Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｙｏｕｎｇ Ｖｏｌｕｎｔｅｅｒｓ ｉｎ Ａｆｒｉｃａ

The logo of the Chinese young volunteer services is a hand in the shape of a heart， meaning extending a friendly hand to all those who need help. The Chinese young volunteers are not only active in providing services in all parts of China， but also in giving a helping hand to the rest of the world.

The Chinese young volunteer overseas service programme， launched jointly by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) and the Chinese Young Volunteer Association in 2002， recruits young volunteers and sends them to developing countries in groups. They arrived in Ethiopia in 2005， entering Africa for the first time.

Twelve young volunteers with lofty ideals from Beijing， Shanghai， Chengdu and Yunnan set out on August 4， 2005 for the faraway continent—Africa—to begin a 6-month volunteer service. They rendered professional and technical services in the areas of use of marsh gas， Chinese language teaching， physical training， medical and health care， information technology， etc. to the Ethiopian people. Among them five were graduate students and one studying for doctorate.

In the six months in Ethiopia， the volunteers experienced the hard life of the African people. With firm belief and sincerity， they helped improve local people’s life with their own hands and built up friendship with perspiration and diligence. Medical volunteers gave traditional Chinese medical treatment such as acupuncture to the local patients. Upon hearing the news， the number of people who came to receive acupuncture treatment grew from two or three a day at the beginning to 15 to 20 a day and the beds in the clinic increased from two to five， and a new room was added to the clinic. The volunteers specialized in marsh gas， while conducting a survey of the utilization of marsh gas pools in the country， opened a course on marsh gas. They translated Chinese teaching materials into English and wrote new materials in English on marsh gas， led students to do field work and disseminated useful knowledge among the local people. They also ran a computer course and gave lectures on environmental engineering. The Chinese language teaching volunteers opened the first Chinese language class in Ethiopia and provided Chinese language training to the staff and workers of China-funded projects， Ethiopian government officials and teachers in their spare time. They also served as tutor of Chinese language for the new Ethiopian ambassador who would soon go to China.

In their spare time， the volunteers wrote in their diaries， poems， etc. what they had seen and heard and about their experiences and their volunteer services. One wrote in his diary， due to poverty and diseases， the average life-span of the Ethiopians was less than 55 years， which made him realize the loftiness of the volunteer cause and the heavy responsibility he shouldered.

The diligence and dedication of the Chinese young volunteers won the local people’s trust in them， with whom they forged profound friendship. This unforgettable experience has enabled the Chinese young volunteers to get a deeper understanding of how lofty volunteerism and internationalism are and consolidated their pursuit of lofty ideals in life. Out of the love for the people of Africa and the volunteer cause， some of them have applied for prolonging their services in Ethiopia for another 6 months.

Volunteer service has built a bridge of bilateral friendly contact. The Chinese young volunteers have set a good example. They have passed on the friendship of the Chinese youth and people to the African people through what they did. The first batch of volunteers has completed their tasks in Africa and returned home. The second and the third batch will soon head for the African continent to carry on volunteer services. What’s heartening to see is that the Chinese young volunteer overseas service team is growing in number. More and more Chinese youth with ideals and high aspirations will join in and by transcend national boundaries contribute their bit to peace and development of the whole humanity. We are convinced that one day the flags of Chinese young volunteers will fly in Africa and other parts of the world where help is needed.

The author is director general of the International Liaison Department of the CYLC.