Passing Warmth of Love – A Report on Contribution of CMBC Zhengzhou Branch for Elementary Schools of Impoverished Mountain Areas

By Li Mei from Zhengzhou Branch   

In April 2012, teams laden with charitable donations set out from Zhengzhou. As love teams of China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. (CMBC), they were bound for elementary schools in needy mountain areas.  

Converging integrity, conveying benevolence April 14, after hundreds of kilometers trip, employees of CMBC Zhengzhou Branch Longhailu Sub-branch arrived at No. 5 Elementary School in Beizi Township, Lushan County, Pingdingshan. Despite the journey in the early morning, our sleepiness disappeared without a trace, leaving only infinite excitement and joy the moment we saw the children in the classroom from a distance.  

Without a single halt, we divided the team into four groups to send donations to poverty- stricken families found by the school. A little boy led the way for us. He was well behaved and we were told that he had grown up in a single parent family. Our task was to send love to his home. The bumpy dirt road took us nearly half an hour. Looking at the heavy bunch of goods and materials, like rice and cooking oil, we did not hesitate, rather, carrying them or bearing them on the shoulder, we got the feeling that they were nothing but boundless love. The boy looked very sensible. He did not say much, but just lead the way quietly in front of the road. Possibly, he was introverted or merely became quiet because of the sudden strangeness. Perhaps he had long lost the liveliness and happiness belonging to his age but tasted the difficulties of life. When we asked about his name, he still did not speak, just picking up a dry branch by the roadside and then wrote “伊 智 幽” (Yi Zhiyou) on the dirt road. It was really good handwriting, and he was very careful with it. When he lowered his eyes, a sacred responsibility and inexplicable sympathy and affection filled the hearts of every teammate.

We finally reached Zhiyou’s home, only to find his awards cover half the wall on the left. The boy remained quiet when we marveled what he had achieved. The home was very deserted. Zhiyou’s father was a migrant work, leaving the elderly grandfather and the boy to keep each other company. Apart from a few pieces of age-old furniture, there was nothing else in the house, making the awards of Zhiyou even more dazzling on the dark wall. When it was time to leave, we did not know what else we could say or do, but choked back the tears and encouraged Zhiyou to study hard. We made  a commitment in our hearts: Little Zhiyou, please always be brave and remember that we stand behind you and will help you whenever you need us! Good boy!

It was until noon when we returned to school. On the shabby playground in front of the classroom, children had already lined up to, waiting for us, new clothes, new school bags, new stationeries, TVs…Seeing love gifts taken out one by one, their eyes were overflowing with joy and desire. These were very ordinary things for kids in the city, but for children from these mountain areas, they were so novel and valuable. In the midday sun, the children were jumped into the performance. The show had little to do with gratitude, as sincere love did not to be returned with thanks. The show was a media of exchange between us. Be it poetry reading “Where are you, Uncle Lei Feng”, or sign language song “Dedication to Love”, all witnessed the world of intimacy and warmth. True feelings never got stranded, and love would last forever.  Our Journey of Love just began; there was no end of it. Together in CMBC, we would redouble our efforts, undertake our social responsibility, and actively take the baton of love. Serve the public, concern for people’s livelihood, and return to the society – let’s carry forward the spirit of China Minsheng Banking Corporate Limited.

Setting off for love, making it a journey of love Shortly after that, on April 20, another team embarked on the journey. It was composed of presidents of Huayuanlu Sub-branch and other branches in Zhengzhou City and the destination was Lvgang Elementary School of Caomiaoji Township, Gushi County, a state-level poverty-stricken county of Xinyang City, Henan Province, thousand miles away from Zhengzhou. The team undertook an arduous and sacred task, that was, to send the care and love of all employees of CMBC branches to children in Lvgang Elementary School. The preparation of the team was very thoughtful and tedious before departure, and every member of the team carefully chose and bought school supplies for the kids: bags, pens, erasers, stationery boxes, compasses, rulers, pencil sharpeners, pen holders, staplers, notebooks, rackets, skipping ropes, reference books, reading materials, to name just a few. They bought without hesitation whatever they could think of and their hearts were filled with joy and contentment at the thought of handing these carefully procured items to the children.

 

The team hurried on its long journey, so that it could arrive at the school before the children left it. To save time in the noon, team members just bought some sesame seed cakes to fill their stomachs. Exhausted, they found it hard to swallow the dry cakes. At last, they just hastily swallowed it with mineral water. However, they were still lucky ones, as some teammates that acted as drivers simply didn’t get time to have a bite. They merely wanted to be a little faster to reach the kids and the sunset never failed to remind them that it was almost time for kids to call it a day and go home.

After five hours of non-stop journey, a few rows of surprisingly bleak building finally appeared as expected. It was Lvgang Elementary School in Caomiaoji Township. Entering the worn gate, the teammates were first greeted by a burst of sand from the loess playground, where the five-star red flag fluttering in the wind was exceptionally bright. Welcome signs were hung on the door where a throng of children looked out, full of surprise and joy on the face, but dared not come out. A teammate quietly raised his hand and kept rubbing his eyes because of the sand, or the scene in front of him.  

The simple donation ceremony was in progress on the loess playground. There were no flowers, but brilliant smiles not to be concealed on the face of the kids; there was no music, but the chattering noise with a little nervousness and full of innocence; waves of warm applause and surging enthusiasm were everywhere on the playground. The pleasant surprises and joy blooming on the face of the kids when they extended their tender, little hands and received the gifts from the teammates instantly wrapped them in a deep sense of satisfaction and delight. It was moment so warm, beautiful, touching, and enchanting. A teammate affectionately joked with the kids: “Study hard and welcome to join us when you grow up. Employees of the bank are all undergraduates or above. Do you have any idea what undergraduate is?” A few naughty children said loudly: “I don’t know.” The teacher gently patted their heads and all were amused by them. In the laughter, the warmth of love and being loved went through the wind, the sand, to the hearts that were instantly softened.

The wind was sweeping along sand and the sun was invisible in the sky. However, the world in front of us was not a bit bleak. On the contrary, it seemed flowers blossoming as far as the eye could see and the sun brilliantly shining in the sky. Still doubted about what you saw? Then look at the shabby classrooms, the little hands of children that could not wait to open their gifts, the ripples of smiles on the face, children as happy as a lark in the room and cheerful eyes of teammates and teachers full of love and hope outside the windows. Almost by reflex, a teammate gently touched his backpack on the shoulder, in which was subsidies prepared the poverty-stricken children, a token of the regard of CMBC leadership, such as Branch President Ma Qian and Chairman of Labor Union Wang Gongjing.

 

The joy from the hearts’ of the children moved every one of us. The hardships and fatigue of us was dissolved by their innocent faces. We only regretted not to have acted a little earlier and did as much as possible for these kids. The donation ceremony was soon ended but children still crowded around us, reluctant to leave. We politely refused the gracious retain by the township government, and immediately embarked on the road back. We did not stay awhile, as we had to throw ourselves into the work and got more strength to return to the society and concern ourselves with people’s livelihood. As it goes, “The rose’s in her hand, the flavor in mine.” Why not do it? Be true and sincere, and you will get the force for good and pass the warmth of love.