East Asian Village Community Development

Your support has been instrumental in supporting an East Asian village be empowered. This summer, the camp had 41 children involved ranging from ages 8 through 20, with most being young teens aged 12-18. Many of these children come from remote mountainous areas approximaely 2 hours from the summer camp location and they shared they had experiences they could have never imagined.

For many of these children, it was their first time staying in and checking into a hotel as well as visiting a museum that shares history about the area. The summer camp allowed them to experience English classes through interactive activities and immersion in games, songs, even how to use drones.

Below are some stories about some of the children in attendance:

• One of the younger students, an 8-year old girl, lived in the village and while in her home she heard music. In an attempt to discover where the music was coming from, she walked to the summer camp location and asked if she could be a part of the camp. Every day, she took the time to walk to camp and form relationships with the children from the remote village. It was incredible to witness not only her initiative, but also see children from two areas interact in a society where that is not common.
• Another 8-year-old in attendanced was posed with the question "if you had all the money, what would you use it for?". The young boy told the teachers that he would use it to upgrade his father's car in order to help others in remote areas and to build a school for those living in remote villages.
• The oldest student in the camp served as a reminder that individuals of all ages deserve to be invested in. Our 20-year-old student was in the process of finishing high school and would be moving on to attend college and was asked "what are you dreams for the future?" Through her experiences at the summer camp, she shared a saying about frogs at the bottom of a well and that "dreams are limited to our exposure to what we see every day. The limitation of our dreams is only what we have been exposed to." At the end of the camp, she stated "you have taken me out of the well, to be able to see the world around it".

It's stories like these that remind us that we must continue to walk alongside and serve the under-served. With the support of generous individuals, we are able to highlight and uplift children to reach their fullest potential.