Last Sunday (22nd) saw the end of the first summer camp for the children of Guangdong's migrant workers. For 6 days, the kids had a lot of fun visiting the Asian Games venues, the University Town, the Guangdong Science Center and the Chimelong Wildlife Zoo. These children, the children of the migrant workers working in Guangdong, are a special group, whose number is not small- 300,000 in Guangzhou, 58 million nationwide. In this feature story, we will take a closer look at the difficulties they face in their everyday lives and what can be done to improve their fate.

Migrant workers in Guangdong have long been an important part of the working force, helping develop the province. Certainly, they earn a better wage here than when they were working back home in the fields. However, to do so, they sacrificed the time they could spend with their children who are back home living in the village, usually taken care of by their grandparents. Many of these kids only get to see their parents once a year, and for some, once every several years.

Xu Huimin, a girl from a village in Hunan Province, came to visit her father last month who is working in Guangzhou. However, little Huimin spent only half a month here before she had to head back home. Her father was most sad when he saw her off at the train station:

"recording" She spent most of her time alone here at home. I had to work every day so I couldn't spend much time with her. "recording"

Another migrant worker in Guangzhou, Mr. Zeng, also had similar feelings:

"recording"  I was hoping that my kid could get to see and learn more things here in Guangzhou. But unfortunately I couldn't provide the conditions. I'm always busy working, and my kid is not familiar with the city, he can't go out on his own. Besides, money is also an issue. "recording"

In recent years however, the municipal government and society as a whole have started to pay more attention to the well-being of these children, and this year, a number of activities such were organized as part of a summer camp. This included a number of outings, some to entertain the children, like to the zoo, the movies, and the theater, but also some to introduce the city.

At a special musical play named "Wild with Joy", 400 kids including these migrant workers' children and those with disabilities, joined the audience. There, four migrant workers' kids even participated in the play themselves. Fan Wenhui, a 10 years-old girl told us it was an experience of a lifetime:

"recording" When I am back home in the village, all I can do is embroidery and stitching. I hardly have any entertainment. "recording"

For Xiao An, a 6 years-old girl, it was the first time for her to go to the theatre:

"recording" I'm very happy I had the opportunity to come see the show. This has made the best of my summer vacation. "recording"

Apart from arranging summertime activities for these children, the Guangdong government is also striving to provide more for those who do live here with their parents. The Hukou, that's China's essential household registration system, used to forbid children registered outside of Guangzhou to attend a public schools in the city. The situation is slowly changing and took a turn in February this year, when a newly-issued regulation allowed migrant workers' children between the age of 6 and 15 to attend public schools. This change means that a great number of children will be enrolling into public schools this september, a envied solution compared to expensive private schools which thrived previously.

What's more, Zeng Jinhua, the director of the Guangdong Youth Research Center, told us Guangdong has started to set up 57 "Homes of Hope" to help migrant workers' children develop. What are "Homes of Hope"?

"recording" Homes of Hope are being built mostly in villages where the migrant workers' children live. These centers will create a good environment to help them study and will provide them with facilities to exercise and stage cultural activities. I hope these efforts will raise people's awareness of the need to help these children. "recording"

Next week, the summer holidays will end and a new school semester will begin for these children. Let's hope they have a nice school year, both those in Guangdong and those returning home to distant provinces.