On a sunny Friday morning, Ewa Degerhult and her companions at the Shekou Women's International Club (SWIC) welcomed a group of special guests to the garden of Jingshan Villas in Shekou: 24 children from the Shenzhen Social Welfare Center, their two teachers and a maid.

After waiting half an hour at the gate, Degerhult's face was flushed with anxiety and excitement. Out of loneliness, the Swede had joined fellow SWIC members to visit children at the welfare center last year but had since found that the children had become a part of her life.

But Dengerhult and the other volunteers had not stepped inside the welfare center since last Christmas when it was closed to visitors due to SARS concerns. Although it was due to reopen later in March, they couldn't wait to see the children.

A colorful jumping castle was erected in the meadow, several long tables were lined up for their McDonald's lunches, and drinks, bubble blowers and hula hoops were prepared for the youngsters.

The special guests, mostly orphans and abandoned children aged 4 to 7, were clean, healthy, curious and obedient. Led by several foreigners and their teachers, they formed two groups to play a game with the hula hoops.

The children were all students of an English class given by four SWIC members. Dengerhult and her SWIC friends visit the welfare center for two hours almost every Tuesday and Friday. On Tuesday, the women play with the children and on Friday some teach English while the others stay in the children's room and toddlers' room.

"They are very smart and eager to learn. We are always surprised by the progress they make," said Charleene Kersey, a mother of three and also a grandmother from New Zealand who is in charge of the syllabus.

After each class, the volunteer teachers sit down in the SWIC library to discuss what to teach next time. Sometimes they will download material from the Internet to make the class more attractive.

Speaking of motivation, Kersey said she felt rewarded whenever she saw the "light on their (the children's) faces."

In addition to the abundant care and love, the free ice cream from Mama Gelato, an Italian dessert and coffee shop near Shekou's Sea World, also lit up the children's faces; all except one boy, Bao Chenghan.

Due to recent heart surgery, Bao was stopped from having ice cream and cried. But Dengerhult put a smile back on his face after she put half a banana in an ice cream cone and gave him fruit "ice cream."

The SWIC's visits to the welfare center were financed and supported by various contributors, Dengerhult said. They got financial donations, milk powder and shuttle services courtesy from the CACT oil company, IKEA furniture, the management office of Jiangshan Villas and many other companies.
 
(eastday.com March 11, 2004)