In 2021, at the hsk (Chinese Proficiency Test) test site of the China-Pakistan Education and Culture Center, Ma Bin (first from the right) handed out examination papers to candidates. (Infographic) Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Lanzhou, June 30 (Reporter Liu Yutao) After studying and working in Pakistan for 10 years, Ma Bin has now settled his home in this foreign land. "I am willing to contribute to the cultural exchange between China and Pakistan." He said.
Ma Bin, a 36-year-old young man from Gansu, went to Pakistan in 2010 to study undergraduate and graduate studies in Pakistan. As a student, he began to explore entrepreneurship.
The picture shows the first "Silk Road Cup" Chinese Reading Contest in Pakistan. (Infographic) Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"It's hot and tough conditions here in the summer. But on my first day in Pakistan, I felt the friendliness of the Pakistani people to the Chinese. Ma Bin said, "Pakistani school dormitories are very tight, but will give priority to arranging the dormitories of Chinese students, they help me clean up the dormitories, especially touched." ”
Speaking of his life in Pakistan, Ma Bin said: "There is a feeling of home, in the campus, local students will greet each other warmly when they see Chinese. Once, halfway down the road, my motorcycle broke down, and pakistani people on the side of the road took the initiative to help repair it. They are friendly and respectful to Chinese. ”
In 2013, during his studies, Ma Bin and several partners held a language learning class to teach English and Urdu free of charge to students in Pakistan, overseas Chinese and Chinese enterprises who came to Pakistan for the first time.
"When I first came to this country, I had to overcome the language barrier and understand the local history and culture, so that we could have in-depth exchanges, so we ran this study class together." Ma Bin said.
Gradually, Ma Bin found another problem, some overseas Chinese children lacked a Chinese communication environment and insufficient Chinese writing ability due to their long time in Pakistan; at the same time, with the continuous trade between China and Pakistan, the demand and enthusiasm of the local people in Pakistan for learning Chinese were also unprecedentedly high.
To this end, in May of the same year, Ma Bin and his training team established the "Chinese Academy" and launched the corresponding Chinese courses. "There were a lot of young people from China and Pakistan who came to study, and at that time there were more than 200 at the most."
In 2016, Ma Bin and his colleagues officially registered and established the China-Pakistan Education and Culture Center to engage in China-Pakistan folk education and cultural exchanges. At present, the center has 35 Chinese and foreign faculty members, including 5 with doctoral degrees and 10 with postgraduate degrees. It has enrolled more than 400 students, including local overseas Chinese, Chinese students in Pakistan, Pakistani, etc., mainly teaching English, Urdu and Chinese.
"When we first started a business, because of the shortage of teachers and the limited level of teachers, we encountered many problems, which also restricted our later development." Ma Bin said.
In order to solve the problem of teachers, Ma Bin looked around for help and explored new models. "At that time, the Chinese government provided us with a lot of help, including providing teacher training opportunities and donating relevant books."
Due to the cultural differences between China and Pakistan, newcomers to Chinese are often not very adapted to the local environment, so Ma Bin's team assisted the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan to produce the "Handbook of Chinese Civilization in Pakistan" and "Urdu Police safety manual" for the reference of Chinese traveling in Pakistan and working and living in the local area.
As the secretary general of the Pakistan Overseas Chinese Association, Ma Bin also organized the team to engage in public welfare activities for a long time. Speaking of their lives in Pakistan over the years, Ma Bin recalled that at the beginning of the epidemic, they learned that about 50 poor families in the local area were affected by the epidemic and had nearly run out of food. They spontaneously helped these people in need and put together a public welfare fund at their own expense.
"Two other friends and I bought rice, noodles, oil, sugar, beans, and local favorite milk tea and other daily necessities and sent them to them." Ma Bin said, "At that time, there were some concerns, because my wife and children were with me, but others had difficulties and could not ignore them, helping others was my greatest happiness, and my family could understand me." ”
In the next step, Ma Bin plans to establish a Chinese language school in Lahore, Pakistan, to provide learning opportunities for more people who are keen to learn Chinese. (End)
Source: China News Network