LiYefu,83,aretireddoctoroftraditionalChinesemedicine,treatsapatientwithcervicalspondylosisinHefei,AnhuiProvince.Hehasbeenprovidingmedicalservicesincehisretirementin2000XieXiming,a73-year-oldBeijingresident,describeshislifeoverthepast13yearsas“busy”and“happy”sinceheretiredfromBeijingBeierMachineToolWorksCo.Ltd.,astate-ownedenterprise.Butthemachinetoolengineerrecallshewasnotinsuchjovialspiritswhenthecurtaincamedownonhisworkinglifebackin2005.
“IsuddenlydidnotknowwhatIwoulddo,”recalledtheoldman,whohadworkedfortheenterprisefor38years.“Ididnotwanttostayidleathome,orjustsingordanceinparkslikemanyothers.Ithoughtitwasawasteofmyprofessionalknowledge.”
Hestartedtolookfornewjobsinhisarea.Butbecauseofhisspecificskillsetasanengineer,opportunitieswerescarce.Afterbeingidleforseveralmonths,oneofhisfriendsaskedwhyhedidn’tmakeuseofhiscomputerskills.Xiehad,infact,becomeadeptatoperatingandrepairingcomputersintheearly2000s.
“Atthattime,therewerenotsomanypeoplearoundmewhowereproficientincomputeroperation,”saidXie,whothentooktheinitiativeandfoundajobinavocationalschoolasacomputerinstructorworkingtwodaysaweek.
“Theydidnotpaymemuch,butIdidn’tcare.Atleast,IknewIwasstillusefulandenjoyedthework,”headded.
Afterfouryearsattheschool,Xiefoundapositionasaconsultantinaprivatemachinetoolfactory,wherehestayedforsixyearsbeforetakingtimeouttotravelwithaseniortravelclub.
“Imustkeepmyselfworkingordoingsomethingsoastostayawayfromdiseasesthatoftendevelopamongoldpeople,suchasAlzheimerandParkinson,”hesaid.
Evergreeneducation
Xieisoneofthemillionsofretireeswithprofessionalknowledgewhohopetocontinuetoworkafterretirement.InChina,professionalsusuallyretireattheageof60.Butexpertsbelievethatprofessionalsintheir60sarevaluableastheyareexperiencedandstillenergetic.Infact,inthepastyears,localgovernmentsacrossChinahavetakenmeasurestoencourageretiredprofessionalstocontributetheirexpertise.ThesemeasuresincludeinitiativesliketheEvergreenTreePrograminChengdu,southwestChina’sSichuanProvinceandaprograminTonghuainthenortheasternprovinceofJilin,whereretiredpeopleareorganizedtohelpruraldevelopment,amongmanyothers.
InearlyAugust,ChengduEducationBureauwillstartitsninthroundofrecruitmentofretiredteacherstohelpimproveeducationqualityinunderdevelopedruralareas.Theprogram,calledtheEvergreenTreeProgram,startedin2010andaimstoattracthigh-qualityretiredteacherstoruralschoolsandeducationauthorities.
“Resultsfromthepasteightyearsshowthattheprogramhasachievedtheresultsweexpected.Ontheonehand,ithelpedtheprimaryandmiddleschoolsinunderdevelopedruralareasimprovetheireducationquality;ontheotherhand,itprovidedagoodplatformwheretheseexperiencedteacherscouldcontinuetodemonstratetheircapacity,”LaiPing,DirectorofTeacherManagementSectionofChengduEducationTalentsServiceCenter,aninstitutiondirectlyunderChengduEducationalBureau,toldChinAfrica.
