Health and Learning in Malizhuang

It’s been a year since a new Free The Children school opened in Malizhuang, China, and the community is now engaged more than ever in educating their children!

Traditionally, people in Malizhuang placed little value on education, preferring instead for children to work to support their families. But now, more and more parents in the community are realizing the value and necessity of education. Not only do they encourage their children to go to school, they also want their children to achieve high grades so they can pursue higher education in the future.

The community is also making sure their teachers stay healthy by providing them with food free of charge. Many teachers have moved to the community from outside of Malizhuang and don’t have a home and farmland close by, so it can be hard for them to get an adequate supply of food. When teachers are healthy, it empowers students to receive a great education and break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families.

Students in Malizhuang are also taking steps to stay healthy. A workshop was recently held at the school to discuss the importance of healthy eating. Students also learned ways to prevent illnesses such as colds, diarrhea and malnutrition.

Free The Children also recently held a water and sanitation workshop at the school in partnership with teachers, who helped run the workshops. Students learned about personal hygiene and the importance of regular hand-washing and bathing. They also learned about the dangers of drinking unclean water, and how to prevent dehydration. Students have already been putting their knowledge about water to use—more than 100 litres of water from the school water project gets used each day!

We can’t wait to see the progress that Malizhuang continues to make over the coming months!

To learn more about Free The Children’s work in China, visit www.freethechildren.com/china