In the afternoon of August 5th in 2017, 20 children from Shanghai migrant families attended the “YouDao Pizza Themed Activity. These 20 children all come from families sponsored by Shanghai You Dao Social Service Center. Additionally, the BAC Oversea Chinese Enterprise Association provided the venue and more than ten of their members volunteered to help this activity.
After the children arrived, volunteers quickly helped them put on colorful aprons and seated them into groups based on colors. To get the children and the volunteers acquainted with each other, they played a game called “YouKouNanYan”, led by volunteer Kandy. In this game, the children thought of one famous dish from their hometown and actioned it out (without words). Then, the volunteers had to guess which dish the children are thinking about. The game was really fun and interesting. The children were laughing happily with joy.
Teacher Helen, who came from the Sucre Baking Workshop, led the activity and taught the children how to make pizza in a fun way. The children quietly listened to her instructions. Then they went back to their own groups and, with the help of the volunteers, started to make the pizza. They kneaded the dough, rolled it, then put the marinara sauce and spreaded sausage, ham, bacon, corn, little pieces of pineapple, and pieces of cheese. Soon, delicious looking pizzas appeared one after another. The children then labeled their pizza before putting it into the oven. Slowly, the smell of pizza filled the air.
While waiting for their pizza, the well-mannered children cleaned their workspace and then got snacks. Then, volunteer Kandy handed out placemats printed with all kinds of healthy food, which the children could color, thus teaching them which food were nutritious and beneficial for their health. Moreover, they played a small question and answer game to help remember these food better.
When the fragrant pizzas came out of the oven, the children felt extremely proud; most of them have never eaten pizza before, but now they are able to make their own. However, instead of eating it by themselves, they decided to bring this special pizza back to their families.
Before they knew it, the event came to an end. The children and the volunteers spent three amazing hours together. The loveliness and kindness of these children, who all came from difficult backgrounds, touched the hearts of all of the volunteers.
For instance, a ten year old volunteer named Yang SiYuan, who now wants to continue to help the less fortunate children of his age.
Many thanks to Mr. Samson Chen, the president of the BAC Oversea Chinese Enterprise Association, for his endless support and providing a lovely venue and refreshments for the children; to Jessica and Yang Siyuan for volunteering; to Bella Napoli Restaurant for providing the pizza ingredients and the volunteer’s lunch; to Sucre Baking Workshop and teacher Helen for preparing the ingredients and teaching the children; to McCormick for providing the pizza sauce and gifts for the migrant families.
We are most grateful for the Hong Kong Friends Shanghai’s volunteers, for spending such wonderful time with the children during the summer time.
Children’s experiences:
I really liked this activity and the volunteer teachers (especially Teacher Kandy and Teacher Wang). I also loved the pizza, especially the ingredients, and the toys that the volunteers gave us. As soon as I got home, I wanted to play with them. I hope that I can go again next time! – HuangYi
I really loved this event. I made friends and also got to know the teachers, like Teacher Kandy and “Bald Uncle” and I also learned how to make a pizza. – 黄兴 (HuangXing)
On August 5th, my friend and I went to the activity organized by the teachers. When the activity started, we had to make sure our hands were clean, then rubbed oil and kneaded the dough. The teacher told us the plate is like a clock, where we have to knead the dough clockwise. Then, we put the sausage, ham, corn, bacon, and cheese on the pizza and baked it. Thank you to the volunteers who taught me how to make pizza and for giving us an opportunity to participate in this event. It was such a meaningful day and it made my summer really amazing. My parents and I are so grateful towards the volunteers. — 周辉 (ZhouHui)
Volunteer’s Experiences:
This is my second time participating in YouDao’s migrant children activity, this time being Pizza Day. Watching Teacher Helen and the volunteers helping the children make the pizza was great, and the pizza looked like one from a restaurant. Everyone was so happy! I wish them eternal happiness. — Kandy
I loved seeing the children get a hands-on experience of making a pizza. In addition to making pizza, they handed out candy, wiped the tables, and helped us clean up. Their willingness to help was so amazing 😊 — Christine Liu
Fate brought me to this wonderful activity, which not only consisted of children learning how to make pizza, but also allowed me to get to know the children. We worked together with love and patience and getting to see them learn and have fun was great! I enjoyed helping out and it made me so happy that I was able to participate in such a lovely event. Thanks for bringing me into this family! — Amanda Ho