Pioneer program pays a visit to the senior citizens of Shanghai

On the last day of winter vacation, February 19th, a group of ninth grade students from both English and Chinese Track visited the Shanghai Oriental Elders’ Apartment, a nursing home for the elderly located in the Jiading District of Shanghai. Making the trip twice a year, once in winter and once in summer, they were continuing a legacy that had started with former SFLS (Shanghai Foreign Language School) student, Angelina Cao, three years ago. The project is now in the hands of Helen Zhang (ET9C) here at SMIC-I.

The group of fourteen arrived at the nursing home around mid-morning and proceeded to visit the elderly who were unable to attend their performance in the afternoon due to health-related reasons. Small groups of students visited their rooms, striking up conversations and sometimes performing small snippets from their shows. “It was good fun,” Yolanda Lin (ET9A) said. “I asked [them] questions about what they had done in their lives and listened to them talk.” She also performed a magic show for them. Several other students sang. To these elderly who often found themselves restricted by their health, Pioneer provided some much-welcomed company. 

After lunch and a brief rehearsal, the performance began. Pioneer members had spent weeks preparing for the day. According to Nina Zeng (CT9A), they had started practicing their dance a month ago, using the time after-school and during lunch. On the day, “we performed in a small auditorium,” Helen said. She added that a fairly large number—“about 50 to 60 people”—had gathered. For the next four hours, a total of eight shows were performed. There were two dances, two instrumental performances, a magic show, games, a crosstalk, and a chorus, performed by Helen, Yolanda, Nina, Bella Xu (CT9A), Carol Yin (CT9A), Yuyu Chen (CT9A), Ashley Chen (CT9A), Helen Luo (CT9A), Zara Shao (CT9B), Brian Wang(CT9A), Betty Fan (CT9A), Alex Chen (ET9C), and Allen Qiu (CT9A). After spending more than eight hours at the nursing home, the students finally left.

“I feel like this program is very meaningful,” Nina remarked. Another Pioneer member, Yuyu, said, “Pioneer doesn’t just help the elderlies at the nursing home, it also benefits those of us in the program.” “Some of us attend Pioneer just because of the community service hours,” Helen admitted, but she expressed that the main purpose of Pioneer was to bring a smile to the faces of those watching. Pioneer might have started small, but through the years, it has grown to encompass something bigger. To those that are interested, feel free to contact Helen (WeChat ID: zhang18502152056); Pioneer is always looking for new members. 

Feature Image – Students stand behind Pioneer bannerPhoto Courtesy of Helen Zhang

by Esther Wu