Devoted residents make city a better place
Selfless deeds of volunteers and organizations in Xiamen improve prospects of those in need
Xiamen, a coastal city in East China’s Fujian province, has improved the standard of living for its residents thanks to the devotion of local volunteers.
According to a local official, the city is now home to more than 7,000 voluntary service organizations and about 1.08 million volunteers, offering services in fields such as emergency rescue, medical care, poverty alleviation and management, as well as offering assistance to children, senior residents and people with physical or mental difficulties.
On March 5, the publicity department of the Xiamen committee of the Communist Party of China released a list of 10 organizations and 10 individuals who serve as role models for offering voluntary services in the city.
The people’s procuratorate of Siming district is on the list of the 10 organizations. When the list was announced, its volunteers were still on a voluntary mission at the local Yanwu No 2 Primary School, advocating knowledge on measures preventing juvenile crimes such as school bullying and other practices of violence among students.
Tackling juvenile crimes
Juvenile crimes and misbehavior among children and teenagers have become a growing issue in China in recent years, said Xu Qiaomin, head of the team of procurators. She added that tackling juvenile crimes and misbehavior should be a primary task among all social stakeholders, like students, teachers, parents and officials.
For this mission, Xu said she and her colleagues have established a voluntary service organization called Team of Sunshine, which has been taking part in regular tours of local schools since 1998 to help to improve the legal awareness of juvenile crimes.
“Recent juvenile crimes mainly involve physical harm, troublemaking, robbery and public disturbance,” Xu told students at a lecture that day.
She told the students that school bullying falls into either the category of juvenile crime or misbehavior depending on the degree of its severeness.
She added that school bullying is defined as a behavior that causes physical and mental harm to students through physical contact and language — both offline and online.
“Some students know school bullying is misbehavior,” Xu said. “But I must tell you it could be a crime if it results in serious harm.”
She added that students with severe behavioral problems could be transferred to special schools for re-education, or, in more serious cases, they could receive administrative or criminal penalties.
She noted that when juvenile crimes are clarified, students are given a clear idea on how to regulate their behaviors and are also better positioned to protect their legal rights by law.
Meng Weiyuan, a student attending the lecture, said that he has understood what behaviors are right or wrong, and the understanding will prevent him from doing wrong and help to protect his rights according to the law. Over the past 26 years, the Team of Sunshine has held a total of 1,200 voluntary activities, benefiting more than 150,000 people, according to Xu.
She added that, in addition to lectures held at schools, the team has also donated nearly 100,000 yuan ($13,890) to students from families with financial difficulties.
Helping seniors
Like the Siming district procurators using their expertise to help students, Ye Tong in Jimei district is another example of someone helping people with her own skills.
The 22-year-old girl is a student learning dance and performance at the local Jimei University. In 2022, she joined the Hongyanlai Cultural Service Center, a community facility to help local retirees enrich their lives through cultural activities.
“I found that local female retirees have an overwhelming enthusiasm for dancing,” Ye said. “This is a good habit, as dancing can make them healthier and happier and it is also a good opportunity for social communication.”
Ye said she and her colleagues have designed textbooks and developed teaching methods to help learners better grasp dancing skills.
Over the past two years, Ye has been helping elderly women in her spare time.
“I’ve found it is not easy for females to get used to their new lives after retirement,” Ye said. “They often feel lonely after retiring from their jobs and departing from old acquaintances. The way to keep them happy is to engage them in enjoyable hobbies and help them make new friends.”
She added that she is willing to make herself a good companion for the seniors, not only a dancing teacher.
Tai chi master
When the seniors in Xiamen receive voluntary services from others, they are also glad to play a role in serving others in return.
Lin Lihua, 60, is a Xiamen resident who is volunteering to teach tai chi to other seniors in the city’s various parks and public squares.
She recalled that she began to learn and practice tai chi when she developed an immunity disease at the age of 44.
“I was told by the doctors that relaxing sports like tai chi were good for my health,” she said. “I began to practice it and found this was true.”
Her 16 years of persistent practice of the sport has not only helped a lot with her health, but also made her a master tai chi practitioner with a national certificate.
“I’d like to share this experience with others, especially seniors who care about their health,” Lin said. “So I hold regular, free tai chi training classes at various sites in Xiamen.”
She currently gives nine classes a week and each class takes about one and a half hours. Nearly 200 people are attending her classes at present.
‘King of storytellers’
Su Qiankuan, 91, is a resident in Xiamen’s Tong’an district. He might be the oldest in the city’s force of volunteers.
The senior resident is often referred to by locals as the “king of storytellers”.
Over the past decade, he has hosted storytelling events at various sites in Xiamen. The use of minnan — or southern Fujian — dialect is a unique feature of his narration.
“The local tales, especially those developed in Xiamen’s long past and those related to the Red culture of the city, are valuable cultural assets,” Su said.
He added that he also wanted to make people realize that local dialects are an important part of Chinese culture. “It is a pity that some dialects, which can usually remind people of where they come from, are on the verge of disappearing.”
So he said he is willing to raise people’s awareness in protecting local cultural legacies, and telling stories in his local dialect is one of the ways he is attempting to do this.
Caring the underprivileged
Care for people with physical or mental difficulties is another highlight of the voluntary services in Xiamen.
In the city’s Siming district, grassroots officials at the Xibian and Kengnei communities have joined hands with local business entities to establish a voluntary service team for children with autism.
Their most recent move was to hold a charity auction in late February, collecting money for the rehabilitation and education of the children.
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs usually begin before a child is 3 years old.
“As we know, the treatment of autism and education for ASD children are among the most challenging tasks even to this day,” said an official attending the auction. “But we want to show that our care for this special group of people is a constant undertaking despite all the difficulties.”
In Xiamen, some people with physical difficulties, who have received care from others, are also making their contributions to society by engaging in voluntary services.
‘Good Man You’
One outstanding figure among the volunteers is You Wenhuang, who is always referred to by his neighbors and friends as “Good Man You”.
You, a resident in Xiamen’s Huli district, used to be a captain in the local fire brigade. He got injured two decades ago when combating a fire caused by a fireworks explosion. The accident left him physically impaired and he had to retire from his post.
He then embarked on another journey, dedicating his energy and resources to offering voluntary services to others, especially those who are underprivileged.
Over the past 22 years, You has donated 3 million yuan worth of cash and supplies to disabled children, elderly people with no families, patients with critical diseases and school children from families with financial difficulties.
You, who is also a gifted painter, said a majority of the funds are from the sales of his paintings. His pension and disability subsidy are also another source of the funding. In addition, he sold his small commercial property several years ago, using the revenue to help people in need.
You and his family members have been used to a frugal way of life. They seldom dine out, spend less on clothing and travel within the city by bike or bus.
When his friends and neighbors told him it’s time to make life more enjoyable, You said: “Life is short and meaningless when you focus on making material gains. It only becomes significant when you devote your energy to making the world a better place to live.”
Today, some of the children receiving You’s assistance have grown up and have begun their own careers. You said these children are grateful and are making their own efforts to give back to society.
Zhang Li used to be a resident in Wenchuan county in Southwest China’s Sichuan province. She was a recipient of You’s financial assistance after her home county was hit by a severe earthquake in 2008.
After graduating from school, Zhang has been working as a nurse at an elder care institution in Xiamen. She treats the senior people there as her own family members and gives them considerable services. For this reason, she was honored as a role model in the elder care industry at both the national and city levels.
As with many of the children receiving You’s assistance, Zhang always refers to You as Papa You.
“Papa You’s exemplary deeds have become a torch to light my life’s journey,” Zhang said. “He inspires us to return to society and live a meaningful life.”