In 2008, a group of Western Academy of Beijing students traveled to Sichuan to help rebuild a rural school that was destroyed in an earthquake. Over the years, their mission has transformed to not only provide new facilities, but to utilize community resources in equipping the school with technology and tools, as well as knowledge.
In the last couple of years, the student-run Jiashan-Jingxi Project has focused on developing teaching and learning methods and offering experiences for the students and teachers in the small village. Their most recent trip in March was centered around two themes: culture and health & hygiene.
WAB students led dental hygiene workshops, teaching students how to brush their teeth and why it's important. IDC Dental donated a dental care package with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and timer for each student. They also taught them about washing their hands. A group of Grade 5 WAB students donated hand sanitizers to support the effort.
The students invited WAB staff this year to hold professional development workshops covering multiple topics. One was a first-aid and safety training for 40 local teachers, for which Parkway Health donated small first-aid kits for each participant and two larger ones for the school.
For educational training, WAB teachers shared lessons on hands-on learning, classroom management, and iPad skills.
The video above was created and provided by the student members of the Jiashan-Jingxi Project.
To read more about their work, check out these stories on our website:
- Lianxi