When things around the house stop working, what do you usually do with them? If you’re like a lot of people, you probably just throw them away.

This trend (趋势) has caused the throwaway culture. There are many reasons for it. In some areas, it’s difficult to find people who can make repairs, and fixing things can be quite expensive. Also, some small appliances (电器) are so cheap that it’s often easier to just buy a new one.

In 2009, Martine Postma from the Netherlands came up with a better way: Repair Cafes, where people can get broken items (物品) repaired. There they will find tools and volunteer experts who are ready to help with repairs for free. Postma’s first Repair Cafe opened on Oct. 18, 2009 in Amsterdam. It was a huge success.

Today, there are about 2, 000 Repair Cafes around the world. They not only provide help with repairs, but also improve community relationship. Neighbors get to know one another as they work together on projects. Besides, valuable knowledge is preserved and passed along. Items are also kept and reused rather than thrown away, meaning less litter. If a broken item weighs a kilo, it’s been predicted that 2, 000 Repair Cafes prevent 35, 000 kilos of litter every month. That adds up to about 420, 000 kilos per year!

Ginko Lee is the organizer for a repair group in Pasadena, California. In an interview, she told how exciting it was watching people who really wanted to help one another. She often hears visitors say, “This is the kind of world I want to live in!” Ms. Lee describes the mission of Repair Cafes best in the following words, “Everyone is a giver and a receiver.”

The Students’ Union is looking for suggestions on how to help people in Africa. Here are some of their opinions.

I think heath is the most important. We must make sure the money is spent wisely and be spent first on clean water and health care.

－Robin

Education is the most important in African countries. We need to help people themselves, not just throw money at a problem when it appears.

－Rebecca

People give more money to charity when there is a sudden disaster. It’s good for people to do so, but I also think that everyone should give a small part of his money to charity. If everyone does a little, it will make a big difference.

－Mary

Giving money to the charity can help, but it’s not the final answer. What these countries need most is a good government.

—Bethany

The best thing we can do is to send experts like engineers, doctors and teachers, to help the people to help themselves.

－Robert

Have you ever thought of what life is like for older people, especially for those who live alone? Can they get help when they need it?

Six grade-10 students from Beijing 101 Middle School looked deeper at this question and wrote a proposal (提案) to the China Youth Model Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. They found that most nursing homes couldn’t satisfy the old people, so they advised to build more seniors’ service stations in communities. They also gave suggestions for how governments, neighborhoods and hospitals can work together to make this happen.

________. It offers things like daytime care, cooking, cleaning and friendship to seniors who live in their own homes. The students surveyed more than 1,100 people, about 90 percent of whom said they would prefer to use the stations’ services to moving into a nursing home. However, there are not enough of these stations, and many don’t run very well.

The six students came up with a solution after reading more than 60 related studies, interviewing 108 people and visiting 25 different organizations. Their proposal beat out almost 100 others to win the Best Proposal Award in 2021.

“This experience allows me to understand the responsibilities of us young people. Also I see the light and potential in us,” said Xu Wanqing, one of the students. “Participating in the China Youth Model CPPCC has been good for students,” agreed their teacher and adviser Li Jie, “They’ve grown their civic awareness, as well as gotten more confidence in our society since they’re seen how they can contribute (贡献) to it themselves.”