It has been a long time for 8-year-old Feng Jing to read attentively after he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and sought treatment at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital in Futian since this January.

On July 20, the boy, sitting on a hospital bed, was immersed in reading a picture book with a member from a volunteer team dedicated to serving children suffering from sever illnesses.

“You are so great. You can read these characters,” Zhou Jiayan, a former staffer with Nanfang Daily, said to the boy while reading the book. The boy, upon hearing the compliment, responded confidently: “I did a great job in school. Without my presence in the final exams, there was no 100-pointer in my class this semester!”

Zhou then started the reading smoothly, sometimes giving dramatic interpretation to make it more interesting and deepen the boy’s impression on details, and guiding the boy to discuss what he understood about the book.

The boy, a first grader from the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province, has been absent from school for a semester. He was admitted to the Shenzhen hospital on the Chinese New Year Day after suffering more than 10 days of low fever and accompanied stomachache.

Long stay in hospital raised his mother’s worry about the boy’s addiction to digital gadgets and online games.

“My son enjoyed learning and performed well at school. However, since he came here, he has spent much time playing with gadgets and also online games,” Feng’s mother said. She was delightful and relaxed to see the volunteer spending the reading time with him. “The program is great. The volunteer created a time for him to read a book and got him a way out from using electronic products,” Zheng said.

Qualified reading partners

Since the “Sunshine Companions: Reading with Severely Ill Child Patients” program initiated in 2017, it has provided services to 130 children at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital. Suspended for about three years due to COVID-19, the program resumed in June.

The program, under joint efforts of oeeee.com, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen Children’s Library and Shenzhen Reading Promotion Association, was initiated with the mission to provide high-quality reading service to sick children.

“We hope the program could trigger kids’ interests in reading. We are reading promoters, we figure out ways to let the kids feel the fun of reading,” Chen Jie, a staffer from Shenzhen Children’s Library who is in charge of the program, said.

Some members of the volunteer team are from Shenzhen Children’s Library, who have received training to be qualified reading partners for children.

The team now consists of around 70 members from all walks of life, such as teachers, lawyers and journalists, who take turns to read for children every Thursday and Saturday.

With dedicated heart

One of the most impressive experiences for Joy Yang, a Grade 3 teaching assistant at Shekou International School, was the time she spent with a 5-year-old girl in 2019. The girl, who had stayed in ward for several months, had rare opportunities to come into contact with the outside world, including weather changes and natural phenomena.

Yang came up with a plan for creative practices, aside from just reading, inspired by the picture book on weather she would read to the girl.

During a reading session, Yang paused at a page that depicted clouds taking the form of a vibrant rainbow. To bring the magic to life indoors, Yang used a glass of hot water, a division plate and a prism. The girl was mesmerized by the enchanting display and engaged with Yang enthusiastically and curiously. Inspired by the book, she later created her own paintings fueled by her imagination, occasionally bursting into joyful laughter that profoundly moved Yang.

“I’m glad to give a helping hand to those kids in need,” Yang said. “These children deserve high-quality accompany.”

Volunteers like Yang are dedicated to creating a pleasant experience for children during reading events. They carefully prepare for each session, becoming well-versed in the story through repeated readings.

Difficulties

“It was a frustrating experience,” Chen Jie recalled. “My first time was to serve a 3-year-old girl who was just sent to the hospital. She was uncomfortable that day after undergoing a lumbar puncture.”

The girl’s parents asked Chen sincerely for help, eager to distract the girl’s attention from the pain. Chen tried to read the story to the girl for 10 minutes, but the girl’s mood got worse, which forced the session to end.

“When I went to the hospital later, I recognized the girl among kids listening to a story narrated by another volunteer. I was encouraged to see the girl getting better,” Chen said.

Chen then realized that patience is needed in providing service to these special children that need extra care. “We volunteers must be patient, and have to be observant about their physical condition,” Chen said.

In order to provide better services, the organizers held trainings in hygienic, health care and physiological areas.

Chen emphasized that these children should not face discrimination simply because they suffer from severe illnesses. However, due to their weakened immunity, extra attention must be given to the hygiene of their surroundings.

The purpose of the program goes beyond providing assistance to children in need; it aims to comfort and calm the kids through reading, she said.