Sijia Village, located in the northwest of Qijia Town, has a total population of 1,930, including 325 old people over the age of 60 (186 old people are left behind and 8 live alone) and 16 left-behind children. In recent years, as a large number of young and middle-aged people go out for work, there are many empty nesters in the village who lack care and live with inconvenience.

 

 

 

In order to effectively tackle the difficulties for the elders and improve their quality of life, Sijia Village built a canteen for the elderly with an investment of more than 100,000 yuan in 2021, which was put into use in early March this year.

 

 

 

The canteen for elders in Sijia Village can provide three meals a day for people over 60 years old and left-behind children under 15 years old. The canteen is also equipped with rooms for recreation, reading, rest, and other facilities, which not only solves living problems for the elders and kids, but also improves their living by enriching the spiritual and cultural life.  

 

 

 

“Now our canteen can accommodate up to 40 people at a time. For the elders who have difficulties in moving or live in remote places, volunteers from the good people association in the village will provide food delivery service,” said Li Ruping, secretary of Sijia Village. Besides, public opinions and suggestions will be adopted to improve and optimize the canteen, in order to bring more intimate service for the elders.