Community leader adds a personal touch with neighbors

When the neighborhood community office offered Chen Feng'e a job in 2006, she thought there would be plenty of leisure time since the work could be done mostly from home.

But she was mistaken. After Chen became a community social worker in the Qibei community of Beijing's Xicheng district, she discovered the immense scale of responsibility the job required.

Not to mention that at the age of 44 she was the youngest of seven staff members.

"A community is like a small society," said Chen, now director of the office. "It's the smallest but most active cell of a big city."

Twelve years later, Chen has grown into an experienced community director.
She has focused on attracting younger workers and volunteers to support upgraded and innovative community management models and services.

Since the proportion of older people has grown in recent years in the capital, the team of social workers and volunteers to work with them needs to be rejuvenated with young blood, she said.

For example, the adoption of digital equipment and new media communication has raised the enthusiasm of young people, particularly college graduates, to participate in the work.

In 2016, Chen formed a WeChat group to release the latest service posts to the community's residents. To better understand residents' demands, Chen went door to door and found that many seniors needed space for activities.

So she decided to set up two activity stations for them in the community and regularly organizes activities.

The singing, dancing and tai chi groups, as well as a handicrafts class, have prospered, and the community office has expanded. It now has 13 employees and new computers to cover services for various groups including the elderly, the physically challenged and the unemployed.

When she started working there, the office had only one 15-square-meter room. There was hardly anywhere for visitors to stand.

Now, major progress has been made in the facility and the environment of the Qibei community. It even has new lawns and parking spaces.

Chen and her family have lived in the community for more than 40 years. She always viewed herself as dedicated to community service. Residents of the neighborhood are not merely part of her job; they're also her friends, and she often links arms and walks with them as they pass by.

"I hope in the future I can do more to help establish a better sense of community in the neighborhood," she said.