The spirit of community
- By Wei Jia
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 22, 2017
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Liu Yun, the founder of Auntie Liu's Team, gives a speech at a birthday party for over-70s on June 13, 2017. [Photo by Wei Jia/China.org.cn] |
A mega complex where 130 thousand people live, Binhu is on a mission to make everyone feel part of a tight-knit community. Carrying out that equally daunting and rewarding task are more than 6,000 volunteers. Called "Bang Ke," roughly "helpers," they earned that moniker through selfless acts to do good.
The most vulnerable demographic, therefore in most urgent need of help, in Binhu is the elders living there, especially those empty nesters. A group of volunteers called Auntie Liu's Team took up the responsibility of taking care of them.
Founded in 2013 by Liu Yun, Auntie Liu's Team is made up of stay-at-home moms and retirees. More than 50 senior empty nesters live in the subdivision of Binhu where Auntie Liu's team is active.
In addition to grocery and pharmacy runs for the elders who find going out challenging, Liu and her volunteers are acutely aware of their psychological needs.
"These elders didn't know anybody when they first moved here," said Liu. "It was hard for them to find people to chat with, and their children were not around."
So Liu began making home visits with other volunteers to the empty nesters, to check on them, and more importantly, talk with them so they wouldn't feel forgotten by the world.
"By and by, they began to take me into their confidence and shared a lot with me," said Liu with a beaming smile. "Now they will stand up and greet me from a long way off when they see me. It is quite humbling because I just did what I think I should do."
Auntie Liu's Team now visits each of the senior empty nesters at least three times a month.
Liu's grin did not fade a bit when asked if it is a tough job serving those elders. "I gave all the empty nesters my number and I'm on call 24/7, so yes, it's much harder than when I was working," said Liu, herself at the not-so-tender age of 62. "But I'm happy doing what I do, because those elders deserve no less. Old age can be quite lonely, especially when you live in a new environment by yourself. Now they treat me as if I were part of their family, which is immensely rewarding."
Each quarter of the year, Auntie Liu's team will organize a birthday party for elders over 70 who were born in those three months. The volunteers will cook noodles, a food signifying longevity due to its shape, and play video featuring an elder's family as a heart-warming surprise. The elders attending the celebration will get a chance to introduce themselves to others, before it's time to tuck collectively into the steaming noodles served by well-wishing volunteers.
While the presence of family is irreplaceable at an elder's birth feast, Liu and her volunteers are devoted to making the occasion as memorable as possible for the elders. Judging by the jovial atmosphere at the most recent one of such parties, Auntie Liu's Team has done a great job.
More than 80 outfits pursue similarly public-minded goals in Binhu, keeping the complex clean and secure, organizing regular charity sales and nurturing in children the habit of reading by opening a library for them, among others.
Auntie Liu and like-minded people at Binhu prove life in the concrete jungle does not mean a void of human connection, and the volunteers who have done so much to spread neighborly love are truly inspirational.
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