In the westernmost primary school in China, the Jigen Town Primary School in Uchia County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, children were sharing with our children at Hiba Academy Hangzhou about their dreams and daily life.
It was a heart-warming scene captured while our nursery children were enjoying their project named “How we differ”. Ms Ling, mum of Nemo from EY4, discovered what Jigen Primary School needed during her trip and helped us build the connection with them. Then we had an activity organised by the nursery children themselves and supported by both the teachers and parents, imparting the beauty of individuality to the children, while they explored the distinct value of each individual and demonstrated our Hiba values of kindness, respect and responsibility.
Erica Yang
Deputy Head of Nursery
Building a bridge crossing
thousands of miles away
In spite of that, children at Jigen Town are confident and cheerful, assertive and enthusiastic. They shared their lives with us and found that we each have our own happiness in our daily lives no matter how different our lifestyles may be.
The lifestyle of the children at Jigen Town broadened the horizons of Hiba children. They were amazed because "wow, they can ride horses to school!", and marvelled at the fact that "children of my age can cook meals for their whole family every day!"
Building meaning and links
with passion and kindness
Delving into the lives of children in Jigen sparked Hiba children’s interest in the unique Xinjiang culture. They started to wonder about the meaning of Children’s Day and how to build links with their new friends. They wanted to remotely celebrate the festival that belongs to them and learn from the children in Jigen through mutual support.
Hiba children wanted to strengthen their connection with the children at Jigen on Children's Day this year. They thought carefully about how they could help them and finally decided to raise funds through a fair to purchase teaching materials for children at Jigen Village.
Being young and powerful
Under the same sky, we are different.
We transformed this event into a Children’s Day themed celebration named “Hiba and Jigen: mutual help and connection.”The children learned that although living under the same sky, people have different lifestyles and that we respect each other’s unique values. Through this activity, children from both schools learned from each other and witnessed happiness in each other’s eyes. It enabled the children to deepen their understanding of being Inclusive, which is also a characteristic of the Hiba identity.
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