Thriving Chinese | "Living in such a big family with love, come more energetically!"

Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition

It is necessary to combine the elderly with the elderly, study and improve policies and measures, encourage the elderly to continue to shine, give full play to the role of the younger elderly, and promote volunteers to do more in community governance.

——Xi Jinping

On the eve of the Spring Festival, in the riverside community of the high-tech zone of Chengde City, Hebei Province, the small square in front of the home care service center is particularly lively and festive.

"In August last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to our community to inspect, and it was in this small square that he had a cordial exchange with the masses. The general secretary is particularly concerned about the old people's old life, so that everyone's heart is warm and dry! Yu Lan, the person in charge of the riverside community, led the reporter through the small square and into the home care service center.

The house was jubilant. In the activity room of the university for the elderly, accompanied by a song "Our life is full of sunshine", the aunts in gold silk and red dresses danced to the fullest. "In the six months after the general secretary's inspection, the community has undergone many changes. The uncles and aunts are energetic, not bad at all than the young people! Yu Lan said.

"Everywhere is convenient, too picky"

A strong smell of rice wafted from the end of the corridor.

"The canteen for the elderly is ready for dinner!" Yu Lan pointed to a room on the south side of the first floor. "Newly opened in September last year, it is popular with the elderly!"

In the canteen for the elderly, 6 four-person dining tables are clean and tidy, several uncles and aunts are eating, and many elderly people carry lunch boxes and walk slowly inside. On one side of the table, the freshly cooked dishes are steaming, braised fish nuggets, scrambled eggs with green peppers, white roasted radish... Eight meat and vegetarian dishes, plus rice and pasta, are hearty and tempting.

Uncle Zhang Ruocheng, 68 years old, chatted with reporters while cooking: "The old mother in her 90s is waiting for her, bring it back to her." The food in the canteen was delicious and varied. ”

On the wall of the canteen, the daily updated menu details the dishes and prices of the breakfast, lunch and evening meals, and each meal is also intimately equipped with two different sets of low sugar and low fat.

When the general secretary came to inspect, he pointed out that meeting the multi-faceted needs of the elderly and enabling the elderly to have a happy and happy old age is an important responsibility of party committees and governments at all levels. After we explored the bottom, we found that there are 1439 elderly people over the age of 60 in the riverfront community, and many of the children of the elderly are not around, and 'eating' is the most common 'just need'. Yu Lan said.

At the beginning of September last year, the riverfront community joined hands with the high-tech zone to renovate and complete a canteen for the elderly in three days. The canteen adopts the model of government subsidies and third-party operation. The elderly over 60 years old have 5 yuan for breakfast and dinner, 10 yuan for lunch, half price for meals for people over 80 years old, and free food for people over 90 years old.

"The first few days of the tasting, I came." The 85-year-old Hao Guifeng's family, she and her wife, used to buy their own vegetables and cook, which was time-consuming and laborious. "Now, I come to the canteen every morning and noon to eat two meals, save money and effort and nutrition, where is convenient, too picky!" She said.

Eat smoothly and live with peace of mind. In August last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the home care service center to inspect projects such as aging transformation. Nowadays, all kinds of equipment displayed in the exhibition room for aging renovation appear in the homes of many elderly people. More than 60 families in the riverfront community have completed age-appropriate renovations.

When the reporter found The home of Uncle Liu Baochuan, he was using walking aids for rehabilitation training. Uncle Liu is 62 years old, suffering from diabetes, cerebral thrombosis, and limited mobility.

"The community helped me install toilet boosters and brought me bath chairs and walking aids. Walking is less strenuous, and sitting and showering is much more secure. Uncle Liu told reporters that there is also a "bodyguard" at home!

In the second half of last year, the community distributed surveillance cameras to more than 20 families with sick elderly people and elderly people living alone, which can automatically lock and track shooting targets, and can also use mobile phones for real-time intercom.

Chatting, the camera "spoke": "Old man, are you okay at home?" "It turned out that the old wife who was out running errands remembered Uncle Liu."

"Now I'm a 'red vest'"

"Xiao Yue, my eyes are much better!" Thanks to you for accompanying me to the hospital two days ago for a check-up. In the small square, Zhang Yufu, who was walking out of the corner, recognized a lady wearing a volunteer red vest at a glance.

"Aunt Zhang, you're welcome! If you need help, you can call me at any time! The "red vest" answered warmly.

