Editor's note: In the battle with the COVID-19 epidemic, more and more fighters are coming to its front lines, including students and former students of the Open University of China (OUC). Like other fighters, no matter how ordinary, they are contributing what they can. Let's take a close look at some of their stories.
Chen Xuanxuan, a 2012 graduate of the Advertising undergraduate programme at the OUC Wuhan Branch, runs two companies engaged in cultural communication. The first day Wuhan was put on lock-down, she realised medical staff would have difficulty getting to work, and on the afternoon of 24 January, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, she set up a team of 25 to help transport the staff of Tongji Hospital and the Hubei Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. So far nearly 200 trips for 333 staff have been completed.
She has also set up a WeChat group for the team, and it has grown from three volunteers to 264. Medical staff report their transportation needs in the group, and the team arranges point-to-point transfers, regardless of the time of day. One of the medical staff has praised them as "faster than Didi" (a ride-hailing service in China).
It is hard to imagine that there is no danger in offering such a service, yet so far there have been no infections. The drivers all wear protective clothing and follow a strict disinfection protocol. At the same time, the team refuses to take medical resources from the public, and has never asked passengers for help, relying on themselves instead. One nurse, moved by this, left a bottle of water in the car of a volunteer driver, Mr. Wang, with 50 yuan glued to it so that everyone on the team could get water. Instead, the team used the money to buy disinfectant for its members.
In this unusual winter, the teachers and students of the OUC are working hand in hand. But no winter lasts forever; spring is sure to follow. We should be patient and unafraid, and wait for the flowers to return. Everyone at the OUC is with Wuhan and the rest of China! Let's fight together and cheer for this heroic city!
By OUC News Network