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23 Apr 2022

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Fudan Intl. students volunteer to serve their fellow students

Since March 13, Fudan campuses have been put under closed-loop management due to this wave of COVID-19 in Shanghai, and students are asked to stay inside their dormitory to prevent virus transmission.


To meet the daily needs of students living on campus, student volunteers have been recruited to complete a lot of daily work which students normally would do themselves. The volunteers need to do almost everything from bringing students meals and daily supplies, to disinfecting the stairs and corridors, and to coordinating nuclear acid testing.



Among these volunteers are some 30 international students wearing a red vest with “Fudan University International Student Volunteer Service Team” printed on the back.


As the pandemic hit the globe in early 2020, most Fudan international students have been staying in their home countries and taking courses online. At present, there are about 300 students living on Fudan campuses.



To take good care of these students, on March 15, a notice was released in the WeChat group of the International Student Volunteer Service Team to recruit ad hoc building managers to serve fellow students.


In three hours, all the positions were filled.



Koei Enomoto, a Japanese undergraduate student from the Department of Environment Science and Engineering, was already serving as a volunteer on campus back in early 2020 when the university was put under closed-loop management for the first time ever. “I always try my best to help others,” said Koei.


As most residents in his building are girls, when the girls told him they were almost out of drinking water and needed 7 bottles of 5-gallon water, he helped the girls with the purchase and decided to deliver the water to their doorstep by himself. It took Koei 7 trips up and down the stairs, carrying one bottle of 5-gallon water at a time.



Tikumporn Taprick, a Thai undergraduate student from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, will offer help immediately whenever a fellow student in the building has urgent needs. 


“Sometimes I can be in the middle of an online class. Then I will record the class and ask the lecturer and my classmates later about the part I don’t understand. It really makes me a happier person when I help others. ”



Clement Tanaka, a Indonesian PhD student from the Research Center for Chinese Ancient Literature, came up with the idea of decorating the door of the building he manages to urge everyone to stay inside. Other buildings quickly followed suit and created their own stay-in reminders.



Clement was really happy when he read a thank-you note put on a door of a room inside the building, which reads: “To all the volunteers, thank you for your hard work.” “At that moment, my fatigue was driven away,” said Clement.



Jiaojie Lu, an American undergraduate student from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, has determined to become a doctor at a very young age. Since freshman year, she has been volunteering in hospitals. Volunteering is an essential part of her life. “It is satisfying to help others and to feel needed.” She thinks the closed-loop management has actually brought everyone closer. “I am familiar with all my fellow students living in the building. I know what they like and their habits.”



Molua Njumbe Smith Ikome, a Cameroonian PhD student from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, also helped maintain the order of on-site nuclear acid testing in the North Residential Quarter of Handan Campus. He spoke highly of the collaboration between the Chinese student volunteers and the international student volunteers. “Just seeing the level of commitment and hard work of my peers makes me proud to be a Fudan volunteer. I’d like to applaud all relevant departments for their unwavering expertise and dedication toward combating the virus.”



Yanni Wu, a Venezuelan undergraduate student from the School of International Cultural Exchange, believes it takes both the hard work of volunteers and the self-discipline of the rest of the students to control the pandemic. “These days, I have a very fixed schedule. Though the heavy workload as a building manager takes away some of my sleeping time. I think I am probably leading a healthier lifestyle.”



Among the international students living off campus, Nikita Shilov, a Russian PhD student from the School of Economics, who has lived in China for seven years, is now serving his residential community as a volunteer. A few weeks ago, he contacted his community leader to ask what he could do to help, and since then, he has been knocking on the doors of his neighbors, delivering antigen self-testing kits and essential supplies. “At first, people were quite surprised to hear my accent as I was fully covered in a protective suit and they couldn’t tell I was a foreigner. But now, everyone in the community knows me.”



More Fudan international students are joining the fight against the pandemic on and off campus. And here we would like to send our most sincere wishes to everyone. Stay in good health, and we look forward to seeing you in person again soon.


Presented by Fudan University Media Center

Author:Li YijieEditor:Photograph:Illustrator: