Dr.Muhammad Shahbaz(right), Miss Wang, Mr.Li Weidong and Rebecca at the book distribution ceremony in Shandong province

The lifestyle of Chinese people has changed over the last decade and that in turn has changed the life of foreigners in China. I have witnessed this transformation since 2006. The simple houses have become buildings and buildings have become skyscrapers. Although most cities now look like concrete jungle, the love and simplicity of the people has remained the same. Shandong people in China are famous for their friendliness and simplicity. When the national games were held in Shandong in 2009, the logo was called Friendly Shandong. I have travelled to more than 16 countries. I have travelled from east to west and from north to south of China. I have witnessed the global advancement of life. During the 11 years in China, especially in Jinan, I have experienced a number of moments which will remain stamped in my heart and brain forever. I will share one of these stories.

I was 18 when I first came to China and I have learned almost everything about the professional life in China and China has given me so many things in life. I always wanted to say thanks and contribute to some extent to the Chinese society and the people in return. So I proposed the idea of creating an organization and teaching children in remote areas to my friend. We selected 100 students from different schools and divided them into 2 classes and taught them every weekend. We chose the highly educated teachers to teach them. As the founder of the IECO (International Education charity organization) I was very delighted to teach in schools where the children were selected from different areas and these students had never studied from a foreign teacher.

My fellow friends and I decided to establish and embark on a mission as volunteers. With a successful start in October 2013, we have made the dream of "International Education" a reality. Thanks to the combined efforts of various members in our team, mostly students from Shandong University, and with the help of Ministry of Education Shandong Province and different districts school heads, we opened the doors of "International Education" in remote areas of different towns in Shandong province.

As of now, we have successfully implemented different programs, which extend from numerous districts in Jinan to outer cities in Shandong. Our mission is to deliver our area of expertise to different towns and ultimately to different districts in Jinan.

the organizers of the Charity program pose with the students at the opening ceremony

Our definition of success is not the amount of money in the bank account but the amount of lives we influence positively. Our success is not measured by tangible things, but the intangible such as love, alms giving, positive change, care, giving attention to others and more. Life to us isn't in receiving but in giving.

This organization was started by four committed persons, three of them from Shandong University Dr Muhammad Shahbaz (Department of Surgery), Dr Misbah ul Ferdous (Department of Cardiology), Effat un Nesa (Department of Oncology) and Muhammad Ali Akbar. In addition, we also have support from different Chinese students at the Shandong University, Dong Mengqi (Department of Chemistry), Toya (Department of Medical tourism). Though we all know our limitations, we decided to act locally as any and every such good deed by like-minded people in their locality would help mankind achieve the same. Since October 2013, we volunteered and managed to take time out of our tight schedules in the hospitals to go to the remote areas of Shandong province to teach the kids on weekends.

We went to Zibo, Taishan, Qihe.Laiwu and distributed the books among the children. The happiness and the feeling of excitement on the face of children cannot be imagined. Especially in a school in a suburb of Taishan, away from the city center, the students were excited to see foreigners. I also let the students write their wishes on piece of paper and give the papers to me. I have a bundle of wishes. Although I cannot read Chinese characters but I have asked my friends to translate those wishes for me. Knowing their wishes makes me feel the internal happiness. Although I cannot fulfill their wish but I have shown them the way to their wish by teaching them a small part.

Love, friendliness and simplicity are the feelings I felt that day when the students from the Taishan Primary school were gathered in an assembly ground I was chief guest and after the assembly and national anthem of China, the students let me study how to play drum and how to play the shuttlecock and Being a part of these activities has been an inexpressible and unforgettable experience for me. It was an amazing exchange program to learn these games in exchange to teaching them English. I hope that these students from these schools can get admission to famous colleges and universities and be successful in life.

Muhammad Shahbaz is a Ph.D. student of general surgery on CSC Scholarship, School of Medicine, Shandong University, and a research fellow at Qilu Hospital, Department of General Surgery.

Source: China Daily

Edited by: Xie Tingting, Shi Yajie