Shine a light

While the Olympic torch was passing throughout the world, the simple glow of "candlelight" was passing from the German Embassy School in Beijing to a primary school in the rural area of Hebei province.

Compared with the global ceremony of the 2008 Olympic torch relay, candlelight is simpler but much more durable, a low-key effort that has nonetheless burned brightly for years. The charity Candlelight Project has been driven by students, teachers and parents from the German Embassy School since 2002 to raise money to improve the infrastructure in the Houcheng Primary School of Hebei province. Houcheng Primary School is a boarding school built in 1991 , which currently has about 340 students and 30 teachers.

It was a special day for the school on a recent morning as the students lined both sides of a street to warmly welcome their German friends to help inaugurate a new 270-sqm multipurpose hall.

Wang Meng, a student representative in Houcheng Primary School of Hebei province, holds a loaf of bread and a bag of salt, gifts from German architect Christian Hennecke. According to German customs, people give salt and bread to friends to celebrate a new house.

"I'm quite delighted to see that the long-awaited cafeteria and indoor entertainment room is finally finished," says, Dagmar Diederichs, a German woman speaking slowly in awkward Chinese at the opening ceremony. "Though it is not equivalent to the landmark buildings for the Beijing Olympic Games, it's monumental architecture for us all."

While the sole microphone was working erratically and her Chinese was not always fluent, she spoke carefully and loudly to ensure that the hundreds of Chinese students on the playground could hear her clearly, and her message was warmly received.

Standing on the makeshift speakers' platform Christian Hennecke, the designer of the multipurpose hall and an architect with Cui Kai Design Studio of China Architectural Design & Research Group, says: "I heard about the candlelight projects about two years ago and got the idea to design a warm place for the children to have dinners and play.

"It's such a small project, and really was not always a piece of cake. But thanks to the great support from my boss Cui Kai, my colleague Shan Lixin and many other warm-hearted Chinese and German friends, the building has finally become a reality.

"None of us can make money from the project, but we really enjoy the process. In the past months, we have learned to understand each other and build a trustworthy relationship between German and Chinese friends," he says.

Invited by the Candlelight charity, the German-based Siemens Factory Automation, Engineering Ltd donated 200,000 yuan and many electrical supplies to the project.

"It's corporate soical responsibility that drives us to join the charity event," says Hauke Otten, Siemens' chief financial officer and deputy general manager. "As a leading engineering company, we respect knowledge. We are delighted to get this opportunity to make some contributions to the education in China's rural areas."

"There are so many people and organizations who should be named," Wang Qingbei, the Chinese teacher with German Embassy School, says. "The Candlelight Project gets great support from Embassy from the Federal Republic of Germany, which launched some social activities to raise charity funds for it. The Houcheng Urban Education Bureau also donated 20,000 yuan for the heating system of the classroom."

All the 300 German students in the German Embassy School are encouraged to help their Chinese peers in Hebei province and a respectful relationship has been built which enables both sides to learn about each other's culture. On the Chinese New Year 2008, each German student packed a gloves, books or self-baked cakes as little presents for the Chinese students.

Wang Qinglin, the schoolmaster of Houcheng Primary School, says: "With the charity funding from candlelight, the infrastructure of the village school has been improved a lot in recent years. There was only one single water tap for all 300 children, but now two wash rooms are in place."

"They also helped us to repair broken roofs, install leak-proof windows, doors and a heating system. Our teachers were also supported in IT and English-learning. We will try our best to educate the students and teach them to pass the candlelight whenever they have ability to help the others," Wang adds.

At the ceremony's close, the Chinese students began to festively sing and dance to express their appreciation to their German friends. One of the songs was named Thanksgiving Heart.

"Keep a smile on your face," are the last words from the music teacher to her students before the performance. Undoubtedly, music and a smile are the best universal communication tools, spanning the language barriers to show love.

At lunch, the multipurpose hall was opened for the first time. Unlike the chilly weather outside, the hall's atmosphere was quite warm and cozy.

"I like the new building very much," says Zheng Zhiyan, a 13-year-old girl says with a shy smile. "On the Christmas Eve last year, I received a delicate gift from the German students. Maybe this year, we can celebrate it together in the new multipurpose hall." Nearby the Chinese girl, a cute German girl and his father were enjoying their lunch. "My wife is working for the German Embassy School," says Christoph Netesheim, the husband of Felicitas Winzek and a senior partner with the Boston Consulting Group.

. "As the member of the Candlelight charity, she kept very busy, especially last year. I'm delighted to see their efforts have paid off and we had time to join the great ceremony as a support."

Besides friendly people, many environmentally friendly designs are found in the hall. A pre-existing kitchen wall is used as a wall for the new building and saved the cost and resources needed for a new one. A pipe from the boiler in the kitchen is extended to the room to utilize the heat produced by cooking. The roof and one wall are largely made from safety glass, which helps provide more daylight and ensures the children's safety.

All the tables and benches in the hall are German-style furniture; reminiscent of the style found the well-known Oktoberfest halls. For large parties, the tables can be conveniently folded out to make more room.

"The multipurpose hall is my first small, but tough, project but maybe not the last," says Hennecke on the bus back to Beijing. "Our next plan is to build two more toilets for the children. They are planned to be ecological and economical ones."

(China Daily 04/28/2008 page8)