Education in Yangshuo County
Although Yangshuo has become a fashionable destination for tourists, most of its residents live quiet and often difficult lives in the countryside. Most are farmers who work very hard but have little to show for their efforts. Generally, they live in poverty.
Because schools in the area are underfunded, local children suffer an additional hardship. Their schools have poor facilities, are often overcrowded and their resources tend to be overstretched. This makes it very difficult for teachers to have a meaningful impact. As a result, uninspired students often leave school at an early age to begin their lives as manual labourers.
Yet, education remains the best way of providing children with the knowledge and tools they need to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty. With this knowledge, Educational Excursions is doing its part to help upgrade school facilities in the region. By improving learning environments, it is hoped that education will become a more attractive option for young people. It is hoped that over time such improvements will help to break this unfortunate cycle of poverty.
Three Projects at Min’An Primary School
Min’An Primary School has less than 50 students from grades one to six, and only a few teachers. It’s located in a rural area of Guangxi Autonomous Region about 1 hour by bus from Yangshuo. Its students come from the surrounding villages. Some advance to secondary school, while others consider a primary education enough for working on the family farm.
Because if its low student numbers, Min’An is a low priority school when it comes to receiving government funding, usually getting second-hand resources from higher priority schools. Therefore the school struggles to make ends meet and to provide a learning environment conducive with the times.
The school is bare and run-down and its teaching resources are out of date. Its notably newer playground and sporting equipment are the result of past projects with various foreign schools, which have contributed both funds and labour.
Project 1: Paving an area for a badminton court and playground
Min’An would like to develop part of the grassy area beside the school with playground equipment and a badminton court. But, the school doesn’t have the funding to do so. So your contribution to this project will free up school funds for classroom development and more up-to-date resources.
The project entails working alongside a local masonry professional to mix and pour cement that will be used to anchor a playground set to, once the slab has cured. It will also have enough space for a badminton court.
This project will require clearing the area or rocks and levelling the ground. Afterwards, a professional will lay the concrete. The addition of the courtliness and the playground equipment will be addressed thereafter.
Wheelbarrows, hoes, rakes, and shovels will be used. All students will be equipped with gloves and those mixing concrete will wear goggles in order to lower the risk of getting concrete powder or sand in their eyes.
Project 2: Building a perimeter wall around a garden
A low barrier partially encloses an underused garden on the school campus. With the guidance of professional builders, you will replace this with a higher stone and concrete wall that will fully enclose the narrow garden. The new wall will be about 100 m in length. Once the new wall is completed, the school will fill it with good quality soil and plant a vegetable garden.
All students will be equipped with gloves and those mixing mortar will wear goggles in order to lower the risk of getting cement powder or sand in their eyes.
Project 3: Replacing various sets of unstable stairs on campus
The school has various areas where makeshift stairs are in place. They are unstable and too narrow, making them dangerous. With the help of professional builders, you will help replace these with proper stairs.
All students will be equipped with gloves and those mixing mortar will wear goggles in order to lower the risk of getting cement powder or sand in their eyes.