Siri Holmebakk: Rural education makes Yunnan my second home
“I still remember that when I was 11, I found a book called Teach Yourself Chinese on the bookshelf of my parents,” recalls Siri Holmebakk.
Siri was struck by the beautiful strokes and graphic structures of Chinese characters instantly. She couldn’t help herself but try to write one after another characters on papers.
“It was at this moment that my curiosity about China started to grow, although I could barely speak any Chinese,” she smiles.
Siri Holmebakk gives a speech on the 2022 Philanthropy Festival in Shanghai.
Siri is from Denmark. Since 2008 when she came to study Chinese language at the Southwest Minzu University in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, China has already become her second home. Prior to this, Siri worked as a middle school teacher in Denmark for over 25 years. She also took an opportunity to volunteer in Africa. It’s fair to say that to Siri, education is never just a job or profession, but a lifelong vocation.
After coming to Yunnan province in 2012, Siri immediately involved herself in the management and service of an education development project known as “Preschools of the Future”. Initiated by the Humana People to People China, a nonprofit organization which aims at ameliorating the livelihood of China's rural residents, this project has been focusing on providing basic and necessary pre-school education to the children in central and western areas of the country.
In her view, preschool education which covers young children from the ages of infancy to 6 years old is particularly crucial, because it plays as the foundation for the future development and lifelong happiness of all individuals. Moreover, children having grown up with self-confidence as well as physical and mental health are valuable treasures to every country and society.
Siri visits a project in Mengzi city, southeast Yunnan's Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture.
At present, Siri Holmebakk is the Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai Huji Foundation. Since its establishment in 2017, the foundation has been keen on running and expanding the “Preschools of the Future” project in a number of prefectures and cities across Yunnan, such as Wenshan, Honghe, Pu’er and Zhaotong under authorization.
“As we incorporate classes with outdoor activities, and combine modern education system with local ethnic cultures, the potential of each child has been better found and developed. Children also feel more confident about themselves than before,” Siri explains.
So far, Siri has been living and working in Yunnan for 11 years consecutively. What impresses her the most are the dramatic changes that she has witnessed in Yunnan’s rural areas.
Siri talks to preschool teachers in Mengzi city.
Siri says she has visited about 50 villages across Yunnan over these years. In the past, many villages had no paved roads. Electricity and portable water were not available either.
“But today, modern and well-equipped houses are pretty common to rural residents in Yunnan. This can’t have been achieved without China’s long-standing effort on poverty alleviation,” she says.
She believes that improved infrastructures are helping create a different future for every rural child.
In her spare time, Siri enjoys mountain hiking and strolling. By immersing herself in the life of Yunnan, she starts to appreciate those picturesque landscapes and genuinely understand how diverse and unique Yunnan’s ethnic traditions can be.
Meanwhile, Siri never forgets about her hobby that has been developed since her childhood, which is — of course — writing Chinese characters. This has almost become a daily routine for her.
Siri spends time with pre-school children in Yunnan.
“I haven’t thought about leaving Yunnan. I want to live here as long as I can.”
Reporting and trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong (Yunnan Daily); photographs providing by the interviewee