Chongqing- Janet Doutre, a Chinese woman in Vancouver, BC, Canada, had connected with iChongqing on a webinar during COVID-19 on April 17, 2020, to share her vision and life, and call for an initiative: to donate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for your neighbors and the local community, because she believes that helping others is helping yourself.
Initially, Mrs. Doutre's diaries on WeChat highlighted life with COVID-19 in Canada. Mrs. Dourtre is a professional immigration lawyer and an international students' advisor at the University of British Columbia. She originally from Beijing, China, and she had plans to go back to Beijing every March, but this year, her trip on spring break must be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her husband have been work from home for about one month. She started her diaries sharing on WeChat Moments since Mar.27. In her journals, she shared some impressive stories and initiatives of donation on masks to local communities and hospitals. This also highlighted how overseas Chinese work together to combat the pandemic.
Following are her diaries part I shared with iChongqing:
March 27
Start making pizza today. Both my husband and I work from home, and my three EE applicants are currently ranked in medical examinations in April. It's been hard to prepare three meals a day. The computer has been set up all around my house. This year's computer engineer's job is steady! It's sad to keep receiving news of the dismissal of my young friends, so many businesses collapsed overnight. But I decided to start helping children's hospitals to make donations, and make notes of these difficult days ... Costco online helps sick children, and the medical staff who care for them ordered some nutritious food. After ordering some nutritional products, I feel better ... It seems that there is no explosive growth in BC at present. If you continue to stay at home, you will not contribute to mortality!
3.27: homemade pizza
March 28
Many Westerners have never worn masks in their entire lives. My husband is one of them. I saw the handsome President of France wear it today. It seems that the situation in France is very serious. I think under the current pandemic, the hospitals and pharmacies are super crowded. The environment is still safer. So a week ago, I started an initiative to ask my neighbors to donate masks to the elderly in our community. Many friends in China immediately took action to buy masks and send them to delivery. Most of the neighbors also took out some of their small stocks, and the elderly neighbors of the Westerners took them all! Witnessing the love of my compatriots has made me more confident in human's love, and has the courage to initiate donations for children's hospitals in all WeChat groups. Many people who don't know me even decided to donate masks generously, including a friend who just lost his job also donated immediately. Therefore, I must record this with pictures here!
3.28: donation conversation in Chinese on WeChat
March 29
Another day at home! Many people do not know that the medical supplies in Vancouver's major hospitals are in an emergency. The doctors and nurses in the non-emergency department do not have enough masks and protective clothing. This is the same as the beginning of China's domestic outbreak. After all, it is a pandemic that has not been encountered for a hundred years. In addition, all countries are robbing these PPE. The Canadian government is also stepping up global procurement. If the people have channels get PPE, they should actively try their best to lend a helping hand! Many of our neighbors, including those who haven't been in contact for a long time in China, have generously donated money and efforts with a strong contribution, which fully exuded the glory of humanity!
3.29's donation info in the Chinese community
March 30
It seems that I have never been so concerned about grocery shopping in my life! I have a family of three, three meals a day, made me fooled more than once a day. I had a headache about this. The fresh food company that delivered in the past had to grab an order. It was as fast as the immigration bureau's quota opening. Fortunately, the shopping environment of this newly opened Chinese supermarket is relatively reassuring. The supermarket employees are fully armed with PPE, and the compatriots who buy food are also like the gangsters who are armed to their teeth with PPE. The speed is full, and the neighbors in the same building are fully carried out to give full play to the team spirit. WeChat orders from my nice Chinese neighbor to buy and pack in advance. Everyone takes it back to everyone in turn. I am so grateful.
3.30: staff in the supermarket was well-equipped with PPE
April 2
BC Children's Hospital has received donations from my friends and I! So happy to found out that Children's Hospital has been actively preparing for the outbreak of the pandemic, strictly limiting the number of escorts, and dismissing non-essential staff. Hence, we need some convenient, nutritious food to donate to sick children! I saw some useless messages that argue about the source of the pandemic. In fact, this pandemic has not happened for a hundred years, and the world is fighting for anti-pandemic together. Everyone thinks about whether they can do their best to help medical workers and essential community workers. Because helping people is also helping themselves!
4.2: the donated food to the hospital