Since 2007, groups of German young students have arrived in Nujiang, Yunnan every year as part of Baumhaus project, “treehouse” in German. Most of them just graduated from high schools. Taking a year off before entering university, young German students have shared their passion and knowledge to local teenagers and communities near China and Myanmar border, hoping to offer local children the possibility to fully develop their potentials through education.

The German students work in local public high schools as English teachers and assist the English curriculum with after-school English activities.  Outside of the schools, Baumhaus volunteers also found four social and humanitarian projects within village communities: cloth project, hygiene project, Slumkids project and Sparks project.

Mena Lisa interviewed Helen Koch, Fabia Göhring and Michael Hempelmann, three current Baumhaus volunteers in Liuku, Yunnan with the following questions. Their voices share the value of such foreign social projects in China. Listening to what the locals’ lives are, learning and discovering what local villages need, “Treehouse” grows in Nujiang, Yunnan, continuously inspire local young people to pursue their dreams.

• Interacting with local high school students of the same age, what personal stories or inspirations you want to share with the Chinese teenagers to inspire them?

Baumhaus interact with kids who come from distinct backgrounds than its volunteers. The cultural exchange experience benefits both Baumhaus volunteers and local children.

  ”Our differences inspire the local students to think from a new perspective that they have never thought about before.

  Everywhere around me are small children aged five or six years. Their clothes are dirty and some even tattered; they have running noses and brown teeth and some do not even wear shoes. I had this experience in one of my first days in Yunnan last September: I stood in a packed classroom that had 50 children. I could hardly speak a word of Chinese and it took me about two weeks to understand that most of my students did not know a word of Mandarin, either. They speak in languages of local minorities.

   Thrown in a different culture, I was surrounded by so many new things to discover. When I went through the classroom, I felt how the students were staring at me and after a little while, they started to touch my blond hair and my fair skin.

   Once, I asked some of my students to teach me some words of their Dulong-language. The Dulong is  a small minority group in the north of Nujiang prefecture. It was very interesting to see how they were suddenly discussing how to use which word in which language. Usually, when they learn new English vocabularies, they just cramp the words without questioning the respective situation in which these words can be used. As they tried to share some culture with a foreigner, they themselves started to acquire a feeling for language in general.

    During my time here, I start to understand the stories of my students, their families with their fears and dreams. There is no greater joy than looking in the faces of these children with their big smiles and twinkling eyes. Together with other Baumhaus-volunteers I often go to mountain villages and impart knowledge to the children who live up there about basic hygienic rules, such as tooth brushing, or distribute clothes to families in need.

    So far, I have learned a lot from these people living under miserable conditions who always welcome us warmly. I cannot change their course of life completely, but I encourage my students to pursue their dreams.”

• Which one issue or perspective that varies completely from your ideal plans before you arrived here in Yunnan, China?

  ” There is no way one could predict the circumstances he is surrounded by once he starts spending time in this area. Some people live in great poverty but his neighbor is someone who earns a fortune. Students at one school speak English fluently. But there is schools where you will hardly find anybody who can answer simple questions about his name, age or family. The disparities even within one little town are huge. However, there are this warmth and hospitality that unite the people of Nujiang and are granted to everyone without exception. In Germany, strangers keep a formal distance between each other and dependability is an important virtue. If you try to make accurate plans here, you will be surprised that you are the only one that keeps an eye on the schedule. You just walk around and meet people on the street who invite you and treat you like a close friend. Everybody has something to do – and (still) everybody has time for you.

   Being a part of this community means to change your personal point-of-view in many ways and it can be worthwhile to take the plunge and come here without expectations at all. Sometimes you find answers or solutions while you were not looking for them.”

 

• In the past six years, what does Baumhaus projects bring to the Liuku community and surrounding villages? What are some problems they face?

“We can just give them a chance, they have to take it. “–Baumhaus volunteers 2013

The education project run by Baumhaus gives local teenagers a precious chance to practice English in high schools and understand the importance of learning a foreign language other than simply meeting the college-entrance exam requirement. However, not all of the local students seize the opportunity and make the best use out of it.  Same feedback from the locals also applied to other Baumhaus social projects. Hygiene Project: Baumhaus volunteers found out that the kids lost tooth brushes and still do not brush their teeth on a follow-up visit to the mountain village.

 So how efficient Baumhaus’ projects really are?

When Baumhaus volunteers receive such an inefficient reaction from the communities, they continue to discover what can be approved within their projects.

“If we just can help some people a little, it is better than doing nothing. Giving children a chance is better than standing there and watching them. “–Baumhaus volunteers 2013

Something is better than nothing. Baumhaus volunteers plan to focus on teaching children and communities good attitude toward taking chances and also inviting more people to act, offering more chances so that the effect can cover more areas.

How can you get involved and help with Baumhaus projects?

• Donations of toothpastes, toothbrushes and other hygiene materials are needed.
• Money donations for Baumhaus Sparks Project support children for their new school-year tuition and textbook expenses.
• Volunteer teachers are needed for summer school.

To learn more about Baumhaus树家项目:

Follow them at

Sina Weibo: @树家项目

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/baumhaus.projekt

Email : info@baumhaus-projekt.de

Website: http://www.baumhaus-projekt.de/

 

Special thanks to Baumhaus volunteers.

 

Author: Mena Lisa

Editor: Pankaj Adhikari