Qiao Ai lights up the football dreams of the teenagers in the mountains

Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition

Dear Yuchen,

Knowing that you love football very much, you have to stick to this love, play the ball better, have more fun and become a good player.

I wish you success and good health.

Marcello Lippi

In the city of Ponte Viere, February 18, 2021

This is a handwritten letter written in Italian by the famous Italian footballer and coach Lippi. The recipient is Lan Yuchen, a third-grade student at Shuanggui Township Central Primary School in Wencheng County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

Why did a "foreign coach" write a letter to a Chinese "mountain girl"?

The story begins with a condolence event on January 11 this year. It was sunny but a little chilly that day. A group of "high-energy" and "warm" Wenzhou young people gathered together and walked into Shuangguixiang Central Primary School under the name of "high-temperature youth" to carry out "Firefly Action". They brought new uniforms and 50 new footballs to the school's 62 left-behind children.

Put on new clothes, get a new football, and the kids are happy to blossom. 11-year-old Lan Yuchen has always wanted to play football, and he can play football freely in the future.

Lan Yuchen is a teenager of the She ethnic group who has lived with his grandparents since childhood. As soon as football is mentioned, this mountain teenager will have a bright smile on his face and his clear eyes will shine.

These were looked at by Chen Yixiang, a 14-year-old teenager in the "high temperature youth" team who did not say much. As a Chinese born and raised in Italy, Chen Yixiang's Chinese is not fluent. But he has been listening carefully, watching carefully, and occasionally talking to his classmates for two sentences. Lan Yuchen's love for football was taken to heart by him.

After the condolence activities, during a video call with Chen Ming, a member of the "High Temperature Youth", a member of his father in Turin, Italy, Chen Yixiang chatted about Lan Yuchen's love for football. As an overseas Chinese leader who has gone overseas from the depths of the mountains, Chen Ming knows how important it is to take care of the dream of a young man in the mountains.

Because he is a big fan of the Italian Juventus football team, Chen Ming thought of Lippi for the first time. "Wouldn't it make sense if Lippi could give this mountain boy some words of encouragement?" Thinking of this, Chen Ming was very excited and decided to put it into action immediately.

Without Lippi's contact information, he went to find his friends on the Juventus football team. After several tossing and turning, he finally contacted Lippi, who was on vacation in his hometown in Italy. After Lippi heard about it, he was very touched and immediately wrote a handwritten letter and mailed it to Chen Ming.

Finally, along with the letter, it was mailed back to China with a set of football uniforms that Chen Ming bought for Lan Yuchen. "Let your child play football in the school and fields in the mountains!" Chen Ming said emotionally: "Sports and art are important breakthrough points for creating equal opportunities for children in mountainous areas. ”

On March 10th, a special football dream fulfillment ceremony was held at Shuangguixiang Central Primary School. The representative of the "High Temperature Youth" delivered Lippi's letter to Lan Yuchen.

Lippi's letter was like a ray of sunshine, shining into the heart of Lan Yuchen, a young man in the mountains. And the love relay of the "high temperature youth" also warmed Lan Yuchen's heart.

He wrote a letter with gratitude: "I like to play football, I'm ashamed to say, just chasing the ball. But with the help of caring people, our school is about to set up a football interest class, and I will learn a lot about football, and I am very excited to think of this. The most surprising thing is that with the help of the uncles and aunts of the 'Hot Youth', I also received a letter of encouragement from Mr. Lippi himself. ”

"Wencheng County, where Shuanggui Township is located, is a key overseas Chinese township in Wenzhou. We hope to give full play to the advantages of overseas Chinese, attract more people from all walks of life, including overseas Chinese, to participate in public welfare and care for and help the growth of young people in mountainous areas. Ni Kaomeng, the initiator of "High Temperature Youth", said that after the end of the epidemic, the youth and teenagers participating in the "Firefly Action" will sprinkle the warmth of the fluorescence gathering to the more extensive mountainous areas of central and western China, and strive to promote the common growth of teenagers in the east and west.

Grass long warblers fly, spring back to the earth. In the depths of the mountains, the seeds of hope will take root in the hearts of more young teenagers!