Start with Passion, Chase for Glimmer

Editor's Note

Lugazo Abubakar, the leader of Yang Leifeng (a voluntary organization in CCNU), regards volunteering as an indispensable part of his life and carries forward the spirit of Lei Feng. He went into nursing homes, schools and subway stations.

On the high-speed train from Shanghai to Wuhan, Lugazo Abubakar worried how to arrive at CCNU with nobody acquainted in this city since he only knew a few basic Chinese words. Luckily, a man next to him gave a hand to him and helped him reach the destination. "We all need others' help. Why don't I do something to give back to the community?" he said sincerely.

Lugazo devotes himself to various volunteer activities, each of which is a totally new experience for him. For nothing but passion, he goes in for volunteer teaching in rural areas every summer since 2018 and imparts basic English knowledge and African culture to children there. "Seeing the naive smiles of children makes us feel that what we are doing is meaningful."

There is no denying that he is confronted with many obstacles. For one thing, language barrier exists. Even though Lugazo can basically understand Mandarin, he is still confused about the local dialects people speak when participating in volunteer activities. "Volunteering is my passion, like a part of my life." He believes that the more he gets exposed to the language, the more proficient he will be. For another, limited time is an inevitable problem. To cope with this problem, he cuts out unnecessary things and arranges time properly to keep a balance between study and volunteering.

From his perspective, the biggest difference between volunteering in Chinese university and in Tanzania university is partnership. At the university where he completed his undergraduate degree in Tanzania, only student associations and other clubs. But when he came to China, he found that there were several volunteering organizations in every college. "If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together." So goes a famous African proverb.

One of these volunteering organizations is Yang Leifeng Volunteer Service Team in CCNU, whose leader is Lugazo. However, Lugazo is willing to be called "Lei Feng" rather than "Yang Leifeng". The main reason lies in that he regards CCNU as his home, and people here as his families. CCNU support volunteer activities strongly, providing platforms and supplying resources for voluntary activity.

When it comes to how to lead the whole team, he responded frankly, "I don’t have previous experiences in leading groups and people. Fortunately, I am not alone. I was deeply moved when I received a great hospitality from International Students Office and my friends. The key to moving on is to bring together different experiences and talents and collaborate to achieve a common goal." This experience not only hones his leadership skills, but also allows him a better grasp of ways to communicate with others.

What is your team spirit? And how do you interpret your team spirit?

Lugazo: Our motto is that each one helps one. I deem that if I can reach out to someone around me, you can help someone around you, and everyone can aid someone around him, then it means for everyone in the world that there is always a person that is helpful when you are in trouble. It seems that we are building a world full of love, genuineness and harmony. We look upon Lei Feng as our role model and esteem his sincere words that human life is limited, but serving people is infinite. I will put the limited life into the limitless service for people.

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Editor: Lucy(trainee), Whisper(trainee)

Revisor: Sirry

Designer: Kristina