The Importance of Follow-through
Sunday, 16 November 2008
When I was a young boy and learning how to play tennis, the coach was always reminding me that it was not enough simply to hit the ball. The follow-through movements were also important to ensure that the action was effective. As you can see in the (admittedly posed) photo of me when I was aged 10 (above), I needed all the advice I could get on the importance of follow-through.
This week has been an important time of following through several significant projects. On Tuesday evening I invited the students who had travelled with me in August to North Korea to 
my home. Apart from simply getting together, an important reason was to watch the movie “Crossing the Line” about four US soldiers who had defected to North Korea and established new lives for themselves in Pyongyang. However, we also reflected on an extremely encouraging letter we had received from the Kowloon North Rotary Club and discussed some ways of following up our ‘goodwill initiative’, including embarking on speaking engagements in Hong Kong.
This is an interesting time to be pursuing links in North Korea. The health of the ‘Dear Leader’, Comrade Kim Jong Il, is the subject of widespread media speculation, and many observers of North Korean affairs are even speculating on the leadership succession (for example, the fascinating discussion HERE). In that context, I 
received the exciting news just yesterday that a substantial pledge of financial support will again be forthcoming so that the initiative to build goodwill and understanding with young North Koreans can continue into next year. The North Korean initiative, which began in early 2005 on behalf of United World Colleges, is confirmed on a year-by-year basis. Knowing that we will be able to take another group of students from the College to North Korea in summer 2009 is indeed thrilling.
Other important follow-up work occurred this week with the group of GCAT students that I accompanied to Guizhou last week on the project to help establish medical clinics. The students have returned determined to raise 
the funds to build a third medical clinic, preferably in the village of Xian E where we met a very committed doctor whose work is being severely undermined by the poor facilities she has to endure. The cost of a new medical clinic would be about HK$50,000 (just US$6450), which we hope will be achievable for the sake of the 1000 people who live in this extremely needy village.
In another important action of follow-through work, each of the students who went to Guizhou completed an evaluation of the trip and their experiences during this week. The feedback was extremely encouraging, and I would like to share just a few of the many inspirational comments I received:
“The highlight of the trip for me was being able to partake in the Miao dances and interact with the locals instead of passively watching as a mere tourist. It was really heart-warming to 
feel so at home somewhere so foreign, and knowing that I was helping these people who made my experience so enjoyable served as further motivation to do more and give it my all. Seeing those who were benefitting from our work and how grateful they were gave me such a sense of contribution – that the efforts of a small group of people, banded together by one vision, could impact the lives of real people in ways far greater than we had ever imagined. Happiness really is the greatest reward.”
“I will never forget the village doctor in Xian E because when she started sharing her story, she gave me a feeling of trust. And when I saw her tears in her eyes, I could feel her pain, her 
desperation. Looking inside the clinic was another shocking moment. The bed for the patient was also her bed, and if someone had to stay they slept together in the bed, or she stayed up all night. Or maybe the couch, but there were holes in it, it was very old and worn with age. Visiting the clinic made me think and made me realize a lot of things – we are so lucky with what we have, the chances that we get and where we are. But here I had the feeling of I want to do more than anything else, and I’m glad that we want to make a project to raise money for her clinic.”
“The worst thing about the trip was going to toilets which do not have doors. They were mostly very smelly and dirty. The worst one that I went to was all muddy and wet. This makes me really appreciate what we have back at home.”
“The day we spent at Majiang secondary school teaching English was a real surprise for me. The first surprise was the moment when we walked through the electronic gate of the school. 
I hadn’t expected the school to be this huge and beautiful. Then, another surprise followed when we walked towards the main building with, I believe, almost all the students looking and waving at us from the windows. The English classes were fantastic although we had to change plans for the second class because the room was too small to play a game we planned. I did expect them to pay attention and co-ordinate well with us, but what we received was far more than attention and co-ordination. They showed enthusiasm to learn from us and some of them asked really wise questions, and these made me believe that we did teach them something and they did learn from us.”
“One of the main surprises to me on the trip was the sheer desolation of some of the areas that we went to. I had heard that some of the medical clinics in the area were very dilapidated, but what I imagined was far nicer than what was actually the situation. The old 
medical clinics were no more than hand-made shacks supported by wooden planks. The standards of living in the area (especially the shelters) should be improved because the conditions of living are just unbearable in some places.”
“The worst thing about the trip was the toilet experience!!! I am not a complainer, or else I wouldn’t be accepted into the UWC community in the first place, but the toilet I was so “fortunate” to step into in Chengzhong Miao Village was pretty shocking. It wasn’t the smell or the design of the toilet that I couldn’t take. Not at all. But it was the fact that there were maggots all over the “hole” and they were crawling up to my direction. I have this personal fear of maggots therefore it was the worst thing about the trip. The rest of the trip was very satisfying and enjoyable in every way.”
“The highlight of the trip for me was helping to build the new clinic at Chengzhong because although I have participated in many different kinds of social service before, I have never tried to help build houses or clinics before. Therefore, this was a completely new experience 
for me. We learned a lot from the construction workers and their example mixing cement, carrying bricks and laying bricks. This special opportunity reminds me of the slogan during the Mao era “Learn from the peasants”, which was exactly what we did. During the construction, I talked with my ‘tutor’ and from him I learned more about the life of migrant workers throughout China nowadays. He worked everyday (except on rainy days) and 13 hours a day. His home is in Sichuan and he could only return there once a year during Lunar New Year. Comparing myself to him, I found myself really lucky to have access to good education and not have to leave my family like him.”
“The trip to Guizhou was a life changing experience personally and, hopefully, for the people in the villages we visited. It gave me a better understanding of China and the lives of the people in the rural areas of the country. The issues that affect the Miao minority groups became clearer for us and with the knowledge gained, I feel it is our obligation to do more to 
address them. The trip was well rounded and it allowed us to do several activities, visit different places, all with the purpose of sharing the richness of Chinese culture with those of us who are foreigners. In the end the whole experience served as a wake up call. It made us ask ourselves if we are taking advantage of the school’s resources and the opportunities given to make our time in the college as productive as it can be, and at the same time make us feel thankful for those opportunities. In conclusion it feels like a privilege to have been able to go to China, but now that we are back home it has turned into a responsibility to share what we learned and start to think about actions to be done and eventually contribute to improve the quality of life of the Majiang people.”
“I will never forget the story told by the Doctor Long at the medical clinic in Xian E. The story 
was about a girl who was sick and her parents came to Doctor Long for help. Although Doctor Long understood really well that she could not cure the girl due to insufficient medical equipment in her clinic, the parents insisted that Doctor Long would have to help them because she had cured the girl last time. Doctor Long suggested that the girl should be sent to the hospital in the county centre for medical treatment, but this was not possible because local people believe that if anyone dies in a vehicle, then the vehicle is ‘unlucky’ and can never be used again. For that reason, no-one was willing to help the girl get to hospital. Without any other methods available, the doctor could only give the girl an intravenous drip, even though she knew it would not be useful in this case. In the end, Doctor Long had to watch helplessly as the girl died in her clinic. From this moving story, I believe that we should help improve the medical conditions in rural medical clinics and educate the rural population to discard their superstitious attitudes.”
By the way, if YOU want to help with GCAT’s project to build a medical clinic in Xian E, please feel VERY welcome to assist in any way you can! Just let me know; my e-mail address is scodrington@gmail.com.
A photo of me at the age of 10, pretending I knew how to play tennis in the driveway of our house.
