Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DBSA's Previous Life
DBSA's Previous Life
him urgently and knocked off the food from his hand while screaming NO
anxiously. The boy smiled with sincere innocence and quickly faded into
obscurity. Due to hunger, girls around 14 years of age are often abducted
because of food, which causes unwanted pregnancies. The children in the
school have bright smiles, simple, and ignorant eyes; fascinating yet
heartbreaking. These children might be HIV carriers and their smiles might
fade away someday. Surveying these grave conditions, volunteers cannot
help but to think about what kind of changes they can make with ones own
meagre efforts.
(Little sleeping angel)
On January 2014, Hongyu Yang from Shandong University and Jingxue Li from
Taiwan Fu-Ren University went to Kenyas Mathare Slum Supporting
Education Center and took on the position of community-supported teachers.
During the experience, Hongyu Yang and Jingxue Li proposed Slum Dream
Building Project to help raise money for the children in the Mathare Light
Center to pay part of their tuition and entrance examination fee, as well as
purchasing daily necessities to their families.
(Volunteer Hongyu and the kids)
On July 2014, a Dream Building Program led by BinBin (Chris) Yin was
launched to fund-raise for the reconstruction of the Mathare Light Center.
The intention was not only to reconstruct the center but also improve the
poor teaching environment, which would attract more children from the slum
to enrol. Chris hoped to kindle these childrens dreams through education.
(Volunteer Amber and the kids)
(Volunteer Wing and the kids)
(Volunteer Jess and the kids)
The reconstruction project was divided into two phases. In the first phase,
the team constructed four small classrooms and a washroom. The second
phase included the development of a library, a kitchen, and an addition of
four small classrooms. On day 32 of the project, reconstruction has
successfully concluded, and Mathare Light Center officially changed its name
to Chang Rong Light Center.
(Volunteer Chris conversing casually with the construction company)
Looking back, Mathare Light Center School was built with metal pieces. The
centre was perpetually hot and stuffy. It had rainy leakages, dim classrooms
and atrocious air quality. The kitchen was located close to a drainage ditch,
which led to awful sanitary conditions. In addition, childrens lacerations from
metal scraps often spread and promoted disease. Today, the school has a
permanent school building (with eight small classrooms, a library, a kitchen
and a toilet), which greatly enhances the learning environment. Children are
able to learn in a bright and spacious classroom, and therefore have gained
the means to pursue their dreams.
<Concerning expenditures>
First and second phases of the project (since July 24)s expenditure list:
First and second phases of the project (since July 24)s transaction receipts:
Special note: we will be using the leftover money (about 1330 dollars) to
purchase textbooks, encyclopaedias and so on. We will update frequently on
any future progress.
<Appreciation from the children>
As a token of gratitude, the children have created their own specials ways of
thanking you
10 dollars or more: Personal appreciation letters written by the children
themselves in Swahili
20 dollars or more: The appreciation letter and a special Kenyan present
100 dollars or more: We shall earnestly engrave your name on the outer wall
of the school
We have already begun to gather the addresses of the donators, and we
estimate to send these letters by September. For this reason, we sincerely
hope that each and every benefactor leaves their name and contact
information. We greatly appreciate it.