Special report: 2008 Olympic Games
By Sportswriter Chen Jian
BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Being a volunteer is something in her life. Liu Mo, a 20-year-old sophomore who had actively volunteered in the quake-hit areas in China's Sichuan Province, is standing on her stand with smile at the Bird's Nest on Saturday.
Liu's job is to tender service on a stand to all the athletes and coaches, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.
"My fellow volunteers envy me, as on the stand, I might catch a glimpse of the competitions," said Liu, a sophomore of the Chengdu Sports University and one of the 3,760 Games-time volunteers working in the National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird's Nest.
However, she will miss the chance of witnessing a historical moment when Liu Xiang, the national hero and her personal idol, conquers the ten hurdles on the track, since she has been scheduled to work at day time on the day of the 110m hurdles' final, which is supposed to run at TV prime time in the evening.
"A little bit disappointed," admitted Liu. "But I come here to be a volunteer, not a spectator."
Liu enrolled in the youth volunteers union as soon as she entered the college and spent most of her spare time raising donations for left-home kids in countryside.
"Helping those who are left behind makes my life more meaningful," said Liu. "The Wenchuan earthquake could have been a turning point in my life. Suddenly I found that I was surrounded by millions of volunteers who shared the same passion with me, and I felt so happy and deeply moved."
Her sentiment was echoed by her schoolmates Li Yizhou and Zhong Yuancao, the other two students who had fought their way out to be one of the 30 volunteers from the college among 8,000 competitors.
Having witnessed the miserable tragedy on the spot in Dujiangyan, one the most devastated towns in Sichuan, Li Yizhou, a slim but energetic soccer player, suffered from some mental trauma which lingers till now.
"I saw a single bed hanging in a window of a leaning seven-storey building, which should belong to a little girl as the room was colorfully decorated and some plush toys were still lying on bed."
"I didn't know where the little girl was, or whether she was still alive," the 21-year-old exclaimed at the fragility of lives. "My tears burst out immediately at the moment."
Tens of thousands of volunteers like Li Yizhou had rushed to the front of disaster relief and rescue, while Zhong Yuancao offered her help to people in disaster areas in hospitals and Red Cross outposts in Chengdu.
On May 18, the day when she was set to leave for Beijing to be a volunteer for some Good Luck Beijing test event was approaching, the junior college student majoring in English found herself falling into some emotional dilemma.
"I didn't want to leave my hometown where hands were badly needed," Zhong recalled. "But later on, I persuaded myself that the Olympics Games are a timely chance to inspire people in disaster areas, and make the whole country united."
"I'm now desperately eager to do something for my motherland," said Zhong, a typical member of China's Me Generation, born in 1980s and 1990s, generally regarded as a self-centered, politically apathetic group who are reluctant to shoulder responsibilities. "We got matured in the earthquake."
The Beijing Olympic Games has recruited 74,615 Games-time volunteers, 90 percent of which are college students who will relay the torch of volunteerism more widely and consistently than previous generations.
David Brettell, manager of Venue Staffing and Volunteers for the Sydney Olympic Games and a consultant to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, said the volunteer program of the Beijing Olympics will be a new benchmark. "If successful, the volunteer program in the future will change."
Chinese youth volunteers like Liu Mo, Li Yizhou and Zhong Yuancao, are trying their best not to let Brettell down.
"I will keep on doing volunteer job after the Beijing Olympics. So will my fellows," said Liu.
