Tsinghua alumni in NGOs: Making the world a better place
Editor's Note
February 27th marks World NGO Day, which is an international day dedicated to recognize, celebrate and honor all non-governmental and nonprofit organizations, and the people behind them that contribute to the society all year around.
Some TsinghuaRen are dedicated to full-time, part-time or voluntary work in many kinds of NGOs. They assist communities where there is a need and contribute to building a better world. Today, let’s explore the NGO experiences of three TsinghuaRen.
01
Li Zhizhong
“Through our knowledge popularization, it shows that cancer science could truly reaching everyone, making reliable information accessible to those in need,” said Li Zhizhong (China), an alumnus of the School of Life Sciences, who co-founded a children-cancer-care NGO in China, which has helped over 80,000 cancer-stricken families with reliable information.
When Li was accepted into Tsinghua in 2001, he had no idea what to devote himself to. It was an unforunate turn of events, his mother's cancer diagnosis and his feeling of helplessness, that prompted Li to consider the popularization of science. After he received his Ph.D in the U.S., he was even more determined.
“The more I studied cancer, the more I realized that, the public exposure of cancer in China was not sufficient and reliable,” said Li. With this mind, he wrote popular articles about cancer. In 2017, he co-founded “Sunflower Children” and launched a series of projects, including the online encyclopedia, video clips that makes knowledge understandable, easy-to-check platforms and the publication of his articles.
Li returned as a lecturer and told the students his choice and experience in the course “Cancer and Society”, which mainly discusses how to achieve a balanced combination of medical knowledge and social care. Faced with these young students, as young as himself back to 2001, Li believes, despite the dazzling possibilities for TsinghuaRen in a career path, it is the spirit of “Actions Speak Louder than Words” that should guide us forward.
02
Jin Jiangxin
“The most important thing I get from PEER is the room of trial and the power of action”, said Jin Jiangxin, an alumna from the School of Journalism and Communication, who works in PEER, a NGO focusing on educational equality in China.
Although Jin has only worked full-time in the area of public welfare for a few months, she has a rich experience as volunteers. In Tsinghua, she once went to teach on weekends, worked as a volunteer in the hospice, and participated in building solar photovoltaic panels in Sichuan Province as a team reporter. “Tsinghua provided me with an opportunity to volunteer in public welfare.” she said.
After working as a volunteer in spare time for two years, Jin became a regular employee at PEER. “PEER set up a student activity center equipped with books, musical instruments, projector…in each school. A long-term volunteer will stay at the center for the whole semester, accompany the students as a mentor and friend, lead them to do research on topics they’re interested in. PEER also designs courses such as Sustainable development, Leadership, and Media Literacy for rural senior school students. ” She helped to design the courses on media and communication.
In January 2023, Jin participated a PEER winter camp named as “Winter Traveller”, which included 14 county high schools from Hunan and Guangxi provinces. An activity called “One Person as a Book” impressed her most. Twenty volunteers with different backgrounds were divided into groups, sharing their life stories to listeners.
“There were so many life experiences and stories circulated in the small gym. They were so meaningful and inspiring.” Standing on the roof, Jin took a picture of the scene. In each circle, the speaker and listener connect with each other tightly.
“Education is a long-lasting process. The outcome maybe cannot be seen in a short time. But our actions are proved meaningful by students’ positive feedback.”
03
Song Xiaoyu
“More talents, more professional knowledge and information, and more social attention, will provide powerful support to break the plight of NGOs.”
It’s been more than four years since Song Xiaoyu became a professional volunteer of A Better Community (ABC), the first social enterprise in China to provide management consulting services to social organizations in a professional volunteer model.
In the process of offering consultation, deeply assisting NGO work and conducting NGO operation research, she admired the enthusiasm of those devoting themselves to public welfare, but also pointed out that there are some common challenges in the development of NGOs in China.
“Many NGOs have vision to change our society, which is highly commendable. There is still further room to explore the fundamental issues of the social causes, and to develop the most effective solutions with enterpreneurship mindset.”
Song is optimistic about the future of China's public welfare development. She expects and encourages more talents to enter this field. “ABC's vision is ‘A better society, a better us’, which means that it not only offers help to NGOs, but also supports participants' personal development.”
With ABC, Song has access to a diversified platform. While volunteering for NGOs, she develops friendships with people from various backgrounds who differ in terms of professional knowledge, working experience, values and other aspects.
As they collaborate to achieve the same goal, they communicate with each other, learn from each other and finally cultivate a teamwork spirit. “Not for anything but love, so that you can find the real motivation to persist.”
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TsinghuaRen | Tsinghua alumni in NGOs: Making the world a better place
Writers: Chen Sihan, Li Ruojia, Wang Jingjing
Editors: Liu Zhaoxi, Liu Shutian
Designer: Xia Yifei