After days of cold temperatures and heavy rain, we were finally greeted by sunshine today! In the courtyard of Yisheng Elementary School, sunlight streamed through the mountains, illuminating the boar-patterned archery targets. In the distance, I could hear the middle-grade students singing “Love is Gone” in class, with the delicate melody quietly flowing into my ears. Their voices were soft yet filled with infectious energy.
Soon, the fire brigade captain, who was there to teach drowning prevention, arrived. He mentioned how Fuxing District has limited personnel on duty and then unloaded all the teaching materials from his vehicle by himself. As the children arrived for class, they cheerfully greeted the captain, saying, “It’s been a while, handsome!” At first, I was surprised that the kids knew the captain, but I soon realized that the fire brigade regularly holds events for Children’s Day and Christmas, so they were familiar with each other.
The activity was divided into two sessions, one for lower grades and one for upper grades. The lower-grade session focused on building safety awareness and self-rescue techniques, while the upper-grade session extended to learning how to help drowning victims. Regardless of their grade level, all the children eagerly raised their hands, hoping to get a chance to try on the life jackets. Even if they didn’t get a chance to wear them, they still got to use other equipment, like lifebuoys and ropes, while listening to the explanations and practicing the use of the rescue tools.
When the firefighter asked, “Who knows how to swim?” surprisingly, only four or five students raised their hands across both sessions. But knowing how to swim isn’t enough; the students quickly recited safety rules for water activities and expressed correct safety concepts. They even knew about past incidents in nearby water areas, taking the firefighter’s reminders to heart.
By the time the event ended, it was lunchtime. As the staff began clearing the venue, we heard the school’s singer, Teacher Chiaorou, over the loudspeaker, singing a song she had composed for this year’s graduates. On every step down the stairs, we could hear the children singing along to this yet-to-be-released song while eating their lunch, a tune that had already taken root among Yisheng Elementary students.
Text by Zhang Zi-Yi
Edited by Li Ruo-Jia
Photos by Zhang Zi-Yi
As summer vacation approaches, children living in the mountains often head to the streams to cool off during the hot summer months. To raise awareness of water safety, we returned to Yixing Elementary School to hold a drowning prevention education course. This time, we invited the local fire brigade captain to lead the session, as he was quite familiar with this type of workshop. While setting up the event, the captain unloaded various teaching props from his vehicle, ready to pass on his knowledge to the children. To accommodate the different learning levels of younger and older students, he divided the course into two separate groups.
The upper-grade students began the first session, which included basic video lessons and hands-on experiences, such as wearing life jackets and practicing throwing rescue ropes. Whenever it was time for a quiz, nearly all the children enthusiastically raised their hands to participate, fully engaged in the activity. After attending several events, I noticed one significant difference between children from mountain schools and those from urban schools—the mountain kids are more eager to seize every opportunity and actively showcase their abilities.
During the session, the captain mentioned a tragic incident in which a middle school student drowned in a nearby stream. Almost all the children knew about the incident and could even identify the exact location where it happened. It was clear that this tragedy had left a deep impression on them, making them take the drowning prevention education more seriously and understand the importance of learning these skills. Although there wasn’t enough time to conduct the planned CPR training, the captain’s practical knowledge and experience left a profound educational impact on the children.
The second session was for the lower-grade students, where the video explanation was shortened, and they instead got to make floatation devices out of empty plastic bottles. During the hands-on activity, the children demonstrated commendable teamwork, cooperating with one another quietly and respectfully. When they needed help, they naturally turned to the older sisters assisting them, calling out “pretty sister” with innocent smiles, instantly winning everyone’s hearts.
In these few visits to the mountains, I have seen more than just beautiful scenery. I’ve also experienced the warmth of the people and the unique aspects of Atayal culture. I hope I’ll have the chance to step back into their world again someday, continuing to explore the unique charm and deep emotions found on this land.
Text by Wang Qian-Yu
Edited by Li Ruo-Jia|
Photos by Wang Qian-Yu
