A three-month long investigation, conducted jointly by the Volunteer Service
Department affiliated with the 2008 Paralympics Games Department Beijing
Organizing Committee, and the Beijing Disabled Persons Federation, was released
in July, and points to too many young volunteers for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic
Games as a possible problem for the event.
The 2008 Beijing Paralympics Games
volunteers program has been launched September,
2006.[ben.com] |
The First made the special coverage on the issue when the Beijing Olympics
Games volunteer program begins this September.
The report points out:
There is a major problem hindering the 2008 Beijing Paralympics: Too many
young volunteers
The investigation of the 13th Paralympics revealed that the majority of
people who applied for volunteer positions were between 18 and 55 years old, but
those between 56 and 60 years old only comprised 5.38 percent of the total.
This shows the volunteer base leans heavily towards younger people. The First
newspaper conducted interviews with the following volunteer applicants.
Ms.Chang Zhifu: In order to volunteer, at 65 years old she began to study
sign language and English
Living in a traditional Beijing courtyard home (hutong), 65-year-old Chang
has been studying English and sign language for two hours a day to reach her
goal of volunteering at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Though she has gray hair,
Chang always looks young and fresh, especially when she talks about the Beijing
Olympics.
"I was too excited to sleep on the night Beijing beat other bids to be
awarded the 2008 Olympic Games," Chang told the First.
She then showed the reporter her Olympic scrapbook, filled with press
clippings on Beijing and Olympic news, most pieces which had been taken from the
First.
"All the special dates and events related to Beijing 2008 would grab my
attention such as July 13 of 2001, the day when Beijing bid for 2008 Games;
August 8, the day for the upcoming opening ceremony as well as the Olympic
construction progress," she said.
She said she knows a lot about many different games, including soccer,
basketball, volleyball, and table tennis. "The idea of being a volunteer came to
me years ago, and I really hope I can help the foreign disabled through sign
language," she said.
Earlier this year, Chang signed up for an English training course held by the
community where she lived. Also, through the help of the local media, a teacher
from the Beijing Vocational Senior School for the Handicapped is now teaching
Chang sign language. A disabled girl Hao Yu, one of the 2005 top ten Beijing
Volunteers, has visited Chang.
After one month of studying, Ms. Chang has made good progress and can now
sign a complete passage, as well as the lyrics to a song.
"Hao said she will introduce me to more deaf people, and I am willing to
negotiate," Chang said. "The Beijing Olympics is a chance. What I want is to
help the disabled who need more care from society."
Volunteering is open to people of any age, and there is no doubt that both
the middle-aged and seniors
Gu Hongfu:Former front-line sports journalist now throws himself into
volunteer program
As the former director of the Indonesian Department of China Radio
International, Mr.Gu Hongfu gets excited when he talks about sports events he
once attended.
"In 1988, When Yang Wenyi, former National swimmer broke the women's 50m
freestyle world record at the 3rd Asian Swimming Championship, you would never
know that news of the win moved from the swimming center to the media center by
bicycle," Gu said.
Gu loves swimming and is active in games held by the CRI and the State
Administration of Radio, Film, and Television.
As for the upcoming Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, Gu says he would
like to be a volunteer if he got the chance.
Gu thinks that seniors make good volunteers as they have time, patience and
many advantages in terms of life experience. Starting in 1975, Gu studied
Indonesian for four years at Beijing University and afterwards took an advanced
course at Indonesia National University. He has abundant experience in both
language and news reporting.
"I learned a minority language, but what I learned is also applicable to
learning other languages. As a translator for the China Journalists Federation'
delegation, Gu has visited Indonesia many times, and has been active in meeting
with the counterpart delegations when they come to Beijing,
"As far as I know, most Beijingers are learning English, while few know
languages such as French, Japanese, German, or Spanish. Those who know Arabic or
Portuguese are even scarcer," he said. "
Gu said, there are many seniors such as himself with professional skills in
language and journalism at CRI, even some with overseas living experience that
would benefit the 2008 Olympics.
"There are also people with other skills whose enthusiasm should be harnessed
and used as much as possible," Gu said.
| 1 | 2 |  |
