China Summer

Friends Workcamp at The High Bridge School for Girls

July 22 to August 15

Application Packet

Contents:

1) Overview of Workcamp

2) Local Environment

3) Application Form

The first annual China workcamp project, developed by Westfield (NJ) Monthly Meeting, will bring twelve Americans to work alongside Chinese students in turning an old rural elementary school into The High Bridge School for Girls. This school will be the first non-profit secondary technical school for girls in Hunan Province, China.

Social Need for Project

· In traditional Chinese society, women's contributions were infrequently recognized as an essential part of the family's economic success.

· After the 1949 Communist revolution, rural women were given equal economic and educational opportunities. Some advanced into positions of local leadership.

· Today, as China returns to a market economy and rapidly develops, economic disparity is growing. With rising education costs, secondary education for girls in rural areas is seen as too expensive and impractical. Yet without education, rural women will be unable to sustain an equal status in either their families or in society.

Workcamp Project Overview

· Purpose: This month-long annual Quaker project brings people to do service work in China and strengthens the cause of women's education in rural China. Establishing strong institutional ties between the High Bridge School and the China Workcamp Project will serve as a conduit for Quakers to participate in and understand the dynamic changes currently underway in China.

· Structure: Participants will work with urban students and local residents to renovate school buildings, build gardens, refurbish a soccer field, and prepare classrooms. Chinese and American participants will live together with local families and eat communally at the school.

Workcamp Goals

· Renovating the school buildings and grounds form the main focus of this workcamp, yet it also provides a rare opportunity for Chinese and American participants to live and work together in a communal setting.

· Participants' hard work and dedication will also focus local attention on the High Bridge School and its mission of improving women's education in rural China.

· Future High Bridge students and workcamp participants will be able to form close personal friendships, building ties of mutual understanding as this project endures.

Trip Schedule

The program will run from July 22 to August 15. Participants will gather in Philadelphia, have a one-day orientation and then fly to either Hong Kong or Beijing together. From there, the group will take an overnight train to Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. In Changsha there will be a chartered bus to transport the group to the school.

Activities

The work will primarily be repair and reconstruction efforts at the school. Some projects, such as plastering and painting the school's walls, organizing the classrooms and school facilities, and building a garden have already been identified. Other projects related to the school are currently being developed. In addition to these projects, participants may become involved with projects designed to help local residents with their agricultural work or around their homes.

Most evenings will be spent with the host families, but several times a week we will organize optional activities for participants centered around the school. These may include movies, talks from visiting lecturers and local residents, language workshops, board games, and other social events. We have also planned several short trips during the workcamp.

Trip One: Take bus to nearby village. Tour the outdoor market, visit the local elementary school, government offices, and hospital.

Trip Two: Take a day-long hike in the nearby Junshan mountains. We will bring a picnic lunch, lots of water, and hike to a remote village deep in these lush green hills.

Trip Three: Visit the city of Changsha. Changsha is a 3,000 year-old city with numerous museums, universities, parks and restaurants. The goal of this trip is for the Chinese student participants to share some of their urban culture with their American friends.

Final Trip: After the workcamp is over, all participants will share a four-day trip to China's first national park, Zhangjiajie, located in northwestern Hunan province.

Living arrangements

As in Chinese workcamps, all participants will sleep in the homes of local residents for the duration of the workcamp but eat together in a communal setting at the school. We plan for approximately three to four guests per home. Local residents will not speak English and are unlikely to speak Mandarin Chinese, however most Chinese student participants will have studied English for several years. We will place Chinese students and Western participants together in a home to facilitate communication.

Food

We will eat primarily Chinese food, however the food may be spicier or oilier than most Americans are used to. Dairy products are particularly rare, and it may be difficult to separate out meat and vegetables in cooking or eating. There may be bottled water available, otherwise we will boil well water for drinking.

Sleeping, Showering, etc…

Beds in rural China tend to be much harder than most Americans are used to. Mattresses are rare. We are planning to build the first flush toilets and showers at the school, but most of the area uses outhouses and bathes outside using a bucket. We will need to conserve water in our bathing habits.

