What brought a Chinese desert fighter and an American teacher together?

It was Thursday and I was at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome as the UN agency honored 100 women for their contributions to agrifood systems and rural development. The names of 99 recipients had been published on its website, but the final honoree remained a secret.

A clever but risky decision, I have to say. The suspense drew global attention, but it also raised expectations for the final recipient.

My doubts disappeared when the name and photograph of Yin Yuzhen appeared on the giant screen. Applause erupted. Journalists and delegates rushed forward to catch a closer glimpse of the Chinese woman who had spent decades fighting desertification. The clapping soon became rhythmic, with people chanting her name in different accents.

Accompanied by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Yin walked onto the stage. Wearing a dark green top and gray-black trousers, she looked much as she might back home in northern China. The audience knew her story with 8 million trees planted at the Maowusu Sandy Land, an achievement whose weight everyone understood beyond words.

Ronald Sakolsky, a retired American teacher who helped Yin in the 1990s and remained her friend for 27 years, joined her onstage. Qu joked that Sakolsky was ineligible for an award honoring women but had prepared a special souvenir for him.

Sakolsky laughed with everyone else but soon grew tearful as he recalled their first meeting and what they had achieved together.

Their first encounter lasted only a few days. Sakolsky had raised $5,000 and visited Yin to see how she made it. He eventually returned to the United States, while Yin resumed planting trees. They did not meet again for 27 years, until they reunited in China earlier this year.

Yet their warmth and understanding seemed undiminished. How could two people who had spent so little time together remain so closely connected after nearly three decades apart?

After interviewing them both, I found the answer: They are idealists — or, to put it less grandly, people determined to do things well.

A rural woman confronting a desert, Yin understood from the start that every tree she planted meant more greenery and less sand. She may never have studied environmental theory, but she never wavered in her belief that persistent effort could transform the landscape around her.

Sakolsky, an American teacher, heard about someone trying to make the planet a better place. He believed such efforts deserved support, even though the person lived thousands of kilometers away.

In a sense, both were stubborn. Once they decided something was worth doing, they saw it through.

That determination bridged differences in nationality, language and culture. Their friendship needed neither frequent meetings nor shared professional interests, let alone personal reward. It rested on a shared belief that ordinary people can make the world better through their own actions.

More importantly, idealism — or the belief that one can do things well — is contagious. In an exclusive interview, Sakolsky recalled that in 1999 he doubted Yin could succeed until he saw her work with his own eyes. He was not alone in being inspired by her. At the ceremony, Yin said the award belongs not only to her but also to the many "brothers and sisters" who had helped her.

They included local officials, nearby residents and volunteers from more than 20 countries and regions. Inspired by Yin, they became idealists in their own right, ready to inspire others in turn.

After a lifetime of planting trees, perhaps Yin simply cannot stop. The day after the ceremony, she joined Sakolsky and Qu in planting another tree at FAO headquarters.

It was World Food Day, and delegates gathered around to watch the legendary Chinese desert fighter at work. Hopefully, they would carry her spirit of persistence home and inspire others.

Of course, not everyone has the chance to meet Yin in person, but perhaps that is not necessary. Anyone who keeps working toward a worthwhile ideal, however modest the effort may seem, carries something of their spirit.

And every tree planted, wherever it grows, is another reminder that the world can be made a little better by people who believe it is worth trying.

The author is China Daily's chief correspondent in Brussels.