In Memory of Li Huai, OCEF Volunteers Donate Books to Rural Pupils
With a heavy heart, we have learned that OCEF volunteer Li Huai left us forever at 4 a.m. on February 6, 2019. Known familiarly as Julia among other volunteers, Huai joined OCEF in February 2013 and once led the Online Book Donation Program from early 2014 to mid-2016. She was very warm-hearted and detail-oriented, leaving a great impression on those she had worked with for her willingness to help and her optimism. Even during her chemotherapy in the hospital, she participated in short-term projects such as correspondence with students and book procurement.
Everyone was saddened by Li Huai’s passing. In order to commemorate her legacy, OCEF volunteers decided to raise funds to build a library at Zaoke Elementary School in Puyang, Henan Province. The library would be named after Huai’s favorite plant, four-leaf clover. During a short two-week period, ￥16,531.37 (RMB) were raised, far exceeding the budget required to build the library. Over ￥3,500 were used to purchase 200 books for the Clover Library, and the rest of the funds were used to expand the collections at the community book corners for Dongma Elementary School in Xingtai, Hebei. In total, 770 volumes were procured and distributed to the 13 book corners.
Zaoke Elementary is a public school located in Dongzhang Village, Wenliu Township. The school reopened for enrollment on September 1, 2018, and currently only has first and second grades, with a total of 4 teachers and 30 students. Before the school reopened, OCEF had donated 40 books to each grade to establish classroom book corners. The teachers read to the students every day and reserve time during language art classes for reading. In addition, three reading periods are set aside each week specifically to give the students an opportunity to share thoughts and stories.
The teachers at Zaoke Elementary hope to use the book corners and the new library to encourage students in rural areas to read more extracurricular books, expand their horizon, build their character and taste, and improve their intelligence. Teacher Wang Huanying noted: “Some students love reading so much that they have already finished all 40 books. Almost every afternoon after the writing class, the students would bring me the graphic books and ask me to read to them. I’ve noticed that the kids are so immersed in the experience when I read and role-play with the books that they also laugh or become scared as the stories go on…” The Clover Library that carries the love from Li Huai and other volunteers will surely help the students in Zaoke Elementary further explore and develop enjoyment from extracurricular readings.
Dongma Elementary, an all-grade elementary school that was initially established in April 1948 and moved to Dongma Village in 1996, serves primarily the local villagers. The school has six classes with 17 teachers and 200 students. In February 2017 and February 2018, OCEF donated funds to start a book corner in each class. In July 2018, OCEF again donated 800 volumes to set up 13 community book corners spread all over the village to maximize accessibility to all of the kids. The 770 new books supplied with donations from the Li Huai Memorial Funds will further enrich reading selections in the community book corners.
February 6 happened to be Li Huai's 48th birthday. She stayed in this world for only four zodiac cycles of 12 years, but those four cycles are like the four leaves of a clover: they may look plain but they are not ordinary, they may appear to be small but they are not lowly. Li Huai, we wish you a peaceful and happy life in the other world!
第36期（2019年9月）/No. 36 (September 2019) 翻译：何雪炀 编校：汤柏 Translated by He Xueyang Edited by Tang Bai
