Village Progress has a close relationship with two local school networks, Lianxin (Heart to Heart) and Dexin, both of which service the children of migrant workers and other underprivileged children in Kunming. Both of these school networks run after-school and weekend programming for their students, but are in constant need of more staff to work closely with the kids who spend much of their daily lives on the school campuses. While in the past we focused on occasional trips organized by us to teach English, art, rock climbing, or any other neglected subject at the schools, we are now working to develop a program in which individuals from the Kunming community can help make a difference for these kids.
- Mentoring
- This is a truly special opportunity to form a meaningful relationship with kids. In this program, volunteers will meet regularly with a group of one to five kids and be able teach a passion of their own, which can mean anything from playing an instrument to going rock climbing. The volunteer will have a lot of flexibility in how they develop and use their relationship with their mentee(s). He or she can chose to help with homework, practice English, or just go play and hangout in the park. Village Progress and Lianxin staff will of course be available to support mentors in their work. If you want to hear more about this oppurtunity, just shoot us an email or a wechat. It's a great way to really get involved.
- After school programs
- As many of the students in these two schools have parents who work extremely long hours or, in the case of some, are simply not present in their lives, the schools must step in to provide after school programming. But as both are mostly funded by donations, they are frequently need of more quality content and volunteers to provide it after school. These programs happen every weekday afternoon, so if you don't have time to commit to regularly working with kids at the school, it's a good opportunity to get involved on a flexible schedule. Work with the schools' professionals to teach anything from art to math, or just to help out in their planned programming.
- Teaching English
- Lianxin is in consistent need of quality English teachers, whether in the classroom or at their weekly English corners. If you think you could help out in this area, let us know!
If you are interested in getting involved or want to learn more about our volunteering oppurtunities, please send a message to cobygoldberg on wechat, to the Village Progress Facebook page, or through the below email form.