American teacher volunteers to fight COVID-19 in China's Suzhou

Ellen Touchstone (front) works at a COVID-19 testing site in the Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 18, 2022.  (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

NANJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Wearing protective clothing, gloves and face mask, Ellen Touchstone, an expat from the United States, offered her service as a volunteer, checking health code and identity information of residents living in a community in the city of Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.

On Feb. 13, a sudden resurgence of COVID-19 infections was reported in the city of 12 million residents, which is also home to nearly 30,000 foreigners including Ellen.

Ellen works at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) as the associate dean of International Business School Suzhou. In her spare time, she often does voluntary work at a local NGO.

After the recent outbreak of the epidemic, the head of the NGO approached her, asking if she can assist testing work in some communities where many foreign residents live. She agreed without hesitation.

"It's important that we help each other at this time. I can cooperate with other people by using my language skills," said Ellen. "When I volunteer, I feel more empowered. I feel like I am a part of the solution."

Ellen, who can speak English, French and German, quickly became a popular volunteer. "When I am volunteering, I try to think about other people from their perspectives. In America, we call that 'you put yourself in their shoes.'"

In Ellen's words, volunteering work is part of her family legacy of community service in Suzhou.

"Our family's story started over 100 years ago. In 1917, my grandparents decided separately in the United States to come to work in Suzhou." Ellen said, adding that her grandmother was a head nurse at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, and her grandfather worked at Soochow University from 1917 to 1922.

"When my grandmother came to Suzhou, she spent an entire year learning Suzhou dialect. So she could communicate with her patients well," Ellen said.

In memory of her grandparents, Ellen wears a necklace that belonged to her grandmother. She said she found it in her grandmother's jewelry box. There are two Chinese characters -- "jiu" "ming" carved on it. "The characters mean lifesaver. Maybe someone gave this to her as a gift, or maybe she wore it proudly because she was saving lives," Ellen said.

Ellen has been in Suzhou for almost 10 years. When job hunting from the United States, she received several offers in China. "When I received the job offer from XJTLU in Suzhou, where my grandparents met and got married, I thought this was a sign that I need to come back and continue my family story in Suzhou."

Inspired by her grandparents, Ellen has always been an advocate of volunteer work and community services. She also hopes to encourage and educate her students about the importance of building strong communities.

"If people of different professions and nationalities can all work together to help solve problems, we can beat the virus and unite the world in the face of crisis," she said.