During the summer vacation, a volunteering team of Anhui Medical University, consisting of 12 international students from School of International Education and 4 Chinese students from School of Pharmacy, paid a visit to Dangtu County, Ma’anshan, where they organized a series of volunteering activities, with the theme of “Healthy Life in Beautiful Countryside”.
On July 10, 2018，the volunteers offered medical consultation service, distributed heatstroke preventives, and popularized basic medical knowledge inTaohua Village, a pilot village for the construction of “beautiful countryside” in Anhui Province. Thanks to the interpretation work done by the Chinese students, the international students managed to explain how to prevent heatstroke in summer while patiently measuring the blood pressure for the villagers, who were curious about the “foreign doctors” and enjoyed communicating about the usage of the traditional Chinese medications, such as “Rendan Mini-pills” and “Medicated Oil”.
On July 11, the volunteers visited Dangtu People’s Hospital, where the local doctors showed them around the out-patient and in-patient departments. The volunteers actively communicated with the local doctors and were offered the opportunity to learn and experience traditional Chinese medical therapies like acupuncture and massage. The students expressed their appreciation for the infrastructure construction and medical level of the Dangtu County People’s Hospital and had a better understanding of the important role of traditional Chinese medicine in pushing ahead hierarchical treatment in China.
Countryside volunteering is a great way for the international medical students to strengthen their sense of social responsibility and promote their international volunteerism. It’s also an essential platform to show the world the achievements in constructing “new socialist countryside” in China.