January 3, 2012
Primary student council members boarded a bus along with parents, teachers, and a dental hygienist from Beijing United Family Hospital bound for Shepherds Field Orphanage. YCIS Beijing Parent Organisation (PO) in co-operation with Primary students had spent the month of December collecting toothpaste, toothbrushes, and monetary donations.
Shepherds Field serves more than 100 orphans with special needs who are housed in an orphanage between Beijing and Tianjin. The orphanage asked if PO would facilitate YCIS Beijing’s Primary students to collect donations and provide presentation on brushing teeth. A dental hygienist from Beijing United Family Hospital was arranged and together YCIS Beijing students delivered gifts and an oral healthcare presentation. Yielding large scale teeth model and an oversized toothbrush, students demonstrated the proper technique of oral hygienist. The dental hygienist engaged the orphans with a question and answer style presentation. Students roamed among orphans allowing them to interact with the teeth models. At the conclusion of the presentation, students handed out tubes of toothpaste to the orphans.
In addition, PO and students raised RMB 11,500 yuan through their annual “Wish Tree” charity. PO purchased new wooden toys for the orphans and donated the remaining funds toward the initiative of Shepherds Field. It was a truly inspiring and impactful moment for YCIS Beijing parents, teachers, and students as they witnessed the joy on the orphans’ faces when receiving the gifts. After the gift-giving students and orphans sat next to each other and enjoyed lunch while making friends.
The Primary student council members returned back to YCIS Beijing to report on their Shepherds Field experience. From their speeches it was apparent that each YCIS Beijing Primary student had a small inner transformation before the holidays.
