Life of Guangzhou - Kids from Quake-hit Province Arrive in Shenzhen for Summer Camp

A total of 50 children, aged 5 to 14, arrived in Shenzhen from quake-hit areas Thursday for a weeklong summer camp.

The 50 children, 27 boys and 23 girls, are mainly from Wudu District and Zhouqu County, Longnan City, Gansu Province, one of the disaster areas the Central Government has designated Shenzhen to help. Fifteen of them are ethnic Tibetans.

The children will stay with Shenzhen families over the weekend.

"The children were chosen from families in extreme poverty or who have suffered the most serious damage in the quake," Zhao Jia, vice chief of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, on Thursday.

The children have been divided into eight groups and each group is supervised by a teacher from Gansu and a teacher from Shenzhen. During the camp, they will visit famous scenic spots in Shenzhen, such as Happy Valley and Minsk World, and participate in parties with 50 children from Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao.

The Shenzhen families, chosen from more than 300 families, will offer free accommodation and organize activities for the children.

"The kids were very excited during the whole trip. Two-thirds of them had never traveled by train before," Zhou Jigang, a teacher from Gansu, said.

"I am so excited about the whole trip. I’d never been outside the Wudu District before and it was the first time I took a train," said 11-year-old Wang Yafeng from Jiuchengshan Primary School in Wudu District after his arrival Thursday.

"Our family decided to invite a kid to stay with us immediately after reading the news about the program. We want to show our care to anyone from the disaster areas and this is one of the best ways to do something for them," Huang Qingda from Huanqing Shareholding Co. said Thursday.

"We plan to take him to the beach for a family day out and eat seafood in Nan’ao Subdistrict on Saturday. On Sunday we are going to Happy Valley and we may take him out shopping at night to get him some presents and souvenirs for his family members and friends back home," Huang said.

(By Wang Yuanyuan)

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