Afghan kids feel love from China

Mohammadi then decided to donate all the proceeds from the video to the school and to help equip the Afghan children's families with study desks.

In addition to the video's broadcast revenue on Chinese social media platforms, she received as many as 356 donations from her followers there, totaling 9,189 yuan ($1,422).

In February, Mohammadi visited Farhang again, gave gifts to the teachers "as encouragement for their hard work", and held class activities with the children.

The Afghan students did not know much about China, so she introduced China to them, showing them the map and national flag of China, and guiding them to learn about the Great Wall, pandas and kung fu.

Children drew pictures to show the China in their mind. Some drew the national flags of China, Afghanistan and Iran, depicting friendly relations among the three countries. A depiction of one of the small desks that the children were looking forward to receiving was also added, with the words "thank you" written in newly learned Chinese alongside.

"I wanted to thank you for giving us the desk. Thank you. I love you," Bahareh Hosseini, one of the students, wrote on her drawing.

"These gifts represent the donation of love from Chinese friends to the children at the school. That's why I call it China's goodwill," Mohammadi says.

Recent developments in Afghanistan have also stirred up concerns in Iran over a possible surge in refugees as videos on social media show that large groups of Afghans, carrying simple baggage on their backs and holding their children's hands, crossed the Afghanistan-Iran border to seek asylum.

"With almost 1 million Afghan refugee cardholders already in the country, the government of Iran has consistently welcomed Afghans fleeing protracted conflict and violence for over 40 years, including through exemplary inclusion of Afghans in national health and education systems," the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said last month, appealing to the government to "continue this tradition of hospitality and lifesaving protection".

These days, what concerns Mohammadi the most is that, due to the COVID-19 resurgence and other factors, it is not easy to find suitable woodworkers to build the promised desks in Iran. She says she will follow up with the situation and send customized desks to the children as soon as possible.

"Unfortunately, the building where the Farhang school is located is going to be torn down soon, and they are looking around for a new site," she says, adding that there are many other schools like Farhang in Iran that are struggling.

"I hope to continue to help other such schools and children through greater effort and engagement of benevolent Chinese in my online social network," Mohammadi says.

Xinhua