Tonglu retiree makes shoes for the needy

Cotton-padded shoes made by the Bangbang Knitting Team from Yingchun residential community in Tonglu county, East China's Zhejiang province. [provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Xu Yongting from Tonglu county, Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province recently received a pair of hand-made cotton-padded shoes.

It was the 63rd pair of shoes donated by the Bangbang Knitting Team, which is composed of 15 retirees from the Yingchun residential community in the county.

Fang Xuefen, the leader of the knitting team, started learning to make cotton-padded shoes after her interest was piqued by the fine stitches and exquisite design of two pairs of shoes given to her by a resident from the Yingchun community.

Her newfound hobby was soon noticed by other residents in the community, who also started to learn the ropes of the craft. They would later become members of the Bangbang Knitting Team which was founded by Fang in late August to make shoes for the needy.

The knitting team gets together every Tuesday to knit shoes. Each member of the team is responsible for specific tasks.

It takes more than 20 hours to make a pair of shoes as the vamp – the front part of a shoe's upper - is knitted with woolen yarn.

The work can be laborious at times, but the team members have never once felt bored.

"When you're retired and have nothing to do, this is a good way to pass the time together and do some good," said Qian Shuifeng, a team member.

"It's great to see balls of thread being turned into pairs of cotton shoes that go to people who need them," Fang said.

The shoes made by the Bangbang Knitting Team are donated to underprivileged people in the county including elderly persons with no family members and children whose parents are working in other cities.

The knitting team's kindness has moved many people, including Huang Xiaomin, president of Tonglu Pastoral Vegetable Co Ltd, who donated 1,000 yuan ($153.8) which the team used to purchase raw materials for the shoes.

"I'm an old friend of Fang Xuefen and I heard that she is doing something that is both compassionate and meaningful. I just want to offer my modest assistance," said Huang.