Wangping Elementary School, with just over four hundred students, is located in Wangping, a village in the county-level municipality of Pingliang, in Gansu Province. Wangping School, in collaboration with Dream Corps International, hosted three successful consecutive Summer Volunteer Programs between 2015 and 2017. During these three years, our volunteers and the schoolteachers built two libraries, leading the students through various reading activities and classes and cataloging nearing a thousand books. A volunteer from each year of Dream Corps’ three years at Wangping Elementary has been interviewed.

2015 Li Jin

When you took part in the Summer Volunteer Program, how was the situation at Wangping Elementary? What were your main tasks and responsibilities?

The 2015 Summer Volunteer Program was Dream Corps’ first year at Wangping Elementary. Our team’s main task was to build the library. Principal Zhang purposely cleared a room for the library, and with the principal and teachers’ support, we decorated the library, installed bookshelves, and cataloged and shelved books donated by Dream Corps. We also trained several students to be student librarians, taught several reading classes, and performed two home visits.

What do you think was the biggest difficulty you encountered at the volunteer site?

In terms of difficulties, it was preparing dinner: after school is let out in the afternoon, there would be no one in the cafeteria to cook. We were not experienced with building a fire to cook our dinner, so in the end we bought an electric stove.

What took place that gave you the most satisfaction or sense of accomplishment?

For me, the most satisfying part was the recognition we received from the children. And of course, the biggest sense of accomplishment came from the successful running of the library. Being able to see the children reading and taking out books from the library reminded me of why I decided to come here.

What changed at the school after the Summer Volunteer Program?

After the Summer Volunteer Program, it was evident that the atmosphere of reading at the school had improved in that the children would rush to the library after class, often overcrowding the space. At the time, the school was undergoing infrastructure upgrades, and soon a new school building had been completed, resulting in the change of the classroom locations. However, the library [in the old school building] remained a popular destination for the students.

What problems still remain to be solved by volunteers in later years and the school?

Well, the three-year cycle at Wangping Elementary has now been completed. Were there to be another volunteer program at the site, the volunteers should provide new books and lead the students in more reading activities. As well, they should communicate with the teachers: the teachers want to communicate with the volunteers, but sometimes do not know how to communicate effectively. Actually, I’ve found this has been the most difficult problem to solve over the three years.

2016 Zuo Rui

When you took part in the Summer Volunteer Program, how was the situation at Wangping Elementary? What were your main tasks and responsibilities?

At the time, the site was undergoing infrastructure upgrades by building a new school building, so the entire school was a large construction site. As second year volunteers, our main tasks were to catalog new books, teach reading classes for each class (or lead reading activities), and train student librarians. My teammate Li Yao was both efficient and enthusiastic, so she also freshened up the library decorations.

What do you think was the biggest difficulty you encountered at the volunteer site?

The biggest difficulty was that the children were paying more attention to us than to reading itself. Every day during lunchtime when the library opened, many of the students would come to the library to be part of the crowd, but not actually to read. While childrens’ curiosity in new people and things comes more naturally, it takes a much longer period of time to develop interest in reading once the novelty of our presence is gone. This is why after the volunteers departed, less students would go to the library.

Maintaining discipline in the library was another difficulty we encountered. We constantly stressed the rules: to be quiet and to only bring one book off the shelves at a time. Even with repeated emphasis, the library was still loud at times and some children would leave books lying around.

What took place that gave you the most satisfaction or sense of accomplishment?

The biggest accomplishment for us was that the kids all fell in love with Story Circle! They learned about so many fairy tales and picture books through Story Circle and textbook drama improvisations. When we returned to their classrooms for our last lesson with them, we would ask about their favorite character from those stories. They would generally remember all the different characters we acted out and their respective personalities.

I was also very touched by the handmade bracelets and handwritten letters the children gave to us when we left. We are really thankful for their precious gifts. Even now, I have every bracelet and letter kept at home.

What changed at the school after the Summer Volunteer Program? What problems still remain to be solved by volunteers in later years and the school?

The change at the site was that the lovely new school building was completed (laugh). No really, I am grateful that the library was well-maintained after we left, thanks to the volunteers that came after us. Like I said before, what remains to be solved is that the development of reading habits for students is a long-term process. It is key to maintain the childrens’ interests created by the volunteers, even after the novelty wears off, in order to really develop good reading habits. Hopefully it can continue to be guided and fostered.

2017 Xiang Wenda

When you took part in the Summer Volunteer Program, how was the situation at Wangping Elementary? What were your main tasks and responsibilities?

