China News Service, Urumqi, September 7 (Zhang Jiawei) On July 1, 2026, at the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Su Yuqin, Party branch secretary of the Su Yuqin Volunteer Service Workstation in Changji City, Xinjiang, stood on the podium and received the "National Outstanding Party Worker" certificate. "When I received this award, I burst into tears instantly," she said.
This is the third time she has walked into the Great Hall of the People to receive the award. Previously, she had won the National Moral Model Nomination Award and the National March 8th Red Flag Bearer.
The moment she stood on the stage, she was not thinking about herself. "This is a credit to the more than 3,000 volunteers."
Charity starts from a ward
46 years ago, when Su Yuqin was 23 years old, she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia and thrombocythenia. The doctor concluded that she only had one year left to live. "When I got the diagnosis, I felt like I had been put into an ice cellar."
She locked herself in the room and cried for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, she saw a ray of sunlight shining through the window. "At that time, I thought, there is still sunshine. Even if I only live for one day, I should live well."
Su Yuqin hummed a song to relieve her boredom while taking a diaphragm. The children gathered around her bed, and the old people also laughed. She heard the tune on the radio and danced, making the patients smile even more.
She said, "At that moment I understood that even if there was only a little light, I would shine a light on everyone and use a small light to light up the hope of more people."
She became the "child's head" and the old people's "daughter". At that time, she gave herself a name: "Intimate Sister", and her WeChat nickname is still this to this day.
At that time, a breast cancer patient named Ayiguli barely spoke when she was first hospitalized. Su Yuqin kept chatting with her and took her to participate in patient activities. Later, Ayiguli took the initiative to become a volunteer. Now, Ayiguli is the backbone of the art team and visits other patients in the ward every week.
From that time on, Su Yuqin insisted on returning to the hospital every Thursday to do volunteer work, and this "Meet Thursday" activity continues to this day. She sat around with old and new patients to share her anti-cancer experience. "New patients don't understand the situation, so I stand up and tell them how I got the disease and how I was treated."
When a patient asked her why she was so strong, she replied with a smile: "When you are alive, you always have to think about something. If you can help others, I feel that your life has not been in vain."
From one person to three thousand people
In 2006, Su Yuqin founded the Changjizhou Red Cross Anti-Cancer Paradise. “We hope that more people will be strong, fight against the disease, and spread love.”
In 2012, Su Yuqin Volunteer Service Workstation was officially established. In 2017, the work station established a party branch, and now more than 3,000 volunteers carry out charity activities in Changji all year round.
Su Yuqin said that with the establishment of the party branch, public welfare work has become a systematic assistance, and she will immediately hold a meeting on site to solve the problem. Public welfare is not a matter of one person, but a matter of everyone. When everyone gathers together, if there is a problem, raise it immediately and implement it immediately. The problem will not be postponed until the next day.
There are more than 280 cancer patients in the team. One stomach cancer patient who joined the team said: “I used to feel like I was a burden, but now I feel like I can still help others.”
Su Yuqin's "agreement" to go to the hospital every Thursday led her to meet Li Guizhen, a lonely old man suffering from severe myasthenia gravis. She cooked meals at home and sent them to the hospital every day, chatted with the old man, washed his body, and took care of him for half a year. Before he died, the old man held her hand tightly with tears in his eyes: "Daughter, I am lucky to meet you in this life."
During her hospitalization, she also saw two students who were depressed because they had not found an internship unit. She used crutches to help them contact recommended positions and provide guarantees. Later, the two children said: "Sister Su, you are our relative. We learned how to behave and do things from you."
So far, the team has participated in voluntary services for a total of 245,000 people, with a total service time of 3.38 million hours, coordinated charity supplies worth 30 million yuan, and benefited 1.33 million people. The workstation has won honors such as the national "Learn from Lei Feng" demonstration site and the "Four 100" best service projects in national volunteer service.
"Till you can't walk anymore"
Before Su Yuqin's death, her husband held her hand and said something: "No matter how difficult it is, you must keep going and don't forget your original intention and kindness. Although I can't go on with you, there are still many caring people around you to accompany you."
She agreed. She told her husband: "I will keep walking until I can't walk anymore."
Today, Su Yuqin still suffers from many diseases. She told reporters that before going to bed every day, she would finish the day's affairs and arrange the work for the next day. She was worried that if she couldn't get up one day, there would be someone else who could continue to do the rest.
During the most difficult time, her office was located in the bicycle shed and in the corridor of the hospital, but she did not give up. Even though the necrosis of the femoral head caused difficulty in moving, she still used crutches to lead the team to do volunteer services; even though the treatment made her voice dry and hoarse, she still insisted on providing psychological counseling for the patients.
Now, Su Yuqin still leads teams to hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. From the surrounding areas of Changji to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, their footprints cover more and more places.
She told reporters that the only thing she felt guilty about over the years was that she spent less time with her family and spent most of her time with people who were not related by blood.
She said: "No matter where you encounter difficulties, you must face them head-on and do your job well. Don't shrink back when encountering difficulties, you must hold your chest high and move forward. As long as you take the first step, the second step will be a bright road."
