IU Dream Corps plans China trip

Dream Corps International added a student-run chapter to IU this summer.

Dream Corps is a non-profit organization that sends volunteers to rural neighborhoods in China to improve the learning environment of disadvantaged children.

It was founded in 2004, and for the past six summers students have taken books, built libraries, trained librarians and created reading programs for children who lack the supplies for a proper education.

This educational inequality in China is Dream Corps’ main concern, and some members worry it is not a widely perceived problem in China or the rest of the world.

“Some children don’t go to school at all because they’re too poor ... They don’t even have enough money for food,” said Xini Wang, IU chapter vice president of internal
management.

“Also, children have no family support because their parents go to the migrant cities to work.”

As a result, neighborhoods mostly consist of children and the elderly.

The IU Dream Corps chapter spends the entire school year preparing for summer volunteer programs.  

“Our main purposes (during the school year) are spreading awareness on the inequality in China and raising funds,” said Wei Sun, president of the IU chapter.

Funding for the volunteer programs and materials are almost all acquired through donations and student efforts.

Each summer Dream Corps sends 40 to 50 volunteers to several different neighborhoods in China, with four to eight people at each site. Hundreds of books are taken to the schools annually.

Volunteers help librarians create the library systems and learn physical instruction techniques.

Volunteers who travel with Dream Corps are typically college students, but it is not a
 requirement.

“Volunteers have to apply and have an interview. We look for people with a lot of motivation and ask how they think the trip will influence their life,” said Wang, who went to China with the group in 2009.

“Teamwork and long-term involvement are also important.”

Before traveling to China, volunteers must undergo a month of online training and four days in a Beijing camp to prepare for their complete immersion in rural China.

The volunteer groups work and live in their assigned neighborhoods in order to fully understand and experience the lives of the children.

“It’s usually a culture shock, so we try to prepare them for interacting with the children and teachers,” Wang said.

Technology implementation is the next step for Dream Corps.

“Now we have hundreds of alumni from all over the world, and we’re able to get more technology into the neighborhoods,” Wang said.

Dream Corps has also started creating technology blocks for Chinese teachers to use and communicate with.

“We’re working towards long-term communication with the schools so we can stay in touch with students and teachers after we leave,” Wang said.