Feature: Classroom in Ward

by Xinhua writer Yuan Quan

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The children are aged from 2 to 14 and their classroom always smells of disinfectant.

They all wear masks; most have no or thinning hair.

They are leukemia children.

About 10,000 to 15,000 Chinese children are diagnosed with leukemia each year, most of them in the 2 to 7 age group. Treatment usually lasts two to three years.

As well as enduring the pain of bone marrow treatments and chemotherapy, they say goodbye to normal life due to their low immunity. The disease confines them to the ward or home, isolating them from the outside world.

In Peking University First Hospital, in downtown Beijing, 80 percent of the leukemia children have come from elsewhere in China. To help them continue their studies, the Beijing New Sunshine Charity Foundation has cooperated with the hospital to run a free school since 2012.

The classroom, a public space in a corridor, welcomes children of ages. Generally, a full-time teacher and college student volunteers give two classes every week, each lasting 90 minutes. Courses include Chinese, math, English, health arts and science.

The idea was inspired by an eight-year-old boy named Zuo Yan, from Anhui Province. A decade ago, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and the foundation sponsored his treatment in Beijing. Volunteers found a picture he drew of his school days, with the words, "I miss school."

"I realized these children were very eager to keep learning," says Liu Zhengchen, who suffered leukemia in his university years and founded the foundation to help leukemia children in 2001.

However, Liu and his team found the children difficult to teach. Some close themselves up and rarely talk. Some are restless and uncooperative, always crying.

Most parents, understandably, are indulgent with their children. "I don't know how long his life will last," says one father. "I'll try my best to make him happy."

But Liu asks teachers to treat these children like all others. If a child has behavioral problems in class, he guides them to correct immediately.

"They'll eventually go back to school and their communities after recovering. Then nobody will care about them like their parents and doctors do," says Liu. "We want to help them fight the disease, but also expect they will have the ability to deal normal life."

Yu Maoyuan, 4, came from southwest China's Guizhou Province. She was diagnosed with leukemia two months ago and was referred to doctors in Beijing "for better treatment".

On March 18, she came to the class for the first time. The lesson was about making a telephone with string and two paper cups. Teacher Liu Weixiong wanted to teach children how sound moves through the simple experiment.

At first, Yu was timid. She lowered her head and leaned on her mother. She did not say anything, but followed the teachers' instructions.

"She didn't want to go, so I took her to the class," says Yu's mother, who was encouraged by the student volunteers. "My daughter hasn't gone to kindergarten for a long time."

The disease has changed her. The chemotherapy annihilated her cancer cells but weakened her. Yu's mother said she once was an active girl, who liked singing and dancing. Now she is quiet. "She seems upset, but doesn't want to tell us."

Yu completed the paper cup telephone in half an hour. When she was asked to test it, she raised the cup and said, "Mum, I love you."

Everybody cheered. Yu laughed and said it again, louder. Her mother, on the verge of tears, said it was the happiest day since Yu first went to hospital.

In the ward, happy times are short, and pain can strike at any time.

Sun Peirui, 10, drew a picture of a golden lion which was put on the wall. However, he stopped coming to class when he became too weak due to a new phase of chemotherapy. His parents had abandoned him after divorcing. A welfare home took him in and sent him to Beijing from his hometown Shandong Province for treatment last year.

His nose bleeds frequently for up to an hour. His mouth is full of sores, making it hard to eat.

"He missed the class very much and asked me when he could return," says care worker Bu Xiurong, 62.

Many college students have helped as teachers, but they can't know parenting.

Lyu Wanxin, a sophomore student volunteer, was impressed by a boy who cried at having to wear his mask. Lyu failed to pacify him. "The job needs more than I expected," he says.

Doctors and nurses cannot ease the mental stress of their patients.

Liu Weixiong wants more people with social experiences to join the program, as the classroom is about company as much as study, he says. He used to care for mentally ill children in Malaysia and Singapore.

"We welcome the elderly, who can share their stories and experience. They are also needed for a child's growth."

The foundation has opened 26 ward classes in and outside hospitals in 13 provinces. More than 5,000 children have attended them. However, they have just 17 full-time or part-time teachers like Liu Weixiong.

The pupils also include children with cancer and kidney diseases, who need long-term treatment.

Liu Zhengchen plans to expand the faculty and provide more courses for different school ages.

"I hope we can help more children with serious illnesses maintain their learning and social adaptability, so they can return to normal life as soon as possible." Enditem