Weather

Summer is particularly hot and humid in Hunan. We will not work in the early afternoon, but we will not have any air conditioning, fans are limited, and there will be lots of flies, mosquitoes, etc…

Medical Issues

Participants are responsible for contacting their doctors, or other authorities regarding all recommended shots and other medical advisements. The University of Pennsylvania's Hospital has a Travel Clinic that can advise you and administer all necessary shots. Ask particularly about shots for Hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis B requires a six-month series of shots. Plan accordingly and START EARLY. Contact us with any questions.

Legal Issues

China has very harsh penalties for possession of illegal drugs. In addition, we are not going to publicly promulgate our individual beliefs, either religious or political. Of course, personal beliefs and practices will be respected. We will not however, hold a group Quaker meeting while in China.

Health and Safety Issues:

All participants will be required to submit a medical form, including a physician's examination, before departing for China. There is a local clinic nearby and modern hospitals in the city of Changsha (two hours away). All participants should have adequate personal medical insurance with provisions for medical evacuation.

Planning this workcamp is a “work in progress.” There are likely to be revisions in some of the planning included here, both during this year and during the workcamp itself. Participants must be willing to be flexible and open-minded as to travel, activities, work projects, and the living situation.

· All applications will be reviewed by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Westfield Monthly Meeting. They will make the final decision on approving applicants.

· When you return from China, it is expected that you will give several presentations about your experience, at your school, Monthly Meeting, Quarterly Meeting, or other arenas.

· Each participant needs to make a strong commitment to prepare for the trip. We want you to arrive as informed as possible. If you have never studied Chinese, you should make an effort to learn some basic spoken Mandarin Chinese. We also can recommend additional reading, movies etc… so participants can learn about China's history, culture, society, and politics before the trip.

· Both parents should sign this form if the applicant is under 18, however do not delay returning the form if this is impossible.

· If you are selected to go, we will require you to fill out two additional forms: the Medical Surgical Consent form and the Parental Consent and Release form (this must be signed by both parents if under 18).

Workcamp Coordinators

Jamie Reilly is a member of Westfield Meeting, and an alumnus of both Friends' Select School and Guilford College. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he is currently a PhD candidate at George Washington University and a Research Assistant at the Brookings Institution.

Wuna Reilly is a native of Hunan Province and has participated in workcamps in both China and America. Previously a university instructor in China, she is currently studying information systems at Montgomery College in Maryland.

Send completed application and essay to:

China Workcamp Coordinators

1312 Belmont Street NW, #B

Washington, DC 20009

Application Procedures:

All participants must return the enclosed application form by January 15, 2001. This must be turned in on time due to committee review. If you are selected to go, a $150 deposit is due by February 15 to hold your place. Full payment will be due by March 10 (so we can purchase all plane tickets and make travel reservations in China).

Personal Information

Full Name-------____________________________________________________

Birth Date__________________________________Age (as of July 30, 2001)________________________

Home Address_______________________________City-----_______________State---_____ Zip Code________

Phone Number (______)__________________ E-mail__________________________________________

Primary Contact_______________________________________ Relationship________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number (_____)___________________________

Secondary Contact______________________________________ Relationship____________________

Address____________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number (_____)___________________________

Personal Experience

Previous experience in workcamps or volunteer work

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Previous travel experience inside and outside the US (place, date)

________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you have any health problems that might interfere with your participation in the workcamp?

Yes No If yes, please explain ___________________________________________________

Do you have any special skills or language skills that are relevant to the workcamp?

________________________________________________________________________________________

Medical and Insurance Information:

Allergies (including food) ___________________________________________________________________

Medication being taken _____________________________________________________________________

Date of last tetanus shot ____________________________________________________________________

Family doctor_____________________________________________________________________________

Medical insurance company_________________________________________________________________

Policy # ____________________________Group # _________________ Is this an HMO _______________

This work camp will cost $2,200. In addition you will need to pay for a Passport (if you don't have one) and a visa, film, souvenirs, incidental snacks. We hope that your Monthly Meeting will make a contribution toward the cost of the work camp. We also encourage you to explore all possible scholarship or assistance opportunities. Contact your quarterly, and yearly meetings for possible financial support.

· If selected, we will send you a visa application form and explain the application process in more detail at that time.

Please enclose a 200-word essay (typed if possible) stating why you would like to participate in this workcamp. What do you hope to gain from the experience? What will you bring to the workcamp? This is not an essay contest or test of your writing skills; we are looking to learn more about you as an individual.