The "Xiaoyue" in Zhang Yufu's mouth is 64-year-old Yue Shurong, an elderly volunteer of the Lei Feng Volunteer Service Team of the Binhe Community Gerontology, and a well-known "warm heart" in the community. On weekdays, she often goes to the home of Zhang Yufu, an 87-year-old man who lives alone, to clean and clean up. A while ago, when I heard that Zhang Yufu was suffering from an eye disease, Yue Shurong immediately offered to accompany her to the hospital, "In those few days, there was heavy snow in Chengde, and the snow on the ground was very deep, how could I let Aunt Zhang go by bus alone?" ”

Such "troublesome things" Yue Shurong was accustomed to. "When our children are out, we are all 'empty nesters'. Taking advantage of the fact that the body is still quite tough, it is very comfortable to provide some help to the older people within their ability! ”

Three years ago, when the community set up a home care service center, Yue Shurong and a group of "energetic elderly people" with good health and good spirits gathered together to form a volunteer service team.

When General Secretary Xi Jinping came to inspect, he met 5 elderly volunteer representatives, and Yue Shurong was one of them.

"We told the general secretary that volunteering is to do something old and exert more residual heat." Yue Shurong recalled, "The general secretary said that we spoke very well, and while exploring how to do a good job in supporting the elderly, we also raised a question of how to do something for the elderly. ”

"Hearing the general secretary's affirmation, we were so happy that we almost jumped up!" Hu Xiying, an elderly volunteer who also saw General Secretary Xi Jinping, told reporters, "We are more angry, and we are willing to walk in front of everything!" ”

Just the day after General Secretary Xi Jinping's inspection, three aunts over 60 years old found community workers and applied to join the volunteer service team. In less than half a year, the service team has expanded to 58 people, each of whom is distributed in 12 groups such as the condolence group, the literary and artistic group, and the domestic service group according to their strengths, and 2 volunteers take turns to be on duty every day.

"In the past, I always saw the 'red vests' in the community courtyard busy with this and that, looking at the unique positive energy. Now that I have become a 'red vest', I feel that I have endless energy every day, and the child says that I laugh a lot. Wu Yahong, 60, just became a volunteer in September last year, donated three large tanks from her family to the newly opened canteen for the elderly, "for the old sisters to pickle sauerkraut!" ”

"The general secretary said that we should study and improve policies and measures, encourage the elderly to continue to shine, give full play to the role of the younger elderly, and promote volunteers to do more in community governance." Yu Lan introduced that the "time bank" mechanism piloted by the community is constantly improving, and the silver-haired volunteers have "saved" nearly 7,000 hours of service time, "Today they serve others, and in the future, some people will serve them." Love is circulating in our community. ”

"As soon as the music went on, I was gone."

"Teacher Yang, you help us cut the details again." In the activity room of the university for the elderly, 59-year-old Zhao Fengyun and several aunts gathered around teacher Yang Lina, with dance movements in their hands.

This year, the Riverfront Community and the Ewha Community next door jointly held the first Community Network Spring Festival Gala, with the elderly of the two communities as the protagonists. Choruses, cheongsam shows, poetry recitations, folk music performances... Zhao Fengyun and the old sisters reported 3 programs in a row, showing the "fruitful results" of their studies at the community university for the elderly.

"Dance on Mondays and Thursdays, vocal lessons on Wednesdays and Thursdays, how fulfilling!" Zhao Fengyun retired for nearly 10 years, and in the past few years, she was busy taking her little grandson, and after the child entered the kindergarten, she was idle and panicked. "When I was young, I was good at singing and dancing, but unfortunately I didn't have time to learn. Now that the university courses for the elderly are rich and free, I must not hurry to seize the good opportunity? Zhao Fengyun laughed.

Since 2018, the riverfront community has opened a community university for the elderly with "public welfare education and free learning", building a bridge between the elderly who are "skilled" and the elderly who are "eager to learn", so that both sides need each other and achieve each other.

Yang Lina, a dance teacher, was a national second-level choreographer. Her strengths were carefully captured by the community cadres who visited the houses and recorded on the information platform. "I am very happy to be able to teach the old sisters, and I have regained my vitality." My wife said that as soon as the music sounded, I was gone with any illness! Speaking of this, 67-year-old Yang Lina opened her eyes and smiled.

Walking in the riverside community, the reporter felt the warmth of home everywhere: the old people called Yu Lan these community cadres "girl, boy", and Yu Lan and his colleagues called the old people "uncle", "aunt" and "grandmother". Between people, there is no strangeness, only laughter.

"They all say that volunteering is very hard, and I see more happiness." Hu Xiying said that not long ago, she carried two heavy bags of packages to her home, and a strange boy took the initiative to help her. The guy didn't leave a name, only a sentence: "You're a community volunteer, right?" I recognize you. I volunteer today too! ”

"Living in such a big family with love, come more energetically!" Hu Xiying said that if it were not for the community to provide various platforms for the elderly, he would not have had such a tasteful life. She also deliberately created a poem that exudes her vision —

"Eighty is not old, sixty is still young, we are a group of happy friends... Every day is full of sunshine, let us live another 30 years! (Reporter Yan Yu Shi Ziqiang)

(Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition)