Seven students from the University of Macau (UM) Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College (MLC), led by resident fellow Dr Larry Liang Qingning, recently participated in a service learning trip to the famous Yunnan tobacco production base — Nanmen village and Dongnan village in Shaxi town, Jianchuan country, Dali Bai autonomous prefecture. 

MLC initiated the ‘Thanksgiving Trip’ activity in the 2017/2018 academic year. Every summer, the college selects an alma mater of MLC students and organises an exchange trip to the school. In addition to teaching students to give back to society and express their gratitude towards their alma maters, the activity also helps to promote UM and the residential college system to people outside Macao. This year, the delegation visited Dianchi Resort Experimental School in Kunming city, which is the alma mater of MLC resident Hou Yunhan. The activity was highly praised by teachers and students from the experimental school. They believe that the idea of educating students to be grateful and contribute to their alma maters is very meaningful. 

During the visit, UM students publicised the health hazards of smoking and taught the locals how to maintain personal hygiene. They also taught them health knowledge, such as how to prevent diabetes. In addition, the UM students distributed hand sanitizer and soap to villagers and encouraged them to wash their hands before meals. The activities were well received by local villagers. They praised the students for their concerns for their health and their sense of social responsibility. 

UM students also helped sanitation workers in the historic district of Lijiang to clean up the streets in early morning hours, through which the students learned the importance of environmental protection and good civic ethics. The act of the students influenced some tourists to join the clean-up.

For the full version, please refer to the Chinese version. 

Source: Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College

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