Lessons on the move with herds

The Kazak people in Altay prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are among the communities that continue to maintain a largely intact nomadic way of life.

Each year, local herders move between three major seasonal pastures — spring-autumn, summer and winter — relocating, on average, every 12 days. Following the availability of water and grass, they move with the seasons, sustaining a way of life passed down through generations.

For children under 3 who travel with their families between pastures, access to regular early education can be a challenge. They need age-appropriate learning activities, guidance for parents on child development and adequate nutritional care, but a fixed preschool system is often beyond their reach.

In Jeminay county, Altay prefecture, a team of Kazak women volunteers has developed a way to bridge that gap. For seven years, they have worked in remote pastoral areas, carrying teaching materials between winter and summer pastures and following the migration routes of herding families. Their work brings early-learning activities directly to young children on the grasslands, creating mobile classrooms that move alongside the herds.

Inside herders' yurts, the coaches introduce picture books, organize games and teach children to recognize colors. The visits allow parents to continue their daily work while their children learn and develop.

The volunteer home-visiting team is part of the Huiyu China program, a public-interest initiative funded and organized by the China Development Research Foundation. In late 2016, the foundation signed a cooperation agreement with the Jeminay county government to launch the program locally.

According to the latest figures available in April, the program now covers 41 administrative villages across the county's three townships and three towns, as well as communities and companies associated with the 186th Regiment of the 10th Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

The county has 28 infant-care coaches, eight supervisors, an assistant chief supervisor and a chief supervisor. By April, 402 children aged 6 to 36 months were registered in the program, with six newly enrolled that month and 18 completing their service period. Since the program began, a cumulative total of 4,009 children have benefited from its services.