Help a village care for its left-behind children

Thank you for supporting our village model in rural China! Community building is an important part of helping to heal vulnerable children. We hope you enjoy this report from the field about a communal Lunar New Year celebration which successfully brought residents of one village together.

It isn’t always easy to find ways to heal rural villages disrupted as young parents leave home to seek work in distant cities. But our community engagement team seizes every opportunity…

In many villages, the Lantern Festival represents the official end of the Lunar New Year. One village served by our Village Model used the occasion to celebrate the festival by holding a casual, fun communal “riddles guessing game.”

On the day of the celebration, villagers—from the very young to more senior residents—joyously poured into the activity square, which was beautifully decorated with bright red lanterns and many riddles, cleverly strung up in the trees.

Everyone got excited upon seeing the riddles, for they were all related to parenting skills which had been previously taught by OneSky mentors in the family center. The villagers were thrilled to learn that anyone who had frequented the family center was eligible to answer the riddles and win prizes!

And, even after the game had concluded, people lingered to share their riddles with one another. This activity has not only animated the village, it has also allowed the villagers to have a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of their increasing parenting skills knowledge.

Building community engagement is a critical component toward strengthening now disintegrating rural communities and providing a nurturing home for young children despite parental absence.

Thanks to the Village Model, there are regular, ongoing trainer-facilitated village gatherings, monthly community projects (community gardens, field trips and treasure hunts with preschoolers, etc.), and cooperative childcare to give weary grandparents regular respite.

Yet, this is just one aspect of OneSky’s Village Model, of which there are three programs, each being equally important. Look for more reports about all three components—the early learning center, family skills training for caregivers, and community engagement.

And, be sure to check out this link for more stories and videos about the Village Model on our website!