More than a hundred Lifepegs members, Chinese and foreign, filled every chair, sofa, and stool and overflowed into the standing areas behind, waiting eagerly for last Saturday’s opening concert at the new Lifepegs facility. Excited chatter in Mandarin, English, and even occasional Cantonese swirled in the air, mixing with the aroma of espresso from the busy coffee bar in the corner. Lifepegs staff members maneuvered through the crowd, welcoming students, adjusting microphones, bringing more seats, and leading tours of the facility’s four storeys. Angela, who had ridden a bus for over 2 hours to come with me, kept her hand in mine as she caught up with some of her classmates from our 2010 summer camp team. Lisa, who I’d met during a Lifepegs pizza making activity in the spring, waved at me from across the room, where she was sitting with Nicole and Will.
The “Real Life” concert featured a blend of foreign members singing various inspirational songs with guitar and keyboard accompaniment, as well as testimonies from members about the different ways Lifepegs has influenced their lives. The packed room listened intently as each speaker shared his or her favorite Lifepegs experiences: skiing trips, business lectures, rock climbing, cooking lessons, fitness and nutrition training, singing activities, and many, many others.
-A packed hall
The final song
“I have learned many interesting things about the different cultures from the Philippines and the United States.”
“We had a chance to sell our items from the Shenyang business trip and see who could make the greatest profit.”
“I will never forget my friends from the English summer camp!”
“I was afraid to use English before, but now I can have lots of practice in fun activities with foreign friends and other students.”
The coffee area
Amid the reminiscing about different trips and activities, certain themes arose again and again: learning, friendship, family. Members told of foreign friends and staff members who took the time to mentor, encourage, and love them, whether through making biscuits together or training them as marketing volunteers. And as I looked around at the familiar faces singing the final song, “Pengyou” together, I had to agree with the speaker who ended with, “Lifepegs is more than a club, it is a family. I love Lifepegs; I love you all.”
Goducate, with its mission of helping young adults in China to help themselves, has opened a second Lifepegs student activity center in southern China. The new center is located in one of the city’s major campus districts with a student population of 60,000 to 70,000 from 8 universities.
The core team of 3 native workers trained by Goducate worked hard to renovate and get the center started within 28… Continue reading
Five of the first batch of trainees who completed the Goducate training program for basketball officials did not have to wait long to get their first jobs. And the jobs were not for matches at village level (where they had done their training), but at inter-university level. This job opportunity for out-of-school youth arose with the 10-day visit of the Indonesian Youth Team from West Java to play against eight… Continue reading
Goducate believes in encouraging the students at the literacy centers to read. However, it has not been easy to set up a library, or somewhere to store books securely. For one thing the centers are scattered over a wide area. For another, many centers are the living rooms of the locals into which the students squeeze for their lessons, while others are very basic structures consisting just of a roof… Continue reading
I wish that I were there to help in the work.