Adopt-a-Beach
http://www.fehd.gov.hk/pleasant_environment/chk/2000.html
FEHD and Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) have been organising various programmes and activities to promote the Clean Hong Kong message to students at all grades. The activities include:
-incorporating the message on environmental hygiene into the primary and secondary school curricula;
-organising school talks on health education;
-arranging visits to FEHD’s Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre at the Kowloon Park;
-developing a home page on improving the school and neighborhood environment; and
-organising beach cleaning programmes, e.g. “Adopt-A-Beach Scheme” and other extra-curricular activities.

Mao Ping
One Country, Two Schools
Hong Kong Academy and Mao Ping Primary School
Lei Shan County, Guizhou Province, China

Hong Kong Academy opened its doors in September 2000. A few of the goals of Hong Kong Academy related to community service were to: imbed students learning in the culture of its host country, China, so that students would have a sense of pride and respect for the country in which they were living,
give back to the local community,
educate students globally in order to help students develop an identity as a global citizen, and
to nurture students that are open minded and work to understand different perspectives.
It is the hope that by introducing students to the power they have to make a positive impact on the lives of others at a young age will increase the chance of these children continuing to execute this power into adulthood. As of spring 2002, Hong Kong Academy parents, students, and teachers have impacted the lives of the families in Mao Ping Primary School in Lei Shan County, Guizhou Province, China. It took three trips for the bond to be sealed, but it was clearly evident to all once it had happened. It was not known when this connection would occur, but it is so clear now, that others can be taking on such a project. Those first students will know that their impact has spread wider than they ever thought imaginable.

How Hong Kong Academy became involved with Mao Ping and Zigen
In the spring of 2001 April Hu, daughter of one of the founders of Zigen and former Hong Kong Academy parent, traveled to various villages with schools supported by Zigen with her friend and their daughters. It was found to be a significant experience for these women and their daughters. April Hu began discussions with Marcy Trent Long, another former HKA parent, and Teresa Armellino Richman, Co-founder of Hong Kong Academy, about organizing families to visit the schools funded by Zigen and support their efforts educationally. The plans began and a group of 6 families, 9 adults and 10 children, visited 4 villages. It was evident that these families, whose children all attended Hong Kong Academy, could provide significant educational and financial support to schools that Zigen was helping to build. After the first trip all the families felt that choosing one school and committing to provide it with ongoing support would be the best use of resources.

Who is Zigen
Zigen in Chinese means, “To nurture the roots,” and it is pronounced, “tzyr-gun.” The Zigen Mission is to promote educational, social and economic development in the impoverished areas of China. The Zigen Fund is dedicated to supporting grass-root efforts that promote sustainable human-centered development. To this end, it provides people-to-people assistance to human-centered projects with a view to creating enabling conditions for poor and underprivileged communities in China.
The Zigen Fund was founded in New York in 1988, and registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States. The organization began its fund raising and project supports in rural China beginning in 1989. The Zigen Fund relies on a wide network of volunteers. Three related, but officially independent organizations were founded in Asia between 1992 and 1995: Taiwan Zigen Fund (1992), Hong Kong Zigen Fund (1993) and Zigen Association for Rural Education and Development in China (1995). All three organizations were officially registered with their respective local governments and are recognized as non-profit organizations. These organizations and The Zigen Fund in the United States share the same vision and principles, and collaborate in the fund raising and project support in China.
http://www.zigen.org/news/index.html

Vision and purpose of the Mao Ping trip
Benefits to the village
The majority of the rural villages in China do not get many visitors. Mao Ping may get one other visitor other than the families that visit from HKA. This exposure to people from different places in many ways helps the villages connect to the world outside of their village. The Miao people are generally quiet and reserved. To take the risk to interact with a student partner is a great step for the students of this village school.
The HKA visit provides the villages with a reason to celebrate, and it is evident that learning and education is being celebrated. Everyone in the village comes out to see the student performances, and in a village where everyone must work in some way this is an excuse to relax.
The village teachers are so proud to be associated with the HKA teachers. They are proud to see their students interact with the HKA students and to give them the opportunity to try new activities planned and organized by the HKA teachers.
In the few short days the HKA families interact with the Mao Ping people significant learning in math, science or literacy may not occur. However, the visit gets the teachers, parents and students to think, how are we different, how are we the same, what can we share with each other, and how can we help each other.
Money raised pays for tuition and books, supplies brought enhance what the teachers can do, and now, as many adults have left the village to work in the city with no one to care for their young children, the opening of an Early Childhood Classroom (ECC) provides education for 5 and 6 year old students and a sense of comfort for their parents. The Early Childhood Classroom was opened in August 2006 with 12 students. As of June 2007 the class now has 25 students. Thirteen children were brought back to the village by their parents who are employed as migrant workers once the noise has spread that the ECC was open. HKA is now looking at funding the ECC program in other villages.
As the villagers who have left return they bring their families gifts from the city. These gifts are often packaged in materials that are not biodegradable. An ongoing focus of the work of HKA with Mao Ping Village will be to educate the community about their environment and the materials they are bringing in and disposing.

Benefit to HKA staff, students and families
This is not a tourist trip, but yet it will be the best trip one may take. This trip makes one think about a person’s basic needs. Yes, the villagers are below the poverty level, but all the students from HKA will agree that in so many ways they are very rich. Staff, students and families realize that the villagers have shelter, water, food, clothing and supporting families and community. However, what they have is primitive and with a newly completed road allowing easy access to the village things are bound to change and are changing rapidly. If a person participates in the trip for even two years in a row a change will be seen, a change that could be more positive because of the involvement of HKA staff, students and families.
HKA staff plans activities to do in the Mao Ping School. They must consider all the skills the students may or may not have and plan for what they will do as they will not know the students until they arrive in the classroom. They must plan for how they will work with students that do not speak English. They will be able to apply many of the skills they use with their HKA students such as collaborative groups, teaching to different learning styles, hands on experiential activities and lots of expressive body movements.
HKA staff, students and families get to plan performances and activities to engage the villagers. All staff and student participants will get a partner student in the village. The villagers will teach HKA participants, and HKA participants will teach them and the bond develops.

Teachers attending
Teachers attending will require a day off from work, which at HKA is a paid leave day. Each teacher or a pair of teachers are expected to plan lessons for village school day of teaching in conjunction with the students that are participating in the trip.
There is a teacher-to-teacher meeting each year in which the visiting school teachers meet with the village teachers to get feedback on how they used materials donated in previous years, in which areas would they like support, and what materials are needed. An ongoing question is how can the visiting school support the local crafts, such as purchasing needles, thread, woodworking tools, basket weaving (A Master Woodworker was quoted as costing 15 Y a day). It is becoming evident that the village will receive more tourists now that the road is complete. Selling handicrafts may bring in needed income.

Parent and Teacher Volunteers
It is recommended that at least one family on the trip each year is a returning family. One of the parents is asked to volunteer to help oversee a few aspects of the trip. A total of 25 participants can attend a year. If more than 25 people apply then participants will be chosen through a lottery. Prospective participants will be broken into three groups: returning participants, Mandarin speakers and new participants. The group will be balanced with participants from each of these three groups.

More on the Miao people Page 2