As summer comes, this town in Southwest China is shrouded in the heat. In the afternoon, Fugui and his colleagues are busy checking the Family Packs, making preparations for the handing out in the countryside next day. These tiny kits contain hand sanitizers, soaps, towels, tissue paper, thermometers and Health Education Booklet, which will provide guarantees for the daily cleaning and hygiene of the children in remote mountainous areas.

Fugui, 29-year-old, is a World Vision community development worker in Honghe County, Yunnan Province, China. He is mainly in charge of the implementation of education and life skills project, such as equipping community schools with supplies, organizing skills training activities, etc. Meanwhile, he is also responsible for assisting the child protection project in carrying out publicity of relevant information and improving the safety of community environment.

▲In June 2019, Fugui and the kids in the project activity.

He usually works and lives in the county seat. During the outbreak of COVID-19, he spent most of his time in his rural hometown. The pandemic has changed his plan for his Spring Festival holidays. He had originally planned to take his parents out for a travel during the holidays, but the plan has been put on hold because of the pandemic. Moreover, it also caused inconvenience to his daily life. Masks wearing and body temperature taken are necessary when he goes out, and some places are even not allowed to visit due to the strict movement restriction. Therefore, he goes out once a week and only when the food is eaten out. 

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, Fugui and his colleagues have been acting positively in response to the epidemic. They keep in touch with the village committee and villagers by telephone so as to know about the community conditions in time. When learning that the villagers lacked masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectants and other materials, he and his colleagues reported to the response lead group immediately in order to obtain supplies for epidemic prevention.

▲During the COVID-19 outbreak, Fugui is preparing for the distribution of protective gear.

▲During the COVID-19 outbreak, Fugui is handing over a Family Pack to the registered children and explaining the precautions for the use of the protective items in the Family Pack.

At the beginning of February, the handing out of the first batch of masks was not smooth. The local express company rejected the package, so some of the masks were sent to another city nearby. “The situation was still severe. In order to fetch the masks as soon as possible, my colleagues had to spend more than 5 hours driving to take them back.” Although he couldn’t go with his colleagues, at this particular moment, Fugui was encouraged by his colleagues’ courage and selflessness in the face of difficulties.

“During the response to the epidemic, we all took a positive attitude that we can win the battle against it. We sought supplies for the community actively and strengthened cooperation between departments to combat the epidemic together and achieved quite favorable results eventually. When facing the disaster, we joined hands and worked together firmly. This spirit makes me feel that the power of mankind is infinite.” Fugui said emotionally. With the joint efforts of the colleagues, batches of epidemic prevention materials including disinfectants, masks, protective clothing, instant hand sanitizers, Family Packs, School Hygiene Boxes and so on, loaded with the love of the donors, have been donated to local staff and communities on the frontline of epidemic prevention.

▲Fugui is reminding the child the precautions for the use of the protective items in the Family Packs.

▲During the COVID-19 outbreak, Fugui is handing out a Family Pack to a registered child. The child is signing for her pack.

Affected by the epidemic, most of the work in Fugui’s project team has been almost stagnant in the past few months. He stays positive and has his own opinion on it. “Because of the epidemic, we cannot work in the countryside as we did before, which brings great challenge to our work. But this situation also taught us to choose the proper opportunity and try our best to solve the problem. As long as the villagers benefit, all our efforts are worth it.” said Fugui.

Fugui has been a member of World Vision for over two years. Apart from being a staff of World Vision, he was once a registered child of World Vision. From 10 to 16, the care of his sponsor from across the sea had sown a seed of love in the heart of this boy in the mountains. “My sponsor is from Australia. When I was little, he sent me various cards to show me a different world. It is a world of happiness and good wishes, which made me feel that he and his family have a loving heart.

▲In June 2019, Fugui (the second one from right) was checking out the solar street lamp project on campus.

 “World Vision has been in our community for over a decade and has caused considerable changes in the community. In the past, there was no tap water in our community, which made it difficult to fetch water. The road to school was a dirt road and the sanitation of the village was very poor. Since World Vision entered the community, with the support and cooperation of local department and village committee, great changes have taken place on both the infrastructure and cultural environment. Wells were drilled, cement roads were made and toilets were built in villagers’ homes. The villagers, including my parents, are thankful for World Vision’s efforts.” The experience of being a registered child allowed Fugui to know more about public welfare, and made him choose to join World Vision decidedly. “The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose. So I want to help the poor communities within my power as well.” Said Fugui.

When working for World Vision, the children’s innocent smile has impressed Fugui most. “Their smile teaches me that, no matter what kind of environment you are in, you should be optimistic and be happy with yourself.” In this response to the pandemic, despite of intensive workload and risk of being infected, the smile of the children in the community, the support of his family and the faith in his heart that to be as his sponsors to help the people in need will keep encouraging him, to work for fighting against the COVID-19 outbreak and poverty alleviation and development resolutely.