A boy from the Central African Republic shows the supplies he received. CHINA DAILY
Wenzhou Secondary Preschool Normal School recently received a letter of gratitude from the director of Assana School, one of the first schools in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, saying "Cooperation between the youth of China and Africa will continue to grow stronger, bringing more welfare to the peoples of both countries."
"We received a generous shipment of charity items, including 100 backpacks, 100 pairs of slippers, 500 candies and 400 balloons. These donations will be of great help in improving the quality of life and education of our children," the letter said.
The supplies, the second lot of Chinese donations for African children, comprising desks, chairs, books, stationery and other teaching materials, were sent to the Central African Republic earlier this month.
Some of the supplies were donated by Wenzhou Secondary Preschool Normal School, one of the leading preschools in Yueqing, Zhejiang province.
"Some of the donations this time were purchased through a charity bazaar held by our students, and some were funded by our school," Zhu Fen, a staff member from the school responsible for the charity bazaar, told China Daily on Tuesday.
Zhu added that around 200 students participated in the charity bazaar. "The students performed a play to attract people, and also raised money by selling handmade items, works of calligraphy, bookmarks and their own toys."
"In the future, I really hope to perform our original plays for kids in the Central African Republic, so that they can also enjoy the performance from Wenzhou," said Lin Zhiling, a student at the school who directed the children's play.
"We carefully planned the event three months ago, hoping to convey warmth and care to the children in the Central African Republic and help them grow up healthily and live happily," said Jiang Gaolie, the school's principal.
Jiang told China Daily that the school has strengthened its cooperation with the local chamber of commerce and overseas Chinese in Africa and the Wenzhou government to deepen education cooperation between China and Africa. "We hope to send our students to Africa to promote our culture and introduce high-quality preschool education to Africa to achieve win-win development."
Nearly 200 people took part in the second round of Chinese donations for children from the Central African Republic.
The first round of activities was held at the presidential palace in the Central African Republic last month. Donations, including medicines, schoolbags, stationery, drinks, snacks and sporting goods were handed over to four local welfare institutions. More than 200 children, many orphaned due to war and disease, received the donations.
Fang Xiaoying contributed to this story.
