Aviation workers achieve personal growth by interacting with local children

Civil aviation professionals have shared their passion for the skies with residents of a grassland area via a rural vitalization program, benefiting local people and achieving personal growth.

In 2012, China National Aviation, parent of Air China, the national carrier, established a paired-assistance relationship with Sonid Right Banner, a county-level area in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Since then, the company has sent many of its employees to the area to help eradicate poverty and boost rural vitalization projects.

Chen Ji, an Air China flight attendant, signed up for a teaching program. In June, she spent a day with primary school students from the banner's No 4 Primary School as one of more than 200 employees who participated in the teaching program.

She prepared for her lesson carefully and brought in some teaching materials, such as pilot and flight attendant uniforms, picture books about aviation safety and models of aircraft.

She invited the children to simulate the process of boarding, and organized a role-playing activity so they could pretend to be flight attendants.

"They can understand what it is like to be a flight attendant and our responsibilities," she said.

Chen spoke also about airports, vehicles on the runways and various jobs at airports, and told the students that safety is always the industry's top priority.

"During outdoor activities, the students proposed making paper planes. We raced to see whose plane flew farthest. The children wrote their wishes and dreams on the paper planes and let them soar. I had a wonderful day," she said.

"Some children asked whether they could travel without their parents. I told them that Air China offers a service that allows children ages 5 to 12 to travel alone. Flight attendants like me will keep them company during the entire trip."

As an experienced senior flight attendant, Chen is a member of Air China's "Golden Phoenix Crew", an award-winning team that honors the airline's best cabin crew members.

Deep understanding

While Chen shared her work experiences and offered an insider's view of the aviation industry, Wang Junfeng has a deeper tie with the region and a more profound understanding of the culture, people and society.

He served as the banner's deputy head from July 2018 to August 2021, and is one of three Air China employees to hold the post and oversee local poverty alleviation and rural vitalization work.

Supported by the group, Wang organized resources for the area and helped lift the local people out of poverty, a feat that was achieved by April 2019.

The focus of his job then turned to maintaining that status and boosting rural vitalization work. During his three-year tenure, he visited most of the villages in the banner.

Recalling his first impression of the area when he visited in 2016, Wang said it was a huge, tough environment and people's lives mainly relied on nature's bounty.

"Our company has done a lot to help solve practical problems, such as assisting local residents in tackling the difficulties of accessing water and electricity," he said, adding that help has also been provided to train local officials and young talent.

In addition to his professional ties, Wang has a special affection for the region. "My parents used to live in Inner Mongolia and I was born here. Though I left the region when I was about 3 or 4 years old, I have always felt I have a strong tie to it," he said to explain why he signed up for the company's poverty alleviation program.

Wang's initial two-year term was extended to three years as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.

After returning to his post in Beijing as deputy director of Air China's pilot crew, Wang cherished his work and life more.

He also took his daughter to see the tough environment and living conditions in Sonid Right Banner, hoping she would remember "all the people in this world who haven't had the advantages that she has had".

While Chen planted the seed of civil aviation in children and Wang helped the region develop in many ways, Wang Xu, a ground crew member with a strong musical background, enthralled the local children with art.

He helped train a choir from Sonid No 4 Primary School and conducted a performance.

"Children from the banner are very innocent and have simple characters. They have dreams, but sometimes they lack the courage to pursue them, compared with children from big cities such as Beijing," he said.

He also noted that the children are less confident and more obedient, and they always follow instructions and never question orders.

"I took different approaches, such as trying to be their friend and family member, so they gradually raised questions such as why did they have to do breathing exercises in vocal training and why was my method different from what they are used to do? I answered every question carefully and they were very happy," he said.

Wang Xu said he had gained a lot from the experience.

"I'm very lucky to have had such a rare experience and feel the simplicity and innocence of these children from this remote area. It was also a challenge for me to guide a group of children without vocal or choral experience to give a performance," he said.

He is grateful to Air China for arranging the schedule and helping him change work shifts.

"Many employees from my company, my co-workers, have helped the children realize their dream of singing," he said.