Extension of love and hope

The contributions and passion that the volunteers bring to less-developed areas are not always a fleeting experience, with many of them having chosen to stay permanently in the places where they'd volunteered.

According to Hami's youth league, the prefecture has welcomed 2,723 graduate volunteers in the past 21 years, and about 590 of them landed jobs in Xinjiang after finishing at their posts. Out of the 590, some 410 have remained in Hami.

Han Zhiyong, 31, from Henan province, has gone from being a volunteer at a Hami health center from 2016 to 2019 to a respected and experienced doctor in the community.

His diligence and talent in performing traditional Chinese medicine treatment gained him a reputation during his voluntary service period. In 2021, he was authorized by the Hami Second People's Hospital to set up a pediatrics outpatient department in one of its branch hospitals with a focus on traditional Chinese medicine.

Han's department has proved exceedingly popular, with patient visits increasing from 100 per month when it opened in December 2021 to over 1,000 per month today.

"It's given me a very strong sense of happiness and achievement doing this work. Every time I see a child recover and see how grateful their parents are, I thank myself for deciding to stay in Hami," he said.

Yan Jiqing and her husband also chose to settle down in Hami after they both finished their volunteering in the prefecture in 2022.

She said that the program had offered her different life experiences to most people and as a result, there have been more career possibilities. "I'm now a civil servant in the prefecture's Barkol Kazak autonomous county and my husband is a teacher in Hami. I've gotten to know many young volunteers over the years and I've seen passion in all of them," she said.

Yan said that some young people may be at a loss about their career direction after graduating college, and so the volunteer program can provide an opportunity to get out into the real world and gain more experience. "I will certainly encourage my children to take part in the program if they ever get the chance," she said.

Companies in Hami prefecture have cottoned on to the benefits of having graduates volunteer in the area, with many attempting to lure them to stay with competitive offers of employment.

Wang Zhenhe, 26, from Henan province, started working at Hami's Yiwu Guanghui Mining Co, shortly after finishing his three-year volunteering stint in Xinjiang.

"I gained valuable work experience during my volunteering period, and gained a strong love for the region," Wang said. "I think Xinjiang can offer me a much greater opportunity for career development, so I didn't hesitate to accept the job offer when it came."

Duan Xuan, an official at Guanghui Coal Cleaning Refining Co, said that the company welcomes young people to consider local opportunities after they finish their time as volunteers, saying that the period they spend volunteering locally gains them valuable knowledge and experience.

Liu Kai, from Xinjiang's youth league, said that the volunteers have turned the region into a better place by contributing their own strengths and youthful vitality. He hopes that more young people can take part in the volunteer program in the future, especially in positions in grassroots healthcare and industrial development, so that more people from outside of the region can get to know the real Xinjiang.

chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn