Left-Behind Children in Special Schools
The Youth Alliance for Mental Health initiated three programs in Bozhou No. 1 School in Anhui to approach the issue of poor mental health of left-behind children in different ways. Many of the students there are left-behind children, children who remain in rural regions of China while their parents leave to work in urban areas. We ran one program in the high school department and the other in the middle school department of the School. In Bozhou No.1 High School, we have led high school seniors of left-behind children, as Gaokao is approaching, through mindfulness meditation sessions and shared methods to cope with stress and anxiety resulting from this process with them. We visited younger students, in Bozhou No. 1 Middle School, sharing mindfulness practices with them and guiding them through the exercises. We connected with them personally by talking to them and listening to their stories and struggles, developing long-term relationships online as well.
In addition, wanting to expand our impact to help more left-behind children, we partnered with Bozhou Psychological Society to launch a program organizing teachers of left-behind children in Bozhou together. We urged teachers to always pay attention to their students’ mental health and introduced them to different mindfulness techniques, which we emphasized they should share to their students. Sessions have been livestreamed. Aside from those on site, on average, 150+ people join us online in a session.
These programs continue, as we continue to run and facilitate these programs and activities online. We plan to return in the summer of 2023 in-person and extend our activities to other cities near Bozhou, for more left-behind children around the region.
The three approaches YAMH initiated to optimize our impact are 1. Leading the high school seniors, as Gaokao is approaching, through mindfulness meditation sessions and sharing methods to cope with stress and anxiety resulting from this process with them 2. Visiting younger students, sharing and guiding them through mindfulness exercises, and connecting with them personally by listening to their stories (Many actually proactively added my contact and have texted me for advice or emotion support!) 3. Organizing teachers of left-behind children at various schools in the area together, urging them to always pay attention to their students’ mental health, and introducing them to different techniques, which we emphasize they should introduce to their students. We include teachers of left-behind children in our efforts, in hope of spreading mindfulness and meditation and their powers to more disadvantaged youth, reaching as many left-behind children as possible. Sessions have been livestreamed. Aside from those on site, on average, 150+ people join us online in a session.
