In the morning of September 29, when the sky was slightly bright, Zhou Shiyue, a young volunteer of "China Youth Volunteer Overseas Service Plan - Serving the United Nations Agency Project" (the second batch) and a member of the Ben Yu Volunteer Service Team of Huazhong Agricultural University, boarded the plane at Tianhe Airport in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Her destination was Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. In the next six months, this junior volunteer majoring in animal medicine will provide volunteer services in the Mongolian Office of the United Nations Development Programme in Ulaanbaatar. This is the first international volunteer sent in the context of COVID-19 epidemic, and also the first young volunteer to go to Mongolia to provide services since the implementation of the project.
Zhou Shiyue attended the pre trip centralized training
Serving the United Nations, she is deeply aware of her mission
In August this year, the second batch of volunteers of the "Overseas Service Plan for Chinese Youth Volunteers - Serving United Nations Agencies Project" completed their pre trip centralized training in Shanghai, and 23 international United Nations volunteers will soon serve United Nations agencies in 14 countries around the world online or offline.
At the centralized training and expedition ceremony, Zhou Shiyue, as one of the volunteer representatives, said: "Volunteer service has no borders. I always hope that one day I can go abroad and show the demeanor of Chinese young volunteers on the international stage. When I learned that the China Youth Volunteer Association and the United Nations Volunteer Organization were sending volunteers to relevant United Nations agencies to carry out international volunteer services, I did not hesitate to sign up and finally was lucky to be selected. I am deeply aware of the great responsibility on my shoulders, and I will redouble my efforts to show the good image of Chinese youth with practical action and enthusiasm, spread Chinese culture, tell Chinese stories, and create the most beautiful "Chinese business card" with the passion of youth.
Zhou Shiyue made a speech at the expedition ceremony
Volunteer hard, her steps never stop
Looking back on college life, voluntary service has become a habit and persistence of Zhou Shiyue. When she entered college as a freshman, Zhou Shiyue and her classmates watched the original drama "Care" of Huazhong Agricultural University. She was deeply moved by the deeds of Zhang Fuyu, the hero of the drama. One of the prototypes of the play is Xu Benyu, an alumnus of Huazhong Agricultural University and one of the ten figures who "touched China" in 2004. This drama is also the "enlightenment drama" of Zhou Shiyue's volunteer service. Xu Benyu's story of supporting teaching in Wumeng Mountain Primary School in Guizhou and serving as an international volunteer in Zimbabwe has inspired her to embark on the road of volunteer service, and use her professional knowledge and youthful enthusiasm to contribute her strength.
Original drama "Concern" stills
During the university period, Zhou Shiyue continued to be active in many volunteer service posts, from class volunteer service activities to volunteer lecturers at the Wuhan Revolution Museum to caring tutoring volunteers, and insisted on putting volunteerism into every bit of university life. In the spring of 2020, in the first stage of the hardest COVID-19 epidemic, Huazhong Agricultural University called on the volunteers of Ben Yu's volunteer service team to give play to their professional advantages, actively participate in community (village) epidemic prevention, help spring farming production on the spot, and volunteer to provide the children of front-line anti epidemic medical staff with a menu of growth activities. Zhou Shiyue actively responded to the call and volunteered to participate in the voluntary service activities for epidemic prevention in his community. It is in the continuous volunteer practice that she has deeply felt the responsibility and responsibility of Chinese youth in the new era.
Dare to surpass her dreams, she keeps forging ahead
In addition to voluntary service activities, Zhou Shiyue also continued to empower herself in learning, which laid a solid foundation for her trip to Mongolia to carry out services. As a student majoring in animal medicine in the "double first-class" discipline of Huanong, Zhou Shiyue's professional accumulation well matches the development of agriculture in Mongolia, which focuses on animal husbandry, It has provided strong help for her forthcoming work in the Mongolian Office of the United Nations Development Programme as a support assistant for agricultural sustainable development strategies and agricultural value chain projects under the current climate change conditions.
In addition to her professional study, Zhou Shiyue also focused on expanding her vision through reading. In her opinion, her love of reading is a kind of light that will unconsciously illuminate and affect the surrounding world. She also won the title of "Ten Reading Stars" of Huazhong Agricultural University. In addition, she has also won the third prize of the National College English Competition (non professional group), the second prize of the Huanong "Principals Cup" College English Competition, the school volunteer public welfare award and other honors. Behind each honor is Zhou Shiyue's bold attempt and constant exploration. She said, "For me, I am willing to try anything meaningful. I believe that Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well."
Zhou Shiyue Attends Reading Sharing Meeting
As the first university to participate in the "Service to UN Agencies Project", Huazhong Agricultural University also provided strong support and multi link guarantee for Zhou Shiyue's smooth dispatch. According to Wang Shijing, the instructor of the school's Benyu Volunteer Service Team, in order to ensure and dispatch Zhou Shiyue before his departure, the school, under the guidance of the China Youth Volunteer Association, coordinated the undergraduate school, the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, and the Youth League Committee of the school, and set up a special class with relevant colleges to coordinate and deal with Zhou Shiyue's academic security, foreign affairs filing, fund allocation, etc, Organize and carry out pre trip safety education, and continue to provide daily management services for volunteers through online and offline combination.
Life photo of Zhou Shiyue
The Tula River passes through Ulaanbaatar silently, and the winter on the Mongolian Plateau will be spent in the flying snow. As a dreamer full of volunteer intentions, Zhou Shiyue is ready. She believes that the volunteer service in the depths of the grassland and serving the United Nations Development Programme in the past six months will be brilliant. "I will keep in mind the earnest request of General Secretary Xi Jinping to respond to the letter sent to the volunteer service team of Central China Agricultural University, carry forward the volunteer spirit of 'dedication, fraternity, mutual assistance and progress', hold a sincere and respectful attitude, and strive to complete the work with love and enthusiasm. I am very confident." Zhou Shiyue's eyes are full of power.
It is reported that since 2019, the China Youth Volunteer Association (CYVA) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) have jointly implemented the "Overseas Service Plan for Chinese Youth Volunteers - Serving United Nations Agencies" project. Up to now, the project has determined to send 30 volunteers to overseas UN agencies. The first seven volunteers have served seven different United Nations agencies in five countries, including Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. Their services cover many fields, such as volunteer service capacity building in the host country, youth participation in sustainable development, and so on. On the basis of the good operation of the first batch of dispatch, the second batch of 23 Chinese overseas young volunteers has been recruited, and the dispatch process is being promoted in an orderly manner.