A campaign was launched by the "Little Migrant Bird Fund" around this year's Spring Festival to send gift packages to rural migrant and left-behind children (whose parents had left home to work elsewhere) during the festival.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many parents, who were migrant workers, had no choice but to stay put in the cities of their workplaces during the Spring Festival, or traditional Chinese New Year, which fell on February 1 this year.

The "Little Migrant Bird Fund," which was launched by China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) and KFC China in 2016, kicked off the campaign to convey loving care of people, from all segments of society (across the country) to the rural left-behind children from Wuwei of Northwest China's Gansu Province and Nanchang of East China's Jiangxi Province. KFC China is a unit of Yum China Holdings Inc.

During the campaign, the fund purchased three different packages of gifts, which contained daily necessities, learning materials and sports equipment.

One of the recipients is Jiayao, a third-grade primary school student in Liangzhou, a district in Wuwei.

When she was a little girl, the marriage of her parents came to an end. Since then, she has lived with her grandparents. 

Jiayao was very excited when she received a package of household articles, which included a down jacket, a scarf, a hat and a pair of mittens. The girl said she hoped to receive a parcel of learning tools next time, as she could use the listening & reading device in the parcel to listen to stories.

Like Jiayao, Xiaojing is another recipient of the package.

She has three younger sisters. Their parents have worked in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for most time of the year and only come home during the Spring Festival.

In the past, only after supper Xiaojing could find time to do her homework, because her younger sisters often asked her to play with them, when she returned from school.

In addition, she often zoned out in Chinese class and found it difficult to write a composition. The arrival of the listening & reading device, which contains about 200 pieces of classical Chinese and foreign literature and many English learning materials for children and teenagers, came to her rescue. It allowed her to focus on homework while sharing interesting stories with her siblings.

Thanks to the electronic device, Xiaojing has made progress in her Chinese and English study.

During the Lantern Festival, which was celebrated on February 15 this year, Lingzi (a schoolmate of Xiaojing) received a schoolbag and the listening & reading device from the "Little Migrant Bird Fund" and a set of crayons from his father.

The boy often draws lots of pictures, and listens to the simplified version of classical Chinese and foreign literature, together with his younger sister. The children have become good story-tellers with the help of the device.

Xiaochao, a second-grade primary school student in Liangzhou, and his fourth-grade brother live with their grandparents.

In the past, what bothered their grandparents most was that they often quarreled with each other over trivial matters.

Since the arrival of the package from the fund, the siblings have had less fights. 

The parcel contains a football, a pair of table tennis, a set of chess and a schoolbag. The activities (such as playing football and/or chess together) have enriched their extracurricular life and improved the brotherhood between them.

Speaking in an interview, Xiaochao disclosed that his dream was to become an outstanding football player when he grew up.

To promote the campaign, the "Little Migrant Bird Fund" has publicized the life stories of its teenage recipients in about 7,900 KFC outlets and its online platform during the Spring Festival.

Many Internet users have expressed their best wishes to these underprivileged children, who have replied to the users with sincere thanks.