Helping others in need runs in their blood

For Zhao Tian'an, giving those in need a helping hand is not just a matter of international concern, but also a family affair as well.

Zhao, his older brother and late father have been involved in China-aided construction projects in 10 African countries.

"At times, when things were tough and I wanted to go home, I found a lot of emotional support by reading my father's diaries," said Zhao, 60, who spent more than two years building the Maseru District Hospital and Eye Clinic in Lesotho in southern Africa.

In the 1960s, his father was part of the first group of construction experts that China dispatched to Africa.

"When I was 2, my father went to Guinea and was in charge of designing the People's Palace, the national parliament," Zhao, who is from Hunan province, said. "From his diaries, I learned of the tough conditions he and his colleagues faced and how they overcame their difficulties.

"The most impressive thing was how — when faced with undersea silt that posed a great threat to safety — they managed to solve the problem of the foundation's uneven settlement. They had no examples to follow, but yet they eventually worked out a way based on thorough investigation and a lot of experimentation."

Zhao's father also had a role in building the National Theatre in Mogadishu, Somalia. He returned to Africa from 1973 to 1976, doing quality control checks on projects in five countries in which China had a hand.

Zhao said it was his father, who died in 2002, that inspired him and his older brother to embark on their African odyssey.

In 2010, Zhao's brother, as a member of a Chinese experts team, went to Ghana for the preliminary design of a hospital. Three years later, he went to Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia to design primary schools in impoverished areas.

As for Zhao, his engagement with Africa began in Libya, where he took part in a residential project in 2008. Building the hospital in Maseru was his second time visiting the continent, when he was appointed deputy head of the construction project in 2021.

"Unlike our father, we two have mainly worked on low-cost projects that deliver fairly quick benefits to locals," Zhao said.

"For example, many of the locals in Maseru suffer from eye diseases because of exposure to strong ultraviolet rays at a high altitude. So, when the hospital was designed, we concentrated a lot on the eye clinic.

"When it opens, locals will no longer need to travel to South Africa for treatment."

The 200-bed hospital was built with a 400-million-yuan ($55 million) donation from the Chinese government as a Belt and Road Initiative project to improve the lives of locals, and will begin operations next month.

At its peak, the project created more than 300 jobs for locals.

"I got to know the job from a friend who speaks Chinese and had worked on the project," Retselisitsoe Letsasa, the project's human resources manager, said.

"At first, it was a challenge for me because I don't speak Chinese. But the Chinese are very easy to work with and always eager to help. I have been mainly in charge of recruiting locals. It's interesting and enjoyable to work as a bridge between local workers and the Chinese staff."

Letsasa expressed her gratitude to Zhao and his company, PowerChina Zhongnan Engineering Corporation, for giving her a chance to visit China last year, which she said inspired her to pursue a master's degree in the country.

"I visited several energy companies where I learned how they managed to make sure that everything was sustainable. China is much more advanced than us in using clean energy such as hydropower and wind power," she said. "I studied environmental management in my undergraduate years, so I want to do a master's degree in China to study environmental and sustainable development."

Letsasa is not the only one who has benefited from such visits. With Zhao's help, two groups of African officials, technical experts and company representatives took part in training programs in China last year, organized by PowerChina Zhongnan and sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce.

'Amazing' trip

Tsotang Amin Mphethe, chairman of the Local Government Service Commission in Lesotho, said his trip to China in July was amazing.

"I witnessed China with my own eyes. I found it to be a very big country with kind and loving people. I got the chance to visit a few Chinese factories in manufacturing and electric power, and I see growing prospects for cooperation between the two countries," he said.

China has helped Lesotho and other African countries in many ways, Mphethe said, adding that he cherishes the China-Africa friendship.

"China has offered us humanitarian assistance in a good spirit, wanting to see us grow and to be independent," he said.

China's aid to Africa began in 1956. Their friendship continues to grow and blossom, with the two sides helping each other in many ways over the years. Through various mechanisms including the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the relationship between the two has entered a new era of building an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

Zhao said his family has experienced firsthand the enduring China-Africa friendship, and he wants to do more to promote mutual communication and collaboration.

"Actually, I am much busier after I came back. I'm working with universities and companies in Lesotho and neighboring countries, including South Africa, hoping to build connections between them and those in China to provide more opportunities for people-to-people exchanges and business cooperation."

wangxiangyan@chinadaily.com.cn