A Finnish national in Suzhou spreads happiness through charity activities

He works as a guest teacher lecturing on electronics at Suzhou University, teaches English in local hospitals every week as a volunteer, and plays in a band mixing traditional Chinese music and Iranian drumming. He also established the Happy Home Club at home for young people, where he shares his life experience and life attitudes with them.

There is no membership or entrance fee to the Happy Home Club. Participants can practice spoken English while enjoying drinks and delicious food prepared by Zekrollah's wife, Raija Aflatuni.

To help those in real need, he set a small donation box in the club for the Happy Home Charity Fund. The first project of the fund in 2015 has helped a young girl with leukemia. She recovered fully and happily returned to school! In 2008 and 2009, the fund was used to assist the Sichuan Earthquake Relief Fund. After that, the Happy Home Charity Fund has continued to help sick children.

"One of the primary purposes of our club is to teach young people to share," Raija said. "When you help people, they get happy and you are even happier."

Zekro Aflatuni participates with children in the "Happy Drum, Happy Children" project. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

After learning that children of migrant workers suffer from psychological problems, Zekrollah launched a charity project called "Happy Drum, Happy Children" with the help of the Red Cross and the Suzhou Conference Center. He makes drums and puts his name on them. All the money earned from the sale of these drums is donated to children from poor families.

"True happiness is to make people happy," Aflatuni says. "That's what I believe in and have tried to do all my life."