In May, 2002, the Communist Youth League of China sent its first team of five volunteers from across the country to Laos, followed by another team from Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province to Myanmar at the end of last year.

The Shanghai Youth Volunteers Service Team dispatched for Laos this March is the third and largest group of Chinese volunteers to a foreign country. All three groups are on six-month placements.

The 10 members of the Shanghai team were chosen from over 100 applicants through public recruitment, screenings and interviews.

The volunteers, four women and six men aged from 23 to 37, were chosen for their skills. They now work in Vientiane Province as doctors, teachers, an agriculture consultant, a basketball coach and a referee trainer, and a business manager. All hold degrees of or above bachelor's, including one master's and one doctorate.

They will resume their jobs in Shanghai once they finish their mission in mid-September.

According to Zhang Hua, an official with the International Liaison Department under the Communist Youth League of China, more volunteers will be sent overseas in the future.

(China Daily August 7, 2003)