Gleaning real world experience in the villages
The latest COVID-19 wave in Shanghai has been a stress test for community management and services as well as a learning experience for many young social workers who are new to the field.
Among these young social workers are alumni from Fudan University who chose to work as assistants to the Party secretary in local villages for two years after graduating in 2021.
During the latest fight against the virus, these individuals were involved in a variety of tasks, including community management, organizing nucleic acid tests, distributing medication to residents and designing solutions to the needs of the community.
The work of these social workers was recorded in a video published online on May 4 by Zhang Shengwei, assistant to the Party secretary in Zhuqiao village in Pudong New Area. Zhang graduated from Fudan's life sciences school last year.
The song used in the video was adapted from the popular 2011 single "Gu Yong Zhe" by Hong Kong singer Eason Chan, but the lyrics were rewritten to pay tribute to the persistence and contributions of those working in neighborhood committees. The song was sung by 18 assistants to the Party secretary in 16 villages in Shanghai, seven of whom are Fudan alumni.
"This four-and-a-half-minute video took me nearly a month to complete as I was busy in the day and could only work on it at night. But all the effort is worth it as this video will lift people's spirits," said Zhang, who came up with the idea for the music video when the first video he produced showcasing the efforts of committee members in managing the lockdown of the village was well-received by the residents.
"We were living in our offices so that we could quickly respond to the demands of the 5,000 residents in the village. Every day for nearly a month, the village committee members answered over 80 calls, changed protective clothing eight times, distributed rations and patrolled the village," said the 25-year-old. "I just thought that these experiences should be recorded."
