Teacher Luo Xialei Opens Kids’ Minds To Life Beyond The Mountains

To bridge the education gaps of children in remote villages in China, we started our Send A Volunteer Teacher Program for newly graduated teachers and retired educators. One of these is Teacher Luo Xialei (28), a language teacher for 2nd and 3rd graders. She first started in March 2023. We are fortunate to hear her story through a letter she sent us.

“My name is Luo Xialei, and I’m a volunteer teacher currently teaching in the Daliang Mountains. In the blink of an eye, two and a half years of teaching here have flown by. The small, and once timid first graders I met when I first arrived are now lively and bright third graders. As they’ve grown, so have I — together we’ve witnessed countless heartwarming changes.

I still remember when I first came to the school. The children’s eyes were filled with shyness and unease. In class, they kept their heads down and barely dared to speak. Even when they knew the answer, they were too afraid to raise their hands. When they had trouble with homework, they didn’t dare to ask for help. During recess, they would gather in small groups, quiet and cautious, hesitant to interact with me.

To help them open up, I often used my free time to chat with them or visit their homes, occasionally telling them stories about the world beyond the mountains. They were so considerate — every time they saw me carrying a stack of notebooks, several little hands would immediately reach out to help.

What touched me most was witnessing their transformation. I learned that with just a little encouragement, their eyes would light up. Shiniu, who used to never raise his hand, now reads aloud with confidence. Guzhu, who once struggled academically, now completes assignments quickly and accurately. Rizhe, who could barely hold a pen, now writes neat, full essays. Shizi, once quiet and withdrawn, now proudly recites stories in competitions.

I’ve watched them go from being too shy to speak in front of others to performing confidently in school plays. I’ve watched them grow from innocent children to thoughtful, supportive young people. The exhaustion from preparing lessons late into the night, the hardships of hiking over mountains for home visits — all of it melts away into tears of joy and pride.

The wind of the Daliang Mountains brushes the treetops and gently passes through the time I’ve shared growing up with these children. This teaching journey hasn’t only been about me giving knowledge to them — it’s also been about them teaching me what it means to be pure, resilient, and full of love.”

We believe in access to quality education for every child, no matter what economic background they come from, and Teacher Luo Xialei takes it even further by providing warmth and hope for the children she teaches. Many people can open someone’s mind to the content of lesson plans, but only those who put care into what they do can open hearts and inspire these young minds to dream.