Kids are getting hands-on experience inside the food safety inspection vehicle. (Photo from Yongpai APP)

Amid the summer heat, the Shengjia Community Party-Masses Service Center in Luotuo Subdistrict, Zhenhai, has once again become a vibrant paradise filled with children’s laughter. With the launch of the "Little Migratory Birds" Summer Camp, Shengjia Community continues its 18-year legacy of warmth, providing a safe, enriching, and joyful haven for the children of migrant workers in the area.

Over the course of half a month, 36 treasure-packed classes will make this summer unforgettable. This year’s camp features a rich lineup: six themed courses—Safety Guardianship, Talent Discovery, Intangible Cultural Heritage Exploration, Upcycled Crafts, and Red Legacy Journeys—will ensure each day brims with novelty and fun. Among them, "Safeguarding Tongue-Tip Safety" became an instant hit, sparking the curiosity of budding young food enthusiasts.

"Discolouration, odd smells, or deformation in food are warning signs!" At the event, party member volunteers from Zhenhai District Market Supervision Administration, such as Shen Zhuo, transformed into "food safety mentors," demystifying junk food, unlabeled "three-no" products, and expired goods in simple terms. They brought real food packaging, teaching children hands-on how to identify key details like production dates, shelf life, manufacturers, and ingredient lists, while also sharing practical tips to "observe and sniff" for safety. The children listened intently, nodding in understanding as seeds of food safety awareness were quietly planted.

The highlight was the children’s visit to a food safety inspection vehicle. Guided by volunteers, they witnessed the entire "sampling-to-testing" process. When potato chips were placed into a professional device, real-time data flashed on the screen, drawing amazed gasps from children like Gao Xiaoya and Cheng Ruohan. "Snacks need ‘check-ups’ too!" they exclaimed. "We’ll learn to check expiration dates and become our family’s ‘little food safety guardians’!"

Silver Spark Volunteer Wang Jianli shares endless chess fun with the kids. (Photo from Yongpai APP)

While the "Tongue-Tip Safety Crusade" heated up, the chess classroom saw children locked in strategic battles across the chessboard. The class was led by Wang Jianli, a 67-year-old "silver-haired" community volunteer. Early in the camp’s planning phase, Wang had volunteered, hoping to use chess to spark wisdom, hone thinking skills, and bring joy through the game. "This isn’t just about passing on knowledge," remarked a Shengjia Community representative. "It’s a vivid reflection of neighbourly solidarity."

Eighteen years of unwavering commitment, steadfast in purpose. Since its start in the summer of 2008, the Shengjia "Little Migratory Birds" Summer Camp has held a simple yet heartfelt mission: to ease the burden of working parents during the summer "gap" by solving childcare challenges, giving children a safe and joyful "classroom of happiness."

"Over eighteen years, with support from party member volunteers, ‘silver-haired’ volunteers, youth volunteers, women’s federation volunteers, and others, nearly 1,500 visits by ‘little migratory birds’ have found growth and care in this ‘safe harbour’ right at their doorstep," the community representative shared.

Shengjia Community's "Little Migratory Birds" Summer Camp. (Photo from Yongpai APP)

"The Shengjia 'Little Migratory Birds' Summer Camp has long transcended basic childcare," added a Luotuo Subdistrict official. "Rooted in safety and soaring on the wings of all-round development—moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and practical—it has built, through eighteen years of dedication, a haven of knowledge and joy for mobile childhoods. This is not only a tender guardianship of children’s healthy growth but also the community’s most sincere tribute to its migrant builders: strangers in the same land, yet ‘Shengjia’—a home away from home."

Source: Yongpai

Reporter: Zheng Kaixia

Correspondent: Zhang Chaoliang

Editor: Ye Ke, Zhou Shengli (intern)