3718 people have been staying in 24 underdeveloped counties in China for 365 days. Who are they and what are they doing? Let's meet them face to face in the training base.

In this team, the youngest was born after 1995, while the oldest before 1965. Despite an age span of 30 years, it is truly a happy team where ideas are shared.

Two members happen to have household names, respectively Cai Ming (蔡明) and Zhang Xueliang (张学良). Cai would go to Baoting in Hainan, while Zhang chose Qingjian and Zizhou in Shaanxi. Although Cai and Tao Yuanming (陶元明) are the only two on the team born in 1960s, yet when it comes to the Rural Doctor Program, they are just as passionate as anyone else, with great ideas to offer.

Fan Yudong (范榆栋), a Tai Chi coach from Shanghai nicknamed Jelly (why? because he is cute), is the last one that joined the team. He impressed the team with his open-mindedness. “I'm a Shanghai native. Life has been easy. I really want to experience something different. What I worry most is I may not be used to the food there. But I think I should take this chance to go outside and have a try. Otherwise, life is too boring.” But when he taught teammates Tai Chi at the interval of classes, he was quite serious and detail-oriented.

Zhang Xiaolong (张小龙), seemingly lukewarm, turns out to be skillful at the latest communication techniques like short videos. Whenever he speaks, people will be amused by his witty words.

Ma Yihua (马怡骅) and Yang Yang (杨阳) are the only girls on the team. Born after 1995, Ma is the youngest. Yet in pursuit of “making the world a better place”, she is not delicate at all, but chivalrous instead.

This team of 18 serves as a good example of “harmony in diversity”.

2

"A Small Target" for the Year

What are they going to do on the first day after arrival? What about the first week? What if the duration is one year? Members have their own ideas and even get plans.

Q: What's your major job there?

Liu Xuan (刘玄): Help to improve the rural healthcare environment as well as the livelihood and salary of individual rural doctors, so that more of them will be willing to go there, work there and stay there.

Wang Renke (王仁科): It's more about engaging with the locals and the community.

Q: Why do you join in since the living condition there is tough?

Wang Huibo (王慧博): First of all, I do want to do something I can for the group of rural doctors. And secondly, as a father of two, I hope my kids know that I am doing something respectable.

Zhang Xueliang: I think a married man will get a stronger sense of responsibility, especially when he becomes a father. Moreover, I'm working in the insurance industry where responsibility is paramount.

Liu Chunli (刘春利): To me, this is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity which can greatly improve my abilities to coordinate, communicate and handle things by myself in my future career.

Fan Yudong: I’m born and raised in Shanghai. I’ve lived a comfortable life so far. I really want to experience something different.

Cai Ming: The countryside is beautiful. The air is good, environment is clean and people are nice.

Ma Yihua: Simply put, I want to "make the world a better place". Life is a journey, not the destination. We should try something different. Apart from making our own life better, we should also do something good for the country and the world as a whole, I suppose.

Yang Yang: It is a sort of self-challenge. I hope to enrich my life experience.

Chen Xinyu (陈心宇): There are two former colleagues of mine. One's mother had cancer. Fortunately, he has urban hukou, so his mother’s medical expenses could be covered to some extent. The other's wife is from rural area, and his family suffered a lot due to lack of healthcare. There’s something in common between these things – healthcare. I was really inspired and decided to help more people like my colleagues with better healthcare.

Q: What do you want to bring to the rural doctors most?

Wang Huibo: I hope I can find a way to help improve their abilities or increase their income.

Xu Mengfei (许梦飞): Health insurance and medical device.

Zhang Xueliang: Hope. I wish we can bring hope to them and provide them with a better working and living environment.

Yang Yang: I hope we can help boost their confidence, so that they can stay longer in this field. I hope there are more people to join them. In this way, people in rural areas can get timely treatment before a minor illness gets worse.

3

Packing for the Trip

Q: You will be staying and working here for a whole year. You may have searched the local map and general conditions, but a lot of things still remain unknown. What things will you pack into your bag?

Guo Shuai (郭帅): My family’s love and my own responsibility.

Ma Yihua: Part of the baggage will be my daily supplies. I will also bring some pancakes made by mom. Besides, we will collect blessings online and prepare cards for rural doctors.

Zhang Xiaolong: I will pack a few more pairs of shoes. Given the natural environment of Wuxi, I guess we will do a lot of walking in the mountain.

Gao Yu (高宇): I’ll take medicines, clothes and books.

4

Pep Talk before Departure

April 4, 2018 was the day set for departure. Team members were excited about the coming days, but they also knew that there was a long way ahead for the Rural Doctor Program. They have to do a lot of things, such as communication, coordination, resource integration and ultimately, helping the locals, which can’t be easy to achieve in that environment. So, before the journey, they braced themselves up by saying:

Zhang Xueliang: Poverty relief is like a marathon which requires patience and persistence. Hopefully, I will spare no efforts in completing tasks and doing what I can for this program.

Zeng Hao (曾皓): Never give up. It is a challenging task and there will be many barriers ahead we must overcome. First and foremost, we must find a way to carry on.

Wu Chao (吴超): Keep going without forgetting what has inspired us from the start.

Fosun Foundation has joined hands with Health News to initiate “Rural Doctor Targeted Poverty Alleviation Program”. Starting from 2018, this program will provide rural doctors with special training via multiple channels, cover them and underprivileged children with critical illness insurance, open Green Channel of transfer treatment for the rural poor who will be entitled to deduction or exemption, and supply the depressed areas with badly-needed medical facilities. Fosun plans to promote this program by starting with the first 24 counties before covering 15,000 poor villages in 100 counties nationwide, eventually benefitting about 15,000 rural doctors and over 15 million residents in total. According to Mr. Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun International, we start from rather than end up with these 100 counties, and we can do better if we work harder. Members signing up for the Rural Doctor Program headed for the 24 counties around April 4.

This team of 18 is made up of members from Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hainan and Shandong. They gathered together in Shanghai for one purpose and then went on separate ways once again on April 4.

In the following 365 days, change will be happening.