By Shen Jiaying

On the afternoon of 1st December, at the ‘International Friends’Home’of Guanshan Community Service Center in Nantong Innovation District, 6 foreign residents, 4 foreign volunteers and nearly 10 Chinese volunteers sat around a table, and learnt to sew blue calico sachets.

There are nearly ten thousand residents in Guanshan Community, including more than 500 foreign friends from places all over the world.

Walking into Guanshan Community Service Center, at the entrance, bilingual signs in Chinese and English are clearly visible; on the ground, colored guide lines connect the various functional areas; English newspapers, flags of all nations, and time zone clocks adorn the space ...

Thomas from Sweden is a regular participant in the community events. When sewing sachets together with the volunteers, he is a ‘student’ who loves Chinese culture; when cooking home-style food at the community kitchen, he is a ‘recommendation officer’ for his hometown. When participating in tea parties and movie nights, he will turn into a networking ‘expert’, making friends with like-minded people. He said, ‘Although I have not stayed long in this community, I have already felt warmth and vitality like home.’

To build a bridge for common understanding and mutual growth between Chinese and foreign residents, Guanshan Community also established 5 international voluntary service teams.

As a team that brings together caring individuals from both China and foreign countries, PLS International Volunteer Service Center is active in a variety of service areas such as respecting the elderly, caring for children, assisting the disabled, and caring for small animals. At the same time, it employs foreign volunteers who have lived in the area for a long time and are familiar with the situation to help new foreign residents adapt to local life.

The China Tong International Volunteer Team, with students from the School of Foreign Studies and the School of International Education of Nantong University as its core force, has made use of its professional advantages to build communication bridges.

The ultimate goal of building an international community is to be ‘borderless’—breaking down the boundaries of language, culture, and nationality to build a true community.

Through joint community building, some foreign residents have become an important force in community development: they have become gentle uncles and ‘foreign mothers’ who read picture books to children, and have joined hands with the ‘Pianta Children's Care Center’ to accompany children with autism with love. One of the autistic children even presented a T-shirt with a hand-drawn picture to a foreign guest from the United Nations. Swedish volunteer Magnus bravely rescued a person who had fallen into the water, and the family of the rescued person traveled more than 2,000 kilometers from Wenshan, Yunnan to Nantong to express their gratitude in person. Their boundless love is truly touching.

【背景阅读】

南通创新区观山社区：
这里生活着500多名外籍友人

12月1日下午，在位于南通创新区观山社区服务中心的“国际友人之家”，6名外籍居民、4名外国志愿者、近10位中国志愿者围坐一桌，学习缝制蓝印花布香囊。

观山社区现有居民近万人，其中还有500多名来自世界各地的外籍友人。

走进观山社区服务中心，入口处，中英文双语指示标识清晰醒目；地面上，彩色引导线连接着各个功能区；英文报纸、万国旗、时区钟表点缀其间……

来自瑞典的托马斯是社区活动的“常客”，和志愿者们一起缝制香囊时，他是热爱中华文化的“学生”；在社区食堂烹饪家常美食时，他成了家乡“推荐官”；在参加茶话会和电影之夜时，他又变成社交“达人”，结交志同道合的伙伴。他说：“虽然住在社区时间不长，但我已经感到家一般的温暖与生机。”

为了搭建中外居民相互理解、共同成长的桥梁，观山社区还组建了5支国际志愿服务团队。

作为一支汇聚中外爱心力量的团队，PLS普利斯国际志愿者服务中心活跃在敬老、爱幼、助残及关爱小动物等多元服务领域，同时聘请长期居住、熟悉情况的外国志愿者协助新来的外籍居民适应本地生活。

中国通国际志愿团以南通大学外国语学院、国际教育学院学生为核心力量，利用专业优势搭建起沟通桥梁。

打造国际化社区的最终目标是“无界”——打破语言、文化、国籍的界限，构建真正意义上的共同体。

通过社区共建，部分外籍居民已经成为社区共建的重要力量：他们变成绘本陪读的温柔叔叔与“洋妈妈”，携手“Pianta儿童关爱中心”，用爱心陪伴“星星的孩子”，其中一位孤独症儿童亲笔绘画的T恤曾赠予联合国外宾；瑞典志愿者Magnus奋不顾身勇救落水者，被救者一家人从两千多公里外的云南文山赶到南通当面致谢，大爱无疆令人动容……