Hope in China: “After the dark clouds, the warm sun shall come.”
China has been in coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown since January’s Lunar New Year holiday, now finally there is hope.
For the first time last week, China reported a day of no new local cases. Roads are starting to re-open. People are slowly returning to work.
Just as China celebrates its medical heroes, OneSky will also never forget colleagues who worked so hard to ensure children in their care neither suffered, nor were scared as the world outside changed dramatically.
One of those, Wu Jia, wrote a poem to inspire her fellow teachers.
“No winter is insurmountable; no spring is not coming.
Let us work together to overcome the difficulties
and overcome them side by side.
We look at each other and believe in each other.
After the dark clouds, the warm sun shall come.”
Wu Jia is a mentor and early learning teacher in OneSky’s Infant Nurture Program at a Children’s Welfare Institution in central China. The poem was shared with other teachers across China on 1jiaren, OneSky’s E-learning platform.
Since early February, most CWIs in China have been under lockdown. Many teachers worked for long stretches to cover absences. Wu Jia confirms that one of her colleagues worked 20 consecutive days, with no one working less than 14.
Their roles frequently changed to support front-line nursing staff. Whatever their role, care with love continued to be their remit. Weather permitting, they would take children outdoors and organize simple, fun activities to pass the days and keep each child happy and healthy.
“When we received notice that because of the epidemic, the CWI needed to extend the closure period, we did not flinch,” said Wu Jia. “Those with children or elderly relatives to care for at home relied on wider family members to help out.
“We chose to stick to our positions and perform resolutely in the face of the epidemic. We backed our promises with action. When the teachers saw the smiles on the children’s faces, that was their motivation. We moved forward together.”