Celebrating 100th anniversary of CPC | China-built school brings hope to uruguayan children

Editor's Note: To celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in July, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) has selected 100 representative stories of the country's foreign aid to support the development of other developing nations over the past years. This episode tells the story of how a China-built primary school transformed the lives of underprivileged children in Uruguay.

There is a primary school named after the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the most underdeveloped area of Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay.

The school was built in 1999 and its name was formally changed by the Uruguayan government from No. 319 Primary School to School of the PRC in 2004.

A teacher at the PRC School in Montevideo, Uruguay introduces traditional Chinese paper-cutting art to her students on October 2, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Since then, the school has forged a special bond with China and received computers and other teaching facilities donated by the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, many Chinese volunteers have joined the teaching staff and taught courses on Chinese language, Chinese culture, calligraphy and paper-cutting art in a drive to further deepen the exchange and mutual learning between two countries in culture and education.

With the assistance of the Chinese government, the school built a new teaching complex that boasts nine classrooms with better facilities in 2019.

Its curricular arrangements have become more diverse and one of the newly added classrooms has been reserved for the Confucius Institute.

Fernando Lugris, Uruguayan ambassador to China, expressed heartfelt thanks to China for its valuable assistance to the South American country's education.

"The Chinese assistance brings hope to local children. When they see the new school building, they see their future in it," he added.

A photo taken on October 2, 2019 shows a teaching complex under construction in the PRC School in Montevideo, Uruguay. [Photo/Xinhua]