Words and colour come to Waku Village

Welcome to Waku village. This village, in remote Western China, has 200 children who are bored and have no motivation to learn. They spend their days gazing out the school windows and when they’re not in school they are busily running around the village or playing where their parents work, which can often be dangerous for the children. Waku village has a history of early school dropout because of boredom and disinterest. The school has no reading books other than regular text books and there isn’t anywhere for the students to spend time together, reading and learning.

Recently, a ray of sunshine came to Waku village. A learning centre was established at the school which included a vast array of books for all ages of students. Tables and chairs and bright pictures were also bought which helped to create a stimulating environment for students to spend time.

Now the village children not only have an open place for learning together but also they have books to read and share after school.

This has also helped the kids with learning difficulties in having a place to learn after school. The children of the village use the reading centre every day and are now excited to learn. They love to read and do their homework in the learning centre after school and they find the colours in the books so motivating and often have to be told to go home when its getting late. This is also providing a safe environment for the children to spend their time rather than at the work-site with their parents. The village parents are saying they are certainly seeing a greater interest in reading and learning in their children.

Thank you to the Nanshan Challenge and the Midnight Charity Race for supporting this project and bringing a bright and nurturing future to the village of Waku.