Building a big family

Party secretary of Changshan Garden community Wu Yaqin was selected as a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China because of her diligence and earnest attitude.

Wu has been working for people in this neighborhood for more than 20 years and has successfully solved hundreds of civil disputes.

Residents here always say that Wu is the "alley premiere" and people seldom disagree with her ideas.

Wu Yaqin (first from left) sweeps the snow with her colleagues at the community yard in March, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Changshan Garden community used to be a neighborhood with many laid-off workers because of the reform of state-owned enterprises.

Residents were frustrated and muddled along all day and the community also had a poor physical environment.

Wu took office when the community was in its worst time. In her 30s, she was full of vigor and determined to bring the neighborhood out of poverty and frustration.

She started by encouraging the laid-off residents to learn technical skills and contacted other offices in the community to open training courses on such things as pastry cooking, hairdressing, housekeeping and home appliance repairs.

Wu (Right) visits Gao Qin, a senior communist, in March, 2016, and collects his ideas on how to better serve residents in the community. [Photo/Xinhua]

Later, Wu visited all kinds of companies and recommended residents for their new skills. She also helped those who wanted to start their own businesses by contacting investors and institutes able to provide financial support.

Thousands of residents in Changshan Garden community have since gone to various positions and more than a hundred have become entrepreneurs, owning their own companies.

"When we staff members of the administrative committee can meet residents' demands, they will trust us," Wu said.

Besides paying close attention to residents' employment situations, Wu also cares a lot about their daily needs, such as children's after-class tutoring and having access to neighborhood supermarkets and donation stations.

Wu (first from left) talks with residents in the community yard in October, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wu also regularly organizes meetings for residents to put forward their ideas on how to better the area and solve its problems.

"It is my goal to build a harmonious neighborhood where all seniors and children can get care and all people in trouble can obtain help and support," Wu stressed. "I want residents to be as close as families and the entire community to be like a big family."