|
Background
The difference in wealth results in profoundly different environment for children’s growth. There are many children in the world who can’t afford to go to school and many disadvantaged people who are barely surviving because of poverty. And yet, there are many other children who, living in well-to-do families, keep demanding more and more toys from the parents and become easily upset whenever their demands are not met. The happy lives are too often taken for granted in their endless pursuit of material enjoyment. In 2004, one of the founders of the organization started encouraging her son, 8-year old at the time, to help with some simple household chores, such as washing the dishes, vacuuming the houses or doing a bottle sale, so he could "earn" some money with each task completed and then use the money to help a needy child in China to return to school. The child was in Liu Pan Shui, Gui Zhou Province, one of the poorest regions of China. The son was quite motivated by the commitment and tried to do what he could to "earn" $10 every month so the child in China could continue his education. The sponsorship is still continuing today and because of his help, the child was able to finish the elementary school and is now studying in a middle school in Gui Zhou. During the process, the mother has realized that the process has not only helped a needy child return to school but also enabled her son to develop better understanding of care, appreciation, responsibility. The process has thus changed from a single money-giving activity by an adult to an experience that focuses on a child’s active contribution and therefore directly results in the positive development of the child. Based on this experience and the positive feedback from other parents and friends, United We Care for Children and the Disadvantaged (UWCCD) was incorporated in October of 2006 to launch, among other activities, a similar but refined program on a larger scale. We hope to encourage more children and parents to help as many needy children return to school as possible. We know we can’t eliminate the difference between the rich and the poor in the world, but we could certainly have our children recycle some used bottles or perform other simple tasks so other children could have some breakfast in the morning or return to school to receive their basic education. With the programs of UWCCD, we hope children would understand more of how hard the parents have worked to support them, become more appreciative of the life they now enjoy, develop a better sense of self-confidence and responsibility knowing even they could make a major contribution in the life of other children and become more active and hardworking during the process. |
Copyright © 2006-2011 United We Care for Children and the Disadvantaged All Rights Reserved