An Elderly Man Gets His Hair Washed 8 Times in One Day - Investigation by University Students Finds Awkwardness in the "Season of Love", Welfare Homes Can Barely Cope
"Honor thy father and mother, and also others' parents; Cherish thy children and also others' young." On the eve of the Spring Festival, eight students from Hunan University, Shandong University, and Zhejiang University, all originally from Hunan, came to the First Social Welfare Home of Changsha with gifts hoping to interact with the children. However, they were turned away due to not making a prior telephone reservation. Though disappointed, the students discovered through this experience that the love contributions from student volunteers often do not align with the actual needs of welfare homes.
To uncover the root of the problem, the university students conducted an investigation.
A Phenomenon: Holidays See Crowded Love Contributions
The students found through conversations with welfare home social workers and online research that it is very common for love contributions to be crowded during holidays. In some elderly care facilities and welfare homes outside the region, elders sometimes receive four or five groups of volunteers in one day. Reports indicate that within the two months from December 2011 until now, the orphans at the Nanjing Welfare Home in Jiangsu Province have received or participated in 165 batches of social donations or interactions involving thousands of people, leaving the welfare home barely able to cope. Last year, a school volunteer initiated a hair-washing activity for the elderly at a welfare home, where one elder had his hair washed eight times in one day by eight different volunteers.
"As soon as it's Lei Feng Memorial Day or another holiday, many volunteers come to our home. We're happy when they come because they bring laughter and joy. But sometimes, after one group leaves, another comes, and we almost become receptionists," remarked an elder at the welfare home. "Actually, contributing love has its rules; it's not something you can just come and go as you please. We must respect anyone who needs love."
Liu Litian, a third-year student at Hunan University and organizer of this event, believes that some university students' ways of showing love are indeed somewhat utilitarian. Many universities require students to submit reports on their social practice activities, and some middle and primary schools include consoling lonely elderly as part of winter vacation homework, requiring students to obtain seals from relevant institutions or use photos as proof. Xiang Yuxiang, a first-year student in applied mathematics at Zhejiang University, feels that today's children are overly pampered, and their capacity for services within their capabilities is relatively limited. Therefore, it is understandable for welfare homes to reject frequent visits from students.
Ning Chunxiang, a social worker at the First Social Welfare Home of the city, revealed the real reason for the rejection to the students: "On Tuesdays and Thursdays each week, the children interact with kind-hearted visitors. However, at other times, we don't want to disturb the children's lives too much. Too many visitors might make the children feel different and cause psychological pressure." She hopes that student groups will call ahead before visiting to explain their purpose and schedule an appropriate time.
B Awkwardness: Supply and Demand Contradiction in Volunteer Services
In the love registration book of the First Social Welfare Home of the city, Xiang Yuxiang discovered that 60% of the visitors were student groups or individuals, but they often only appeared once, and the services provided and materials donated were repetitive. "We young people have plenty of energy, and using our spare time to do something for society is our duty," said the journalist during interviews. Despite certain volunteer services having elements of completing tasks, it cannot be denied that many young people have great enthusiasm for contributing love.
Through discussions with another group of students who visited the same day, the investigating university students learned that these students were busy with academics during regular days and could only visit the welfare home during holidays to contribute love. However, they basically did not know what the welfare home actually needed, and the supplies they purchased were randomly chosen nutritional products. When asked how to console the elderly, they often thought of telling jokes, sweeping the floor, and giving some fruit.
From the perspective of the welfare home, they still strive to protect the enthusiasm of the volunteers and try to reasonably arrange service projects for the reserved volunteers during holidays. "We greatly appreciate everyone's help, but some things we don't urgently need. Some people donate old clothes that are already torn or unused old appliances to our elderly and children, but these are basically useless," said Zhou Zhenli, a relevant person in charge of the Social Work Department of the First Social Welfare Home of the city. These contributions of love and the love needed by the welfare home cannot be fully matched, leading to mountains of nutritional supplements accumulating, while truly needed items like diapers and some hardware facilities remain ignored. Other staff members at the welfare home introduced that currently, the children lack most medical support, teaching support, and family assistance.
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