Hansen's Disease Village Service is the newest service project of the Whole Person Education Voluntary Service module. The Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy, is a chronic infection of bacterium Mycobacterium lepra, which affects the superficial tissues, especially the skin and peripheral nerves. In the 1950s, it spread seriously in China and couldn't be controlled by the medical technique. So the Chinese government sent all the patients to the Leprosarium, a village clinic far away from the city, along with doctors and medicine to attend them.

  Last Week, VSDC sent a lot of clothes donated by the BNU graduated students to Zhengke and Pingle Primary School in Guizhou Province. Both of the schools are the target place which our student volunteers served in the summer voluntary program, and both are very poor school in undeveloped countryside.

In the 1^st semester of the new academic year more than 400 Year 2 students will attend the WPE Service Learning Course. VSDC will organize a volunteer training camp, various service projects and a volunteer sharing seminar. Students will visit elderly homes, orphanages, teach in rural primary school and raise awareness on environmental protection.

  In July and August 2008 VSDC organized Summer Voluntary Service Programs for altogether 70 UIC students. 3 volunteer groups went to Western China to serve children and their families in rural villages in Guizhou, Shaanxi and Ningxia, and join health and hygiene projects in Yunnan Province. Another group of student volunteers went to Thailand to serve orphans, street kids, disabled and blind.