July 10 was the day when Li Jin, a young volunteer teacher, had to leave the Longquan Middle School and say good-bye to his students.

Li, as a college student from Yunnan Normal University himself, came to volunteer at this middle school located in Longtoushan township of Zhaotong city, Yunnan province, along with five schoolmates of him in August 2018.

This, in fact, was just around the time to grieve for the loss of life in a severe earthquake that rocked the township four years ago.

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Zhaotong area on August 3, 2014, and Longtoushan was the place where suffered the most from the temblor.

The first group of volunteer teachers was sent to longtoushan by Yunnan Normal University right after the earthquake in 2015, with an aim to provide both pedagogical and psychological aids to the students there.  

Thank to a series of reconstruction projects, the township is revitalized now.

And almost no trace of earthquake can still be found in the campus, as ruins have been displaced by brand-new buildings, dormitories as well as playgrounds.

Only a few pictures from the earthquake seem to keep reminding people of that tragedy. 

Li plays basketball with a student of him. 

“I was raised in a town very much like Longtoushan, so I strongly feel it’s my job to help these students who share a similar background with me,” said Li. 

Peng Zongqi was also a volunteer teacher at the Longquan Middle School. Working at the school museum, she constantly told her students about how difficult it was when the school had to be rebuilt from sketch.

Although these stories had been repeated for many times, she still found them moving. 

“Every single note here contains a particular feeling, thought or wish of our students. The disaster has gone, but we want them to always remember this history, show thankfulness to anyone who once helped them, and be tougher in their life head,” Peng said. 

Du Junzhen, from Shandong province, is known as “Dudu” among students. Without his assistance, many school activities were not able to be put into practice, such as basketball, painting, paper-cutting and calligraphy. 

“Different activities would encourage students to find out who they are and what they like to do, while helping them forget about the grief and suffering caused by earthquake,” said he. 

Wu Kai trains a student boxer. 

As the only PE teacher among six volunteers, Wu Kai set up a boxing and a shooting team once he arrived at the school. And his students have already won metals in provincial-level competitions. 

It was hard for all of us to fit in the life here in the first place. The weather made me sick. I remember that my parents once drove all the way down to Longtoushan to take care of me when I had a fever,” said Li. 

“Our students also live an uneasy life here. Since most of them come from villages far away from the school, they have to walk for hours to come to study every day,” Li continued.  

Teachers and students chat in a room.

“Volunteering is a tough job indeed, but once we see the smile on their faces, we feel that everything we’ve done is deserved,” added he.

Being more like friends rather than teachers to the students, volunteers have helped them be back to the track of their life from the aftermath of earthquake. 

“We will always thank and miss our teachers,” said students of the Longquan Middle School.