Summer camp for children of elderly-care providers

Zuo Yanxia, a junior high school girl in Yunnan Province, reunited with her mother in Shanghai last week thanks to a summer camp that also ignited her dream of studying in the city when she grows up.

Zuo has never forgotten her 2020 birthday, after which her mother left Yunnan for Shanghai due to financial constraints; she worked as a caregiver in a nursing home in Baoshan District.

Her mother only appeared on Zuo's phone after that, and they shared their lives daily through the phone.

Last week, Zuo visited her mother again through a program for the children of out-of-town senior-care workers who have cared for countless elderly residents.

The five-day summer camp for children who left their hometown with their parents, and those who came to Shanghai for summer vacation to be with their parents, was held between July 15 and 19, with a full range of activities. The program is held in Shanghai every summer.

Children learned to use psychological methods to explore their career interests and potential. They walked into several businesses and institutions in Shanghai, where they became creative game planners, restaurant managers, food delivery workers, and little officers at the Shanghai Museum of Anti-Drug Scientific Education. Each experience provided them with a glimpse of career opportunities.

They also visited Fudan and Tongji universities, attended seminars on cyberspace fraud and bullying, and visited their parents' workplaces.

"When I visited Tongji University, I was thinking, how wonderful it would be if I could be enrolled and come to Shanghai to reunite with my mother in the future," said Zuo.

The summer camp is expected to boost children's motivation, social integration, and cyber security awareness, and increase their sense of belonging in the city, the bureau said.

According to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, elderly-care workers constitute an important civil affairs professional service team.

According to officials, they love and care for innumerable senior folks, and their unselfish dedication fosters Shanghai's development and progress.

Shanghai had 5.68 million residents over 60 in 2023, accounting for 37.4 percent of the population.

"We hope to express our gratitude to elderly-care workers through this program, enhance children's understanding of their parents' professions, and make them feel Shanghai's warmth," said Shanghai Children's Welfare Foundation Secretary-General Zhang Ling.