Pat: Volunteering Service Justifies Self-worth

By Zhou Xianxian

The first time I connected with Sadi Patrick Makangila (Pat for short),I texted him my Chinese name.Considering he was a Congolese man, I added pinyin to my name because the character “xian” is not often available in our daily life.

“Does xian of fengxian(dedication) need to beromanized?” As soon as my message was sent out, Pat replied me with this question.I suddenly felt that I had underestimated his Chinese.I was a little embarrassed and quickly apologized for it. How could I suspect that a person who has been volunteering in Wuhan,China for nearly five years would not know the word “xian”(dedication), a word stamped into the volunteering spirit?

Being a doctoral student,Pat is now the leader of the International Students’ Volunteer Team of Central China Normal University. He came to Wuhan from his native country of Congo(DRC) for further studies. When he first arrived in Wuhan, Pat could neither speak Chinese,nor adapt to the Wuhan climate,often feeling depressed and helpless. Later, his roommate recommended him to join the International Students’ Volunteer Team. Pat felt better after participating in activities and communicating with others.

华中师范大学洋雷锋志愿队总队长帕特Sadi Patrick Makangila, leader of the CCNU International Students’ Volunteer Team

The volunteer team consists of international students from dozens of countries. It is the uniform hats, vests and volunteering service that pool them together. “We’re all the same, and each of us can make the world better,” Pat said. “We’re a small world and we’re all sisters and brothers.”

Lei Feng is a household name in China. He was an ordinary soldier who was willing to help others when he was alive. Mao Zedong once wrote, “Learn from Comrade Lei Feng,” and called on all citizens to learn from him.However, it is not easy to serve the people as wholeheartedly as Lei Feng. Pat searched for Lei Feng’s stories on the Internet and watched Lei Feng’s movies. He said that he was deeply moved by Lei Feng’s spirit of being helpful and sel fl ess, and that he wanted to do good deeds in China.

华师洋雷锋志愿队在汉马CCNU International Students’ Volunteer Team serving at Wuhan Marathon 2018

华师洋雷锋志愿队在小学支教CCNU International Students’ Volunteer Team volunteering in a local primary school

“A leadership role is 1% honor and 99% responsibility.” Pat became a leader in 2015, when the team was in “infantry training.”In order to foster a team spirit,he engaged in designing the team uniforms, flags, and emblems to attract more international students to join in the volunteer team.

Pat, with his teammates,often works at different subway stations, offering help as a translator, guiding the way,carrying things for the disabled,and buying tickets for the elderly.During the Spring Festival,they go to train stations where volunteers are more needed.Volunteers are required to be on duty at eight in the morning. Pat lives far away, and often gets up atfive, setting off before dawn.

During the Spring Festival the railway station is a sea of passengers coming and going,and returning home with heavy luggage. Volunteers are needed to help the old and the disabled to carry their luggage to the train.Pat once shouldered more than 100 kilograms of luggage. After a day of work, his hands and feet ache. Even so, he would still lend his seat to the elderly on the subway. “Though very tired, we feel very happy because we do what we like and it makes sense,”Pat speaks to us in fl uent Chinese.

So far, Pat has provided more than 200 hours of volunteering services at different subway stations in Wuhan. At the very beginning, he was questioned about his ulterior motives,and now he has become an acquaintance at the subway stations and reaped countless thanks.

In addition, Pat and his teammates are engaged in many other volunteering activities,such as being volunteer teachers,donating blood, and visiting the elderly and orphans. Currently,they also provide volunteering services for international events such as Wuhan Tennis Open and Wuhan Marathon. Pat said their next goal was to strive for volunteering work for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 and other international events.

Pat worked hard on his Chinese, hoping to succeed in his volunteering services with a better command of the language.He said that volunteering service enabled him to encounter many people and things. In doing so, he can understand Chinese people and society better. Furthermore,his actions have changed people’s attitude to his work. He has,become more cheerful and openminded, and finds more value in his volunteering activities.

华师洋雷锋志愿队在春运期间提供志愿服务CCNU International Students’ Volunteer Team serving during the Spring Festival

Pat has become a part of the city. He can eat with chopsticks,navigate with Baidu maps, and hail a taxi on Didi.He hopes that his future spouse is also a volunteer because he believes that volunteers are goodhearted people, and he likes people with a kind heart.

和帕特第一次聊天时，我把中文名字发给他，考虑到他是刚果人，而我名字中的“献”字不常用，所以在名字后面加注了拼音。

“奉献的献还要写拼音？”信息刚发出，帕特就回了这行字。我顿时觉得低估了他的中文水平，有点尴尬，连忙道歉。转念一想，也是，一个在中国武汉做了近五年志愿者的人，怎么会不认识志愿者精神中的“奉献”二字呢？

帕特是华中师范大学洋雷锋志愿队总队长，在读博士。2013年，他从自己的祖国刚果（金）来武汉上学。初到武汉，帕特并不会汉语，也不适应武汉天气，常常感到郁闷和无助。后来，室友推荐他加入华师洋雷锋志愿队，活动丰富多了，生活半径也扩大了许多，帕特感觉慢慢好起来。

志愿队里有几十个国家的留学生，一色的帽子、马甲，志愿服务让他们聚集在一起。“我们都是一样的，我们每一个人都可以让世界变得更好。”帕特说，“我们就像一个小世界，大家都是兄弟姐妹。”

雷锋是中国家喻户晓的一名普通士兵，因为他乐于助人，毛泽东曾号召全国“向雷锋同志学习”，但要真正做到像雷锋那样全心全意为人民服务并不容易。帕特在网上搜索雷锋的相关事迹，观看了雷锋题材的电影。他说，雷锋身上那种乐于助人、无私奉献的精神深深打动了他，他也想像雷锋一样，在中国做好事。……