Undergraduate / I've been invited to a charity TV show where I saw the embarrassments and tears in children's eyes [4]

Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act?

I would not think beneficence be a hurt before I've been invited to a charity TV show in 2014. I saw some children standing on the stage for the face-to-face donation in the show. Behind them, there was a wall attached their photos, family profile and needs for money. I was always supportive of such donation. But that day, sitting in front of the stage, I saw the embarrassments and tears full in their eyes. That impressed me so much.

How can the feelings of these children be ignored? I could not sit there indifferently. I wanted to stand up to stop the recording but hesitated in afraid of that my straightforwardness would hurt them again. I pondered over it and went to find the chairman of the TV station for stopping the recording but finally was forced to leave.

Program maker need topics and selling points mostly, but should they ever consider program in such way would hurt those children? When I arrived home, I thought nothing but how to reveal the improper way of the TV station and found many similar programs on the network. For instance, any contributors or companies would ask for a picture of children holding the money in their hand when received the donation. That urged me to do something for those rural children. We need to curb the deluge of "Love" in Television or other media who seek the profits shortsightedly.

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I worked overnight and posted an article named "what do rural children really need?" in internet and attached a questionnaire for feedbacks from internet users. In my opinion, the most important factors for the growth of rural children are "Dignity, Independence, Belongingness". That was summarized from my supportive teaching experience in "One-Meter Sunlight" project founded by me two years ago.

Everyone can have an influence on others. How much can I do? I did not think twice about this question before that. 1000 clicks, 600 forwards and more than 400 replies just after 4 hrs of the posting and also many volunteers asking for joining my project! I did penetrate others' life silently with my idea and got recognition! For further action, I decided to get in touch with children met in the TV station to confirm what I felt from them. When I and volunteers of "One-meter Sunlight" managed to meet Huahua, one girl in the TV show, she cried to us, "I did want to tear up the money in front of them." How depressed it was. It was worse when we visited other children and found some of them become absent from class.

Impressed by that, I created a public ID for "One-Meter Sunlight Common welfare Plan" thru WeChat after preparations. I mobilized all members of the project to contribute their ideas and utilized all means to propagate the ID. We want publics to be aware that what children in county need is respect other than money or materials in their childhood. In a long-term prospect, we plan to help particularly on children whose parents work outside and arrange volunteers to support local teachers to be companions of children and also guiders for their dignity, independence and belongingness.

"One-Meter Sunlight" has been recognized in society and has attracted members across the nation and many of them from public media have been my friends. And we are proud for having already built 3 Red Cross libraries. I've been chosen as the most advanced student in my school and got the interview invitations from several Medias in Wuhan and I only accepted the interview from that TV station. Now I've been the only intern journalist with wage in Wu Han Morning Post.

Now I often think, can you have influence on others? Would it be positive enough to make profits to others? Actually most time, you will get the biggest rewards when you try to affect others.