AccordingtoLai,theprogramusesretireeswhohaveworkedasschoolteachersforatleast20yearsthroughoutChina.Theseteachersworkintwocategoriesinruralareas:workingaseducationinstructorsandteachersupervisors.Educationinstructorsworkincounty-leveleducationbureauswiththeresponsibilitiesofplanningeducationdevelopmentofthewholecounty,helpingimprovethequalityofschooleducationanddoingeducationR&D,whileteachersupervisorsworkinvariousruralschools,focusingonyoungteachersbydirectingtheirdailywork.“Theseteachershaverichexperienceinteaching,andwehopetheirexperiencecanhelpruraleducationdevelopment,”saidLai.
InformationfromtheofficialwebsiteofEvergreenTreeProgramshowsthateducationinstructorsandteachingsupervisorscanearn5,200yuan($826)and4,600yuan($730)amonthrespectively,aboutthesamelevelastheaveragesalaryofteachersinChengdu.Inaddition,theirbenefitsincludeinsuranceandaccommodation.ThefundisprovidedbyChengduMunicipalGovernment.
Theprogramisapplaudednotonlybythebenefitingschoolsandeducationauthorities,butalsotherecruitedteachersthemselves.“Thisisaverygoodplatformforustouseourknowledgeandexpertise,”saidLiuRong,a65-year-oldmanwhoworkedasanEnglishteacherfornearly40yearsbeforeretirement.WiththeEvergreenTreeProgram,hehasworkedasateachersupervisorinamiddleschoolinDayiCounty,ChengduCity,forthreeyears.
“OurprogramreallyattractedalotofgoodretiredteacherswithstrongabilitylikeLiu,whohasgreatlyhelpedtheeducationdevelopmentinChengdu,”saidLai,addingthatmorethan400retiredteachershavesofarprovidedservicesviatheprogram.
Silverdoctors
YuTaihonginNo.10MiddleSchoolofKunmingCity,YunnanProvince.The74-year-oldteacherretiredin2000andwasrecruitedasateacherinthesameschoolthatyear.ShehasbeenworkingfortheschooleversinceBesidesgovernment-assistedplatforms,manyprofessionalretireesalsoorganizethemselvestoprovideprofessionalservicestolocalcommunities.
LuoGuiqin,83,aretireddoctorinLongyanCityinsoutheastChina’sFujianProvince,hasbeenprovidingvolunteermedicalservicesinremotemountainousvillagesfor19years.Heindicatedthathewouldcontinuetodosoaslongashishealthpermitted.
Luohadworkedasadoctorfor40yearsbeforehisretirementin1999.LikeXie,hedidn’twanttostayidleandoftenprovidedfreemedicalservicestohisneighbors.ButatriptoafriendinthemountainousvillageofShangjininJinshaTown19yearsagosparkedtheideatousehisexpertisetohelpmorepeople.
“Owingtothebackwardtransportationconditions,thevillagerscouldnotaccessgoodmedicalservicesormedicines.Actually,therearealotofsuchvillagesinLongyan,”saidLuo.“Thistripinspiredme,andIthinkIcanplayabiggerroleintheseplaces.”Hedecidedtoorganizeamedicalteamtoprovidevolunteermedicalservicestothesevillagers.
Whenhetalkedabouthisideawithotherretireddoctors,hereceivedpositiveresponses,andmanyretireddoctorsindicatedtheywouldliketojoin.Soon,theyestablishedtheSilverHairVolunteerMedicalServiceTeamwith10members.
CoordinatedbyLuo,theAssociationofSeniorScientistsandTechnologistsofYongdingDistrict,LongyanCity,fundsthevolunteerservices.Inthepast19years,Luo’steamhasprovidedservicesfor63,000patientsin130villages,givingoutfreemedicinesworth180,000yuan($28,571).Theteamnowhas12members.
Aftertwoyearsrelaxing,Xiehasdecidedtoworkagainthisyear.“IwastoldthatinsomeEuropeancountries,therearesomeclubsthatorganizeretiredpeopletoprovidevolunteerservicesforvariouscommunities,suchashomeappliancerepairing,”saidXie.“MaybeIwillasksomeofmyoldcolleaguestolaunchsuchaclubsoastobetteruseourexpertise.”
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