Taking care of the old people seems an unpopular choice for many young people. However, this is what Tashi Wangmo, a 34-year-old woman from Barkam, Sichuan, decided to do at the age of 17.
Growing up as an orphan (孤儿) raised by those around her, Tashi Wangmo had always wanted to give back to society (社会). "Finding that Barkam Nursing Home was taking in new workers in 2010, I thought this was the best way to realize my dream." she said.
Tashi Wangmo's love for the elderly people she cares for has grown day by day and seen her put everything she has into her work. "When I first started here, I was just a young girl while some of the old people were in their 50s or 60s. They had no children, and I had no parents, so we kept each other company." she said.
Gradually, she got a better understanding of the elderly and the meaning of her job. She noticed that the key to getting along with elderly people is that you need to think of them as being a bit like kids. "If you can stand a child making trouble for you, if you are patient enough to teach a child to eat, get dressed and talk, then you can do the same for elderly people."
In 2023, Tashi Wangmo was chosen as an NPC deputy. She said that being an NPC deputy is not as difficult as it may seem. "NPC deputies are a bridge between the country and the people," she said. "I became an NPC deputy by simply doing my job, and I want to bring the difficult situations of the people from the mountains into attention and bring hope back to them."
