Ningxia couple help elderly take showers

With a mobile shower, an inflatable bed, a blood pressure monitor and body wash, Fan Zhi and Chen Zeying, a couple from Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, are helping the elderly maintain personal hygiene.

The middle-aged couple runs a store that sells funeral supplies in the city.

Years ago, when Fan, the husband, helped wash the body of a deceased man, he happened to learn from the family that the man had not taken a shower for over seven years before he died. That's when the idea of helping the elderly shower came to Fan's mind.

"We all will encounter a day when help is needed," he said.

After talking with families, Fan received training in massage and eldercare to avoid accidents.

Before showering, Fan evaluates the health condition of the person. After the shower, he also polishes their nails. He usually leaves after taking the person's blood pressure and after the subject is in a stable condition.

Chen, the wife, joined him, so they can take care of both males and females.

According to the seventh national census, there are more than 260 million Chinese aged 60 and above, and 42 million of them cannot take care of themselves.

More people have reached out for help, and Fan said he is organizing more people to join the effort.