She is Yuan Ye, the PE teacher at Dongsheng primary school, Shuangliu district of Chengdu. She is currently providing support at the People's Primary School in Batang County, Garze, and serves as vice principal of the school.

　

It was in August 2015 that the 26-year-old Yuan Ye applied for leaving her present position to teach at the remote Batang County.

 

Apart from her daily teaching work, Yuan Ye also plans to make her secret dream come true, which is to cultivate students here as football lovers and stars, for they enjoy unique advantages for playing football as the vast natural grasslands provide them plenty of space.

 

The dream is beautiful, but reality is harsh. The children here don't even know whether a football is square or round, let alone actually play football. However, she didn't lose heart; she knew that she could only start from scratch and chose to push on and be strong.

 

She formed a football team in the school and it was the first football team in Tibetan-inhabited areas. In order to develop children's interest in football, she brought them into the grassland to demonstrate the movements over and over, and patiently explained the key points for playing football.

 

When the children fell over, Yuan Ye encouraged them to stand up and fight on; when they were injured, Yuan Ye would personally bandage them; when the children lost patience, Yuan Ye would persuade them to be self-confident through her sincere and genuine caring, and give them courage and confidence to overcome all difficulties.

 

Efforts have finally brought returns. Under careful training from Yuan Ye, these little football stars seem like little tigers before long when they are running with balls on the green grassland.

 

On October 19, 2016, Yuan Ye set up the first men's football team in People’s Primary School of Batang County. With the dream that it would be great if one the children can make it into the national team, Yuan Ye urges herself to keep on working hard!

 

On the school playground in early morning, the students neatly line up as the school loudspeaker belts out morning exercises. Their vigorous and rhythmic stretching movements to the music have become a unique scene in a school on the snow-covered plateau. And this particular morning exercise is the work of Yuan Ye.

 

For her PE classes, Yuan Ye researches and consults numerous reference materials. She also asks senior teachers for advice about teaching methods and makes every PE class full of fun in line with students’ situation. Students are always delighted to attend her classes.

 

As the vice principal in charge of moral education, Yuan Ye not only pays attention to the students' academic results, but also makes the most of her spare time by talking with the students so that she knows everyone of them well. In students' eyes, Yuan Ye is like an elder sister.

 

When knowing that one girl called Tashi Yungdrung was struggling with financial difficulties, Yuan Ye was quick to give her a hand. Tashi Yungdrung's family live in a rented 30-square-meter room and her parents have no official job or other source of income. What's worse, her father is in poor physical condition and can only rely on temporary work to keep the family going. She also has a little sister studying her first year of primary school, so life is tough for them.

 

Yuan Ye decided to fund her by providing her study costs, clothing and school supplies.

 

As an aid-Tibet sports teacher, Yuan Ye's deep affection for students there has certainly left a lasting impression. She borrowed the words from Ai Qing's poem to describe her feeling: "My eyes are often filled with tears because I have so much love for this land."