Text/Reporter Wang Lu Photographer/Reporter Zhang Guoping, Wang Lu, Yang Yang
Minors are the future of the country and the hope of the nation. In order to "hold up the sun of tomorrow", we must not forget to give more care, care and attention to the orphans and de facto unsupported children and other minors in distress around us. Combined with the actual living conditions and needs of the county's 107 children in difficulty, the Pinglu County Civil Affairs Bureau has set up a center for the protection of minors (hereinafter referred to as the "uninsured center") in line with the service tenet of "people-centered", constantly making up for the shortcomings of people's livelihood, providing accurate and heart-warming services, and striving to care for the growth of minors.
"It was drawn by a 6-year-old"
Saturday afternoon is the time that Zhuang Zhuang (pseudonym) is most looking forward to. Every Saturday, he obediently goes to bed as soon as he finishes lunch, because "he has to be mentally ready for art class".
As one of the first children to move in to the uninsured center, Zhuang Zhuang fulfilled his dream of being a "little painter" here and spent many wonderful weekends with everyone.
From the taciturn at the beginning to the laughter now, the transformation of the strong made the grandmother feel very happy. The strong grandmother said that the child had always wanted a set of markers, and after coming to the center, he finally got his wish, and his love for drawing made him slowly learn to communicate with people in the classroom.
Zhong Yating, a volunteer who is responsible for teaching children art, believes that Zhuang Zhuang not only likes art, but also has a lot of talent. Then, Zhong Yating took out a "Fire Extinguisher" and said: "In one class, I asked the children to draw things around them, and Zhuang Zhuang looked at it and stared at it. Under the guidance of the teacher, Zhuang Zhuang first carefully observed its characteristics, and then picked up a marker and drew it.
Soon, the bright red bottle, the valve on the top, the label on the body, and even the date and address of the fire extinguisher were drawn. Zhong Yating said with emotion, "Zhuang Zhuang was only 6 years old at the time, and our art class was only in a little more than a month at that time. ”
There are many cartoons and handicrafts on the walls of the art classroom. Watching the children paint the world through their eyes with colorful brushes, you can feel their yearning for a better life and their positive and optimistic attitude.
Art classes are just one of the county's uninsured centers' quality development activities. In order to meet the diverse interests of children, the center also has music, dance and other courses, all of which are open to disadvantaged teenagers free of charge. In addition, the center often organizes children to carry out extracurricular sketching, study trips, inspirational movie viewing and other activities to enrich their spiritual and cultural life.
"21 places improved in one semester"
"In the past, children had low self-esteem and didn't like to talk at school. The teacher said that now he loves to laugh, and he often raises his hand to speak, and he has made great progress in this exam, from 42nd last time to 21st this time. Qingqing's (pseudonym) grandmother smiled at this, and she said that she would like to thank the county leaders and Xiaohui social workers' volunteers.
As the operator, although the Pinglu County Xiaohui Social Work Service Center will only "settle" in the uninsured center in the second half of 2023, the staff is no stranger to Qingqing. According to Zheng Hui, the person in charge, they have been paying attention to the Qingqing brothers since 2019, visiting households from time to time for psychological counseling and transforming their living environment. After coming to the uninsured center to "settle down", Qingqing has undergone greater changes.
In her opinion, the most important thing is to make children feel loved and earn trust. To this end, every Friday night, Zheng Hui will gather the children to sit together and carry out a heart-to-heart talk activity of "drinking a cup of tea together". "The children spoke freely, combining the joys and anxieties of the week, and the secrets and worries that had been hidden in their hearts for many years. They regard the uninsured center as a second home, where they respect and love each other, learning becomes self-realization, and change becomes a regular occurrence. Zheng Hui said.
Counselor Wang Liping, a volunteer from the Salt Lake District, rushes to the Pinglu County Uninsured Center every Saturday morning, rain or shine.
"Listening and understanding are the keys to psychological counseling for children, but minors in distress are more sensitive and vulnerable than ordinary children, and many are even reluctant to speak their minds. Wang Liping said that it is important to understand what they think in their hearts. Therefore, she uses sand play therapy to let children build their own world, help children improve their expression skills, and record each child's situation in detail for personalized counseling.
On the wall of the second floor of the center, there are two big trees of love, "education", "companionship", "care" and "love" are like four "big fruits", recording the touching moments of social workers, volunteers and children growing up together. Zheng Hui said that their service is all about in the end.
A warm and safe haven
Minors in distress are a special group in society, and their current situation deeply affects the heart of Ma Qingguo, director of the Pinglu County Civil Affairs Bureau. In August 2023, the Party Group of the Pinglu County Civil Affairs Bureau decided to establish the Pinglu County Minor Protection Center after research.
"Carry out assistance for minors who are temporarily unsupervised or unable to take custody, and bear temporary guardianship responsibility. ”
"Free food and lodging, children live in school on weekdays, and can live in uninsured centers on weekends and holidays. ”
"Provide policy support for uninsured centers. ”
"Introduce professional operational organizations, open special hotlines for the protection of minors, and do some practical things for minors in difficulty. ”
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At the beginning of its establishment, Ma Qingguo organized the heads of relevant departments of the bureau to hold a special meeting in response to the needs of the protection of minors, and finally decided to provide the venue for free, and the operator raised its own funds to carry out the construction, and carried out all-round services in life care, academic counseling, quality development, psychological services, etc.
The operator, Pinglu County Xiaohui Social Work Service Center, adheres to the "five hearts" service concept of "making children happy, making parents comfortable, helping schools worry, promoting social care, and reassuring the government", and focuses on the requirements of the "six protections" of the "Law on the Protection of Minors", and strives to build the uninsured center into a home for minors in distress to soothe their souls, a camp for quality development, and a place for comprehensive services.
After the establishment of the Pinglu County Juvenile Protection Center, it has received praise from all walks of life.
The Yuncheng Civil Affairs Bureau gave financial support to the project as soon as possible, and the Pinglu County Customs Working Committee, the County Court, the County Procuratorate, the County Finance Bureau, the County Women's Federation, the Youth League and County Committee, the Yuncheng City Business Federation, and caring people from all walks of life donated clothing, school supplies, household appliances and other loving materials.
The county people's procuratorate has set up a "rainbow bridge" unchecked studio in the uninsured center to escort the healthy growth of children.
After seeing the recruitment information of offline teacher volunteers in the county, Wei Hongjuan and Yuan Weidong of the county signed up as soon as possible, sacrificing their weekend rest time to do various tutoring for their children for free.
Social worker Zhang Mengmeng actively connected with external resources and distributed down jackets and warm pants to the children, Dong Ying and Tan Ruiyuan brought dolls and other items to the children for free, the caring merchant Florence Cake Shop delivered delicious cakes every week, and the caring person Wu Weixing not only donated water dispensers and drinking water for one year, but also often went to the uninsured center to talk with the children.
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"Although the uninsured center has just started, we have always adhered to one goal, that is, to strive to protect minors in the county, so that every flower of the motherland can grow up to the sun and grow healthily. Ma Qingguo said.