Joyful Aging-Embracing the Beauty of Life Together

Through Senior Li’s crow’s feet, we can almost see her content and joyful smile under her mask. The lunchbox in her hand seemed especially precious as it contains a nutritious meal prepared daily for the elderly by the community center.

At the age of 79, Senior Li lives alone; she has been a part of Hondao’s Yilan volunteer station for a decade. With her children occupied with work during weekdays, the station is like a second warm home for her. She gets to bond with new friends, engage in physical activities, attend art classes together, and enjoy the meals prepared by the center. Senior Li always says, "For the past ten years, this has been my most familiar taste!"

Social workers have noticed that, in the past ten years, by regularly engaging in social activities and ensuring a nutritious diet, she has maintained a remarkably healthy physique. Her verbal expressions and actions have not shown the slightest sign of decline, leaving both social workers and volunteers deeply moved. Although the daily meal does not contain luxury or gourmet dishes, it allows the local elderly to get access to consistent and nutritious diets. The interactions and care between social workers, volunteers, and seniors deeply warm Senior Li’s heart, encouraging her to regularly participate in the activities at the center for the past ten years.

'Gentle and considerate' Senior Jinzhen meets 'gentle and considerate' social worker.

Enjoying a meal every day, is something that many people take for granted, but for Senior Jinzhen, it is one of the most challenging tasks in her daily life. When she first came to Gangqian community center, during lunch time, she would always take a couple bites and promptly tell our social worker, "I’m already full!", leaving our social worker puzzled and worried if she was feeling unwell and unable to eat.

After observing carefully for a few times, our social worker realized that she has poor dental health and difficulties swallowing, coupled with her declining communicating abilities, she couldn’t express her true feelings and thoughts accurately. Being so gentle and considerate, Senior Jinzhen hesitated to say that she couldn’t chew, instead, she always says she’s full, making our social worker feel heartbroken. After communicating within the center, the kitchen staff not only chose soft ingredients, but also went above and beyond by processing her meals into bite-sized, delicate pieces, allowing Senior Jinzhen to eat comfortably and ensuring her nutrition and well-being.