"The Happy Cabin" brings sunshine to seniors
Source: Shanghai Daily |
January 29, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ENTER with sorrow, leave with joy. That's the motto at Bao Meili's apartment in the Longbai residential community, which has become a refuge of sorts for seniors suffering from loneliness and other old age problems.
Local residents call her tiny apartment "the happy cabin" because of its success in bringing some rays of sunshine into lives covered with clouds.
Bao is a retired music teacher, and she believes the secret of happiness and health lies in music. About five years ago, she opened her apartment and invited neighbors in to sing and chat -- and most of all to laugh together.
The open house sessions exude an aura of warmth, caring, love and sharing. Bao teaches her guests tunes to sing and accompanies them on her electric organ. Sometimes she arranges little concerts at her home, and her husband serves as cameraman to capture all the smiles.
"Every time my husband and I see these people smiling, we think our efforts are worthwhile," Bao said, with a big smile herself.
Sometimes smiling is not so easy. Bao's husband is in poor health, suffering from cardiovascular disease. