Students living in the University of Macau’s (UM) residential colleges (RC) have many opportunities to join or organise community services. Through serving others, they will learn to become responsible citizens, work as a team, and gain a better understanding of society. More importantly, they will learn to love and be loved, thus exemplifying the notion of Mencius that ‘he who loves others is constantly loved by them’.
Helping Children Learn
Hannah Wu is a fourth-year student in the Department of Portuguese and Shiu Pong College (SPC). She is active in the collegeʼs Dream Building Team, which visits children in ECF Fellowship Orphanage in Mong Ha every weekday. In the orphanage, Wu interacts with children of different personalities and has learned to put herself in their shoes to understand their learning difficulties. To her, it is a process of giving and receiving love.
Among the many lovable things that she has witnessed in this social service, Wu is particularly impressed by an introverted boy. ʻI always say hi to the boy when I visit the orphanage. He was reluctant to talk to me at first, but later started to open up and chat with me,’ says Wu. ‘He gave me some of the paintings he made. It is amazing that we have built a trusting relationship. ʼ
Last summer, Wu and other SPC students went on a volunteer teaching trip to a primary school in Qingyuan county, Shanxi province, where they taught local children the geography and different cultures of the world and some simple Portuguese greetings. ʻWe want to show them how big the world is and tell them that their future is full of possibilities.ʼ Wu, who will graduate from UM this summer, hopes to keep serving the community and helping those in need.
Volunteer Teaching in a Mainland School
Jacky Mio is a fourth-year student in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and Chao Kuang Piu College (CKPC). He is also the leader of the collegeʼs volunteer teaching team. Together with his peers and resident fellows from CKPC, he has visited Gan Tuan Mei E Primary School in Congjiang county, Guizhou Province, four times in the past three and a half years. ʻIn Congjiang, not only did I help children in need, but I also became more resilient,’ says Mio.
Mio was not very sociable during his first year in college. So when he learned that the RC was recruiting students to teach in Congjiang, he knew it would be an opportunity to change his life, make new friends, and broaden his horizons. ʻOn my first day in the classroom, I couldnʼt communicate effectively with my students. Instead of engaging them, I was reading off my script,’ says Mio. ‘Knowing where the problem was, I worked on it and managed to overcome the obstacle. Now I can teach confidently without a script and share my volunteer teaching experience with ease with other students. Just like the children we taught in these trips, we have learned a lot out of the experiences.ʼ According to Mio, during a teaching activity in his first lesson, he and two other CKPC students referred to themselves as ‘Little Black’, ‘Little White’, and ‘Little Grey.’ Since then, whenever he returns to Congjiang, the students affectionately call him the ‘Little Black’ brother.
From the volunteer trips, Mio has also learned to cherish the opportunities around him. ‘The local children there seize every opportunity to learn. They are more motivated than their peers in Macao, who usually grow up in an environment with more resources,’ says Mio. ‘Whenever we were leaving town, our students would ask us when we were coming back. They would also write us letters and give us origami gifts.’
The volunteer teaching trips allowed Mio to see different places and gain knowledge beyond books, a goal that he set for himself during his first year of college. With these experiences in his bag, he encourages other students to do the same. ʻDonʼt worry too much about the results if it is something that you want to do. Just give it a try. Take the first step and then make every effort, and you will find everything so rewarding,’ says Mio.
Redistributing Leftover Vegetables
Anna Ma is a third-year student in the Faculty of Education and vice president of Cheong Kun Lun College (CKLC) House Association. She is also the head of the RC’s volunteer team, with six years of experience in volunteer work. She has led her peers many times to join a food redistribution programme organised by Oxfam Macau and Joy Family Integrated Services Centre under the Salvation Army. During the activity, they collected leftover vegetables from local markets and distributed them to families in need. ʻItʼs great to be able to reduce food waste and help others at the same time. This programme gave me an opportunity to grow and strengthen my communication skills,ʼ says Ma.
In addition, Ma and several other resident fellows and students from CKLC served as volunteers to maintain order at testing centres during the three rounds of citywide nucleic acid tests in Macao in 2021. She mostly worked in the special lanes for the elderly, pregnant women, babies, and people with disabilities. ʻI offered assistance for those who didnʼt know how to make an appointment and show their Macao Health Codes,’ says Ma. ‘I was mindful of my attitude when I helped them, so that they would not feel upset or embarrassed.ʼ
In both activities, Ma had the chance to get in touch with people from disadvantaged groups. The experiences gave her a better understanding of the Macao society and taught her to treat everyone equally. ʻWe should help people out of the goodness of our hearts,’ says Ma. ‘Volunteers and the people they serve are on the same footing. This is something I always remind myself of.ʼ
The residential colleges’ vision for whole-person education
UM’s RC system is a knowledge integration platform. It embodies the universityʼs ʻ4-in-1ʼ education model, which includes discipline-specific education, general education, research and internship education, and community and peer education, and aims to produce innovative graduates with a love for their homelands, a global mindset, international competitiveness, and a sense of social responsibility. The college system is a key component of community and peer education dedicated to enhancing seven competencies of the students, namely responsible citizenship, global competitiveness, knowledge integration, teamwork and collaboration, service and leadership, cultural engagement, and healthy lifestyle.
Source: My UM ISSUE 112
