Ali Qadir prepares celebrations for the traditional Chinese Spring Festival with a local senior citizen. [Photo/nuaa.edu.cn]

An independent volunteer team consisting of some 500 members from more than 50 countries and regions won the municipal Wutong (Chinese for parasol tree) Award in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Dec 18, 2019. 

Named "From Compassion to Action", or FCTA, the team has been offering volunteer services and working on public welfare projects in Jiangsu since its establishment in 2016. 

"We are not guests here, we are members of the city," said Ali Qadir, the founder of FTCA. Qadir said being named a Youth Ambassador in the award was the greatest recognition the team could receive. 

Qadir said he was inspired by his childhood experiences to launch such a team. The young Bangladeshi man was born into a poor family and his older siblings had to quit school to make a living. As the youngest, Qadir himself had to work half a day to relieve the family's financial burdens. 

"I would wonder what can I do for them every time I met a child who was in a  similar situation to me. That's where the FTCA came from," he said. 

Qadir has guided his team to carry out various voluntary service activities, such as taking care of left-behind children, offering free English classes to local residential communities, and giving a helping hand to sanitation workers and police officers. 

"We hope to help people in neighboring Anhui province and even other parts of China," Qadir said.