Senior citizens participate in community activities organized by a nursing home called Sui Yuan in southwest Beijing's Fangshan district.(Xinhua/Zhang Ni)
The "bank of happiness" initiative has increased the willingness of the senior citizens to participate in community activities.
BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The 76-year-old grandma Liang is going to a handiwork class in the afternoon with grandma Wang, who is 90 years old. Meanwhile, grandpa Han is organizing a new performance of their choir.
Through participating in activities organized by the nursing home called Sui Yuan, in southwest Beijing's Fangshan district, the elderly people receive "coins of happiness" from a "bank of happiness" program developed by the institution.
Zhang Yin, who is involved in the operation of the program, said every elderly person has an "account book of the bank of happiness." They can deposit their "coins of happiness" into their "bank accounts" and buy products such as desserts, beverages and everyday articles with the coins.
The activities in this home for the aged include handiwork classes, choir performances, classes on how to use WeChat and watching films.
"Besides basic daily services, the seniors also need continued psychological attention," Zhang said.
The program enables the elderly people to experience once again the process of "making money, saving money and spending money," helping them to rekindle faith in themselves, he said.
The "bank of happiness" initiative has increased the willingness of the senior citizens to participate in community activities, said Zhang.
He said all the volunteers who come to perform or interact with the elderly in Sui Yuan can also get coins and exchange them for services and products they want.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the total number of elderly people aged 60 and above reached 249.49 million in China by the end of 2018.
