Lanyue is a local volunteer from Chengdu. Some of the places visited during this trip were already very familiar to her, but bringing children along and exploring with volunteers from different backgrounds gave her entirely new experiences! Let’s take a look at Lanyue’s reflections.
Volunteer's Insight_Lanyue
“Walking with a Child’s Heart: Growing Through Experiential Learning”
The hot wind of Chengdu marked the conclusion of the five-day ADLINK Summer Camp. As a volunteer, I explored and learned alongside a group of innocent, lively children, and I deeply realized that education is not one-sided instruction—it is heart-to-heart communication, life touching life.
When I first signed up as a volunteer, my mindset was simply to take care of the children. But when I saw their little faces looking up attentively at the explanations, and their joyful cheers upon discovering a special activity, I realized that it wasn’t just me taking care of them—it was an exchange of emotions. For example, when the children carefully cut bamboo leaves for the elderly pandas at the Panda Base, it was simply to help the pandas eat better. In that moment, I suddenly understood what pure kindness is. These children, with their most genuine reactions, reminded me that the world can be simple and beautiful.
To cultivate the children’s sense of teamwork, the volunteers designed many small tasks that required cooperation. Watching them grow from being shy to working together, from silence to taking initiative, was astonishing. I particularly remember a quiet little boy who initially stayed silent in the group, but with encouragement from his peers, he slowly began to join in. When we give children trust and space, they return endless possibilities to us.
This experience gave me a whole new understanding of education. On Mount Siguniang, when children were looking around at the scenery, a usually playful child suddenly said, “I feel like the mountains are an old grandpa, telling us stories.” This poetic expression made me realize that every child is a unique individual, deserving to be heard and understood. As volunteers, we are not lofty instructors but fellow explorers alongside them. True education should be like a gentle spring rain, quietly nourishing the heart.
At the farewell, the children left with the gains from these few days, and I felt reluctant to part. But I want to say: thank you for letting me relearn to see the world with clear eyes. This volunteer experience has given me far more than I have given. Those innocent smiles, those warm hugs, those moments of growth—they will all become the most precious gifts of my life.
