By Zachary K., Loyola University Maryland, TBC Fall 2019 Student
“Ok! We have to stop playing with the kids now. If we stay any longer the kids will be TOO EXCITED to go to sleep tonight.” Try to imagine making someone this happy – so happy that they can’t even fall asleep. This is what we were told right before we left the Bethel Foundation in Beijing last Saturday.
Originally started by a French couple, the Bethel China Foundation, to this day has helped thousands of children through training and outreach at five different locations across the country. They currently sponsor the Love is Blind project, where they provide support to young orphaned children who suffer from visual impairments. These children are predisposed to one of the more challenging situations a child can experience. Additionally, it can be difficult for them to receive the support they need. Bethel works towards providing support to these children, striving to help them live life to the fullest. During our time at Bethel, our group got to see how Bethel carries out its mission daily and all that it does for the children, their families, and the community.
It’s easy to put down into words what the organization does, but when it comes to describing the emotions that this place brings to these children and to myself, it’s something unexplainable. After our arrival, we were led up the stairs to meet the children. Immediately, they got up and began to laugh and have fun with the students in the group. It was clear that we were making these kids’ entire day. And not only could I see it in their laughs and small giggles, but we could really feel that we were making a difference.
I met a small girl named Callie. She was very outgoing and had more energy than most of the TBC students combined. She clung to me and another student with her little hands and smiled so wide. Still holding our hands, we were led over to her favorite toy where she showed us what she could do. This was the highlight of my weekend; to be able to see the happiness in her eyes, and more so, the difference one person can make in someone’s life. These pictures only capture just a small portion of what goes on at Bethel – only a part of the joy you can give these children.
Being that The Beijing Center is a Jesuit organization, we value service and community as a crucial part of our academic and social life in China. There are many ways you can give back to your community no matter where you are. TBC offers plenty of these types of volunteer opportunities and strongly recommends them, as they are eye-opening experiences to say the least! Listed below are some of our most popular service opportunities.
If you are interested in getting involved or would like to donate to the Bethel Foundation, please click the link below. Please enjoy and spread the LOVE! There is a fun event that’s coming up on Sunday, November 17, 2019. You can get a wonderful dinner AND support your Beijing Community. To learn more, visit our blog here, and to buy tickets, click here!
Here is a list of TBC’s 2019 Fall Service Opportunities:
To learn more about TBC’s Service opportunities, click here!
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.