student.  Children go to school from 7am to 7pm (which includes after-school study sessions), and then go home to study more, and also study on the weekends.

you can see the details of my last visit by clicking here

If you check out the link, you will see the "before" photo of me standing next to this sign:

luckily, I am wearing headgear in both this year's photo, and the one taken in 2007, so you can't see how much more of my hair I have lost.  And I am also glad that my coat hides my growing midsection.

I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to visit with these bright young people, and my thanks to Mr. Li JiangPing for helping with the visit.

In my talk with the students, I discussed Packages of Hope, and volunteer community involvement.  A student I have kept in touch with since 2007, Ms. Mavis, came all the way home from her job as an Chinese teacher to foreigners in Beijing, to meet with me.  It was great to see her again.  Also, my daughter had the opportunity to talk with the students.  After the discussion, they mobbed her with questions about her hobbies, and if she liked "Twilight".

 Although camouflaged, my American daughter amongst her new Chinese friends in Bengbu

Mavis, a graduate of Bengbu #2 Middle school, and now a teacher of Chinese to foreigners, now working in Beijing.

After my presentation, the male students were very keen on discussing current sports teams and players, which is definitely not my strong suit.  While I know very little, it is clear they knew quite a bit about American basketball and tennis stars. (As with most other countries outside the USA, American football is not well followed).

A few students wanted to discuss the latest hot topic of the day, which involved orphans.  It was about a woman who was caring for orphans, without a license, in her home.  A fire broke out, which unfortunately took the lives of some of the children living there.  The government had condemned the woman because she was operating without a license.  However, the story seemed to backfire on the government, as the entire country appears to be in an uproar over the government's harsh treatment of this woman (her story has swept the country in microblogs).  Public opinion from people I spoke to throughout my trip to China this time, was that while the fire was very unfortunate, they believe that the woman was doing was a good thing.

Her story reminds me of a similar story that inspired our charity to go to Lanzhou (click here and here for the details)

Please click here to see Chinese news story, including very compelling video. It was also interesting for me to read that the woman was my age.

I will include some of the articles translations below:

Rescue vehicles wait on the fire accident site in Lankao county, Central China's Henan Province, January 4, 2013. A fire broke out in a residential building in Chengguan township of Lankao county at about 8:30 am on Friday and was extinguished about two hours later. Four children were killed on the spot, three died on the way to hospital and one other is still being treated in the hospital. An initial investigation showed that the accident site was an adoptive family where the children killed and injured lived in. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

Seven people adopted by a local woman were killed in a fire Friday morning at a house in Lankao county, Central China's Henan Province. Their adoptive mother, famous for taking in over 100 kids, is in custody for questioning by police.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was still under way on Friday evening, with no further information available, a spokesperson from the local government told the Global Times.

A 20-year-old man with congenital polio and four boys and two girls under 5 years old were killed in the fire, the People's Daily reported Friday evening.

An injured 10-year-old boy was still in intensive care at the No.2 People's Hospital of Kaifeng, reports said.

Earlier information from the local government showed that the fire broke out around 8:30 am at a residential building near the People's Hospital of Lankao, and firefighters put out the fire till 9:10 am.

The local government set up a special group to deal with the case. A local woman, Yuan Lihai, had opened a shelter to take in orphans and abandoned children.

The county's public security bureau said Friday evening that Yuan was in custody.

Yuan, a street vendor, began to adopt children from 1986 and had adopted over 100 children by last year. Many had moved on as adults but around 39 children still live with Yuan across four properties.

Her story made her a well-known and appreciated public figure, despite lingering doubts about her capacity to take care of so many children and her use of the kids to collect money from the government and private donors.

On Friday, an official surnamed Li from the civil affairs bureau of Lankao said that the bureau will take measures to improve the living conditions of the orphans adopted by Yuan, according to the local news website dahe.cn.

The local government will discuss sending five children newly adopted by Yuan to the social welfare home of Kaifeng.

The local government will also work with various groups to set up temporary living sites for the rest of the children taken in, said Li.