International Student’s Open Letter to Show Thanks

“I am sincerely grateful to the teachers of the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology and the entire administration of TJU for the immense support you are providing for all your students during the fight of this deadly global pandemic,” wrote Pewee Datoo Kolubah, in an open letter to Tianjin University and the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology.

The senior student from Liberia is currently studying Chemical Engineering at Tianjin University, the first modern university in China, who boasts of advanced Chemical Engineering Programs in China and even in the world.

 Pewee Datoo Kolubah works as a volunteer for the university's faculty training program.

When the novel coronavirus started to ravage in China, Pewee was in Tianjin and stayed put ever since, witnessing the whole process of how Chinese government led its people to fight against the epidemic and save lives. He said he was greatly impressed with the way the Chinese Government handled the situation. “The construction of a hospital in less than two weeks and the thousands of medical workers and military personals that were mobilized to go to Wuhan, Hubei province to help local health workers gave me deepest impression about the Chinese people and their effort to save lives.”

Pewee thought highly of the professionalism the university demonstrated in dealing with the epidemic. He expressed special thanks for the financial and physiological support provided by the teachers. “I didn’t encounter any major difficulties because the teachers were always willing and ready to help me whenever I called upon them.”

 Pewee Datoo Kolubah (the first from the left) at a learning seminar.

He said the teachers checked on him and every other international student on a daily basis by text messages, inquiring about their health status, easing their panic and encouraging them to do regular exercise to stay healthy. He also named other measures the school and the university took to ensure their health and welfare, like providing masks, thermometers and guidance letters to help them understand the virus and keep safe from it.

As he wrote in his letter that “I appreciate all of you, for the supports during the outbreak of the virus and I am optimistic that this will soon be completely over and we will return to our normal activities, “ Pewee Datoo Kolubah showed great confidence in China’s fight against the virus, claiming that with Chinese people’s sincere commitment and passion for unilateralism and a community of shared future, China was winning the fight.

“I eagerly await the pandemic to be over so I can return to school to complete my senior research and to meet my friends, teachers and classmates,” Pewee told the reporter.

By Eva Yin & the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology

Editor: Eva Yin