Touching hearts and minds

Other organizations, such as the United Hearts Youth Foundation have repaid the efforts Anyuan made in protecting the Dongjiang River. In 2013, the youth foundation donated 300,000 yuan to build a primary school in the county. It has funded more than 110 schools nationwide, 13 of which are in Jiangxi province.

Elvis Kwok, who is in charge of supporting mainland schools at the foundation, has visited Anyuan four times. He said these visits enabled him to better understand what people in Jiangxi have done to protect the Dongjiang River, which supplies the water he drinks every day, and he appreciates their endeavors.

Kwok said that fostering exchanges between youths from Hong Kong and the mainland is a worthy cause. He has organized many trips to mainland schools for Hong Kong students to perform voluntary work. "I've been in touch with tens of thousands of rural students on the mainland, but none of them has been to Hong Kong," he says, expressing the hope that he can do more once the pandemic is over.

Growing up in the foothill of the Sanbaishan Mountain, Sun has understood the importance of protecting the Dongjiang River since he was a child. Now that his daughter studies at the school that was built in return for the local people's endeavors to protect the river, he said such a bond has resulted in mutual support.

Anyuan's residents might not have expected anything in return for their dedication, but what they have done has echoed loudly in the hearts of the people they have helped, and they have been treated with warmth and kindness in return.