The 2017 Summer Volunteer Program marked the third year and last year at Wangping Elementary. At this point in the time, the betterment of the school library was basically complete. The past volunteers had already prepared an environment for us to complete our work, for which we are really grateful.

We had three main responsibilities on site at Wangping Elementary, with the first being the organization of books within the library management system. Dream Corps has just developed a new library management system, and we had to transfer the information into the new system, as well as catalog new books. The Pingliang Municipality Board of Education has just gifted a room full of books to Wangping Elementary, so our second task was to prepare a new library to hold these books. The third was to lead regular reading classes. My teammates, Ru Zeqian, Lu Feng, and Dan Ni, spent every day performing these tasks, and the weeks on site just flew by.

What do you think was the biggest difficulty you encountered at the volunteer site?

I think the biggest difficulty we encountered at Wangping Elementary was how to deal with the books gifted by the Board of Education. There were over a thousand new books, and it would have been nearly impossible to catalog all of them into the system. However, as we were to be the last volunteers at Wangping Elementary, we also wanted to make sure everything was properly completed before we left. Through multiple meetings, we eventually decided that we would place these books in a new library, and to make the space appealing to the children through decorations with wall stickers, blackboard art, and cushions. We also gave up on entering all these new books into the system upon realizing that this task would consume all of our time. Perhaps making tradeoffs between important tasks was also a part of our responsibilities on site.

What took place that gave you the most satisfaction or sense of accomplishment?

Actually, each day spent at Wangping Elementary was a happy one. I felt that each day at the school was spent doing pure and simple things: cataloging books, tidying up the library, leading children in reading classes, and finally washing up and going to bed early each night, to again hear the children talking and laughing outside our doors the next morning. During the few short weeks with Dream Corps and the children, a lot of the pressures and troubles of everyday life were forgotten. Even though it was us volunteering to help the school and the children, it was also us who were helped in return.

What changed at the school after the Summer Volunteer Program? What problems still remained to be solved by volunteers in later years and the school?

When we completed the Summer Volunteer Program, the number of libraries at the school had grown from one to two, there were new books to read, and a new library management system to use. We hope that the children now love reading more because of our work. There are still many tasks yet to be completed. For a sustainable library and the development of the childrens’ interest in reading, it will require more time and effort from parents, the school, and the Board of Education. Dreams Corps have sowed the seeds over the last three years here in Pingliang, and hope it will eventually grow into a tree.

[以下为文章中文原版，来源于梦想行动的微信公众号]

王坪小学位于甘肃省平凉市王坪村，一共有四百余名学生。在15至17年之间，王坪和梦想行动一同合作交流，开展了三次非常成功SVP项目！ 在这三年中，学校的老师们和梦想行动的志愿者们先后建立了新老两间图书室，开展了各式各样的阅读课，录入了整理近千册图书。在这篇文章中，我们分别采访了15，16，17三届志愿者，分享他们这三年的经历和感受。

2015 李金

您参加SVP项目时，王坪小学情况如何？主要的工作是什么？

我们2015年项目点在甘肃平凉王坪小学，是该项目点的第一年，主要工作是把图书室建起来。张校长专门给图书室腾了一个房间，在校长和老师们的帮助和支持下，我们将图书室简单布置，将书架摆放到位，将梦想捐助的图书编码放在书架上，培训小学生做图书管理员，还有给学生们上阅读课，以及进行了两次家访。

您觉得当时在项目点遇到最大的困难是什么？

要说困难，就是下午饭，下午放学后，学校食堂没人做饭，我们得自己生火用大锅做饭，开始不熟悉生火技能，后来买了一个电磁炉，就好办了。

发生最开心或者最有成就感的事情是？

我个人而言，开心的是得到很多小朋友的认可。成就感当然来自图书室的顺利运作，看到小朋友们在图书室借书看书，就会觉得这趟没白来。

SVP项目结束之后学校有哪些变化?

项目结束之后，整个学校读书的氛围肯定是提升了，因为小朋友们一下课就往图书室跑，通常都是挤满图书室。当时学校基建正在进行，很快学校就盖了新的教学楼，重新规划了教室分布，但是，图书室依旧保留下来，而且，仍然是同学们最喜欢去的地方。

有哪些需要之后志愿者和学校来继续努力解决的问题？

那个项目点三年已经结束了，志愿者要是再去的话，需要更新一下图书，带领同学们读读书；再者，就是和老师们多交流，其实，老师们也很想和志愿者们交流，只是不知道怎么进行交流。其实，这是我这几届活动中发现的最难解决的问题。

2016 左瑞

您参加SVP项目时，王坪小学情况如何？主要的工作是什么？

当时项目点正在翻新，学校建新的教学楼，所以整个都是一个大工地。我们由于是第二年的志愿者，所以主要工作就是录入新书，在每个班上阅读课（或开展阅读活动），培训小图书馆管理员。当时我队友李尧效率和热情都很高，所以她还负责翻新了图书室里的装饰。

您觉得当时在项目点遇到最大的困难是什么？

最大的困难是孩子们对于我们的关注大于对阅读本身的关注。每天中午图书室会开放，但是很多学生是来凑热闹的，不是真的想来阅读的。因为培养阅读兴趣的周期实际上很长，但是孩子们对于新鲜的人事物的兴趣是与生俱来的。后来我们走了之后，好像图书馆的人流量就变得很小了。

另外就是图书室纪律很难管。我们一直在强调图书室的纪律：要安静，要看书，要看完一本借一本。虽然反复强调，但是图书馆里还是时不时有吵闹声，还是会有部分孩子们乱拿乱放。

发生最开心或者最有成就感的事情是？

最有成就感的事情是他们都喜欢上了故事圈！他们通过故事圈和小课本剧的即兴表演都知道了好多童话和绘本故事。我们到每个班里上最后一节课的时候都会问他们最喜欢的人物是什么，他们基本上记得我们演过的每一个人物和他们的性格！

很感动的就是走的时候小孩子们纷纷给我们送了自己编的手绳和写的信。真的很感谢他们珍贵的心意。现在每一条手绳每一封信还都存在我家呢！

SVP项目结束之后学校有哪些变化? 有哪些需要之后志愿者和学校来继续努力解决的问题？

项目点的变化当然是漂亮的新楼都修起来了哈哈哈。其实比较感动的是图书馆维护得不错吧。所以非常感谢后面的志愿者啦！需要解决的问题还是像前面说的，培养阅读习惯是一个长期的过程，孩子们因为志愿者的到来会对阅读这件事情有新鲜感，然而新鲜感褪去之后只有保持他们不厌倦才可以真正培养起好的阅读习惯。希望大家可以继续坚持引导和培养吧。

2017 向文达

您参加SVP项目时，王坪小学情况如何？主要的工作是什么？

17届已经是王坪项目点的第三年，也就是最后一年了。当时学校的图书馆已经基本修缮完毕，学校的老师和孩子们也对梦想行动很了解支持。总而言之前两届志愿者已经为我们的工作做了很多准备，真的非常感激。

当时在王坪我们主要有三项工作，一是进一步装饰图书馆和整理新来的图书。因为当时梦想行动更换了一个图书馆管理系统，我们需要把图书资料录入到新系统。二是王坪小学从平凉市教育局获赠了一屋子新书，我们需要整理一个新的图书室来摆放这些新书。三是就是常规的开展阅读课程。我和我们小队的成员队长茹泽乾，卢凤，还有丹昵就每天一起捣鼓这些事情，几周时间如白驹过隙。

您觉得当时在项目点遇到最大的困难是什么？

我觉得在项目点遇到最大的困难就是如何处理王坪小学从教育局获赠的新书的问题。这些新书一共有上千册，全部录入系统几乎不可能完成。但是因为我们是王坪最后一届梦想志愿者，又非常想把所有事情完善得非常好再离开。一次次的小组讨论之后我们决定给将新书收纳在一个新的图书室，并且为图书室进行装饰修缮。通过贴图，黑板报，坐垫等方式让新图书室对孩子而言更有吸引力。我们放弃了将教育局的书录入图书系统，因为我们逐渐意识到尝试这项工作将会耗费我们所有的时间。在项目点的工作的一部分也许也是在重要的工作之间进行取舍吧。

发生最开心或者最有成就感的事情是？

其实在王坪小学的每一天都非常开心。在学校的时候感觉自己每天做的事情非常纯粹，在图书馆录入书籍，整理图书，给孩子们上阅读课，洗漱完早早睡觉第二天早上门口又是孩子们在叽叽喳喳。在与梦想和孩子们相遇的短短几周里忘记了生活中其他的好多压力和烦恼。虽说我们是志愿者来帮助学校和孩子们，但是其实我们也是被帮助的一群人。

SVP项目结束之后学校有哪些变化? 有哪些需要之后志愿者和学校来继续努力解决的问题？

结束的时候学校的图书室从一间变成了两间，图书馆也有了新书可以阅读，新的借阅系统可以使用。希望孩子们也因为我们的工作更加喜爱读书了吧。尚未结束的工作也有很多。一个好的可持续的图书室的建立还有孩子们阅读兴趣的养成需要家长，学校，教育部门更长时间的努力。希望梦想行动在平凉的三年播下的种子会继续生根发芽，茁壮成长成苍天大树。