Workshop helps migrant-worker parents adjust to local life

A woman packages ribbons at Ant Workshop in Ningbo's Fuchun Community, which was established for the parents of migrant workers in the area. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

A workshop in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province helps seniors, who left their hometowns to take care of their grandchildren, better adjust to life in the city.

The workshop, entitled "Ant Workshop", was established in Fuchun Community of Beilun district in 2018 in order to serve the parents of workers. To date, it has served more than 50 people.

Zhang Xiaoying, Party branch secretary of Fuchun Community, said that the community includes more than 7,500 households, most of whom are non-locals. Over 100 elderly people in the area are the parents of migrant workers who came to the city to look after their grandchildren.

According to a survey conducted three years ago, the seniors most strongly desired a part-time job to supplement their family's income as well as a way to make friends. The community coordinated with local enterprises and set up Ant Workshop, where the elderly engage in some simple handicraft work such as making cards, packaging ribbons and decorating hair clips. They can earn about 1000 yuan ($154) a month, and work hours are flexible.

"It is a good place for us who have low pension income. We can make money as well as friends," said 55-year-old Wu Baolan.