There are hundreds of small communities of migrant workers
dotted all over Beijing and the suburbs.
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One such group near our store comprised mainly of construction workers who were employed to build housing for the expat community.
These men, thousands of miles from home and their families, would line the pavements in the evening, sitting on the kerbs looking downcast and tired.
We felt they could benefit from a special delivery from Roundabout. So one sunny summer evening Leslie, her husband and daughter and Liu from Roundabout dropped by with pool tables, a football table and an air hockey table. Everyone gathered together to help unload and set the items up.
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Then the real fun began as we taught groups of men how to actually play the games!
When we left there was a wonderful happy hum of the men having fun – and for the next few months we didn’t see one single man sitting on the kerb!