The front page of the Southeastern Economic Times today shows a picture of kids practicing their swimming kicks, along with the headline: “Migrant kids learn to swim.
The article says that to ensure these kids enjoy their summer safely, the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Sports Bureau of Haishu and Zhenhai counties in Ningbo city, Zhejiang province, have jointly organized a swimming class for migrant children. The classes are free, as is the equipment, and they even have a retired navy officer acting as lifeguard.
The reporter noted that the kids were being given super-star treatment, as an entire lane was cleared so that they could have a spacious swimming environment to practice in. The kids loved the class, and didn’t want to out of the water until the very end.
The article notes that in addition to supplying swimsuits, swimming trucks, swim caps, school bags and other supplies to the children, they also bought RMB 50,000 in life insurance.
Another headline on the front page reads: “A 27 year old security guard tested into university.” He was originally from a rural area, and his father was quite old. By the time he was in high school, his father was already 70, and he dropped out of school to work the land so his father could retire. In August 2011, he took a job as a security guard at the Dongfang Middle School for a monthly salary of RMB 1,600 (approx. USD 250) and began studying at night. This year, he took the gaokao (China’s national university entrance) and did tested into Tianjin University, where he hopes to study architecture.
Links and Sources
Southeastern Economic Times: “小候鸟”免费游泳培训班开课啦 , “保安哥”以全校第16名考入大学