Senior residents in Junliang Community in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, have a small expectation every cold winter: What kind of cotton shoes will the community give this year? What kind of design will they have?

This promise to give warmth to the elderly began three years ago. 

The soft cotton shoes were made by a group of loving aunties in their 60s and 70s in Junliang Community, Xiaoshan. Began in 2017, every year the community will recruit volunteers to participate in the "Care Cotton Shoes Activity". This year, the number of aunties participating in the activity reached 18, the oldest being 77 years old.

The cotton shoes they produced are welcomed by elderly people living alone in the community.

What kind of aunties are in this group? What are the stories behind the "Care Cotton Shoe" team?

At the Junliang Community Center, 76-year-old Yao Leying sits on a chair, hurriedly stringing the little pearls between the wires with both hands. As a result of skillful technology, Yao Leying talked while beading, and the work in her hands was still moving forward.

This year is Yao Leying's first participation in the "Care Cotton Shoe" activity.

"I saw the recruit for this activity in the community official WeChat account, so I shared it to a group chat of my friends." They were a little worried at first: although they usually do some manual work, they have never worked with the soles of shoes.

Yao Leying was determined, "It will be fine after studying. After learning, you can make shoes by yourself without asking others. Plus, it’s participating in a good deed."

The first time to make handmade cotton shoes, Yao Leying, who was a tailor, made a funny little mistake.

"Speaking of it, I have to laugh myself." Yao Leying picked up the cotton shoes she made and pointed to the stitching thread of the sole. "When I sew for the first time, I deliberately sew in a couple of short sections, thinking that it will be more reliable so that it won’t fall easily, it takes a lot of effort."

As soon as the finished product came out, the cotton shoe teacher was shocked. Yao Leying smiled embarrassedly, "The bottom seam is too dense, so it is easy to break the soles."

From 8:30 to 10:30 in the morning, Yao Leying only made one shoe.

"Skilled aunty can make a pair in 2 hours." Yao Leying has a strong personality. "I won't hand over the difficult parts to a skilled aunt. I just follow along and make the cotton shoes little by little."

After several days of training with handmade cotton shoes, Yao Leying has been able to say some key points about the handmade shoes.

"Our cotton shoes are for elderly people living alone. The bottoms are all non-slip soles, and the inner hairs are made of the best material. The inner sides of the shoes should be tightened so that they are comfortable to wear. The outside is wide, and the inside is tight, thus the shoe does not leak ..."

At first glance, Yao Leying’s handmade cotton shoes look the same as those sold on the market.

Yao Leying and other aunties made women's cotton shoes of size 35-37 and men's cotton shoes of size 43-45 together. The women's shoes were mainly red, and the men's shoes were mainly gray and black.

"The handmade cotton shoes are different from those made by machines." Yao Leying said of her personal experience, the stitches of the handmade cotton shoes will be denser, and the shoe will be lighter. "Because the handmade cotton shoes have better quality, old people living alone can wear them more comfortably."

This year, 18 enthusiastic aunties gathered in the community room, threading and tailoring the bottom and sewing surface of 50 pairs in total.

“The activity of care cotton shoes was originally started by enthusiastic residents giving us cotton-shoes made by themselves. From this, we thought of this meaningful activity.” Secretary Qiu of the Junliang community said that every year since then, they spend about 1,000 yuan to buy raw materials, and then look for handicraft volunteers in the community. After three years, the number of people has grown larger and larger. 

Care cotton shoes are only a small part of the activities in the Junliang community, and the care flower shop is also run by this group of skillful aunties.

As soon as walking in, the reporter saw all kinds of handmade flowers. Peony, rose, lily, tulip, martini, plum, phalaenopsis, morning glory...a whole variety of flowers.

A closer look will reveal that the petals of each flower are composed of iron wire and gauze, and some petals are even made of plastic bags. The place where these handmade flowers go is also a reflection of the love and care of these handy aunties. There are 1,234 retired workers in the Junliang community, and the community visits them every month, and the delicate hand-made flowers will be given to these retirees.

"Junliang community is a community with a large number of elderly people, with a registered population of 1178 people over 60 years old." Secretary Qiu said so the community pays special attention to the retirement life of the elderly. This series activity not only discovered these talented aunties but also makes them more confident.

Moreover, this beautiful positive energy will spread.

Secretary Qiu said that the teachers of Zhejiang Medical Technical School, which is close to the Junliang community, took the initiative to match up after hearing about the community activity, and they wanted to give a batch of scarves woven by the students to the elderly: "In the future, we will continue to organize the activity, we will not only have cotton shoes, but also cotton socks, cotton hats, and scarves, which will give more warmth to people in need."

(Edited by Ye Ke, Translated by Wu Hongjie)