Guangzhou's Asian Para Games volunteers have a myriad of stories to tell after their involvement in one of this city s most memorable sporting events.
"Volunteers have not only provided athletes with all-round services, but also let sunlight shine on the entire Athletes Village and warmed everyone s heart, said Zainal Abu Zarin, president of the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC).
A volunteer s friendship with a cerebral palsy athlete
"After getting along with A Qiang for a few days, I called him brother and he called me sister, said Guo Bingjie, a volunteer at the Accommodation Service Department of the Athletes Village who established a deep friendship with Qiang, a cerebral palsy athlete from Macao. Guo was the assistant director of the Housekeeping Department at Guangzhou s White Swan Hotel before becoming a volunteer at the Athletes Village.
Qiang liked surfing the Internet in between matches but had to use a special tool to operate the keyboard. Guo accompanied Qiang to surf the Internet and carefully prepared a special sheet to record his living habits. As the temperature dropped drastically during the games, Guo also bought Qiang clothes and quilts. Guo offered him delicate care such as writing notes in traditional Chinese characters, adjusting the height of the shower and reminding him of distinguishing cold from hot water switches.
Chen Muzhen, a 73 year-old local retired school teacher applied for volunteer laundry service after learning that the company owned by one of her students would provide laundry services for the Asian Para Games. The laundry center washed at least 40,000 items of clothing a day and the maximum working hours even reached 13 hours a day. However, Chen did not complain and made no mistakes in her laundry service.
Huang Huai, a blind volunteer who has worked as a massage teacher at a Guangzhou-based school for the blind for 10 years, provided massage services at the Sports Rehabilitation Center. Every morning she got out of bed before daybreak and commuted one and a half hours to the Athletes Village. When volunteers came up to help me, I told them proudly that I am a volunteer too, said Huang. I am very delighted to serve athletes and see them accomplish outstanding athletic achievements.
Considerate 24-hour services for athletes
Wheelchairs are the feet of athletes with disabled lower limbs. During the Asian Para Games, Ou Bingxiang, a volunteer from the Guangdong Provincial Prosthetics and Orthotics Rehabilitation Center, worked for over 12 hours every day repairing wheelchairs and artificial limbs for more than 700 athletes.
The head of the Tajikistan sports delegation was satisfied with the repair services. After Chinese wheelchair tennis players succeeded in entering the next round of competitions, they specially came to thank us and take photos with us. We were moved that the players still remembered us, said Ou.
As Asian Para Games athletes mostly have old wounds due to basic diseases and training, the Rehabilitation Department of outpatient clinics were the busiest places at the Athletes Village. Shen Tong, director of the Rehabilitation Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University with 20 years of spondylodynia treatment experience, serviced over 800 athletes during the Asian Para Games, the highest number among all department-level directors.
To facilitate athletes with visual disabilities, volunteers from pharmaceutical departments divided large medicine boxes into smaller parts and then packed doses of medicine according to doctors' prescriptions. The number of clinic patients surged because of drastic temperature drops. A total of 273 medical care volunteers went on duty and worked three shifts a day to provide athletes with 24-hour medical services.
Sunshine in the Athletes Village
Jameer was a consultant to the Guangzhou Asian Games and Guangzhou Asian Para Games from Senegal with 15-years of experience in organizing medium and large-sized sports competitions. He spoke of his personal experiences at the Athlete Village. It was close to be midnight when I returned to the Athletes Village after the opening ceremony, said Jameer. I saw a woman standing at the gate welcoming athletes. I was informed later that she is the head of the Athletes Village.
The services at the Guangzhou Asian Para Games are meticulous and considerate, added Jameer. I have participated in the organizing work of the Olympic and Asian games as well as some international sports competitions in Africa, but I actually feel that Guangzhou s organizational and operational levels are exceptional. The people of Guangzhou should be proud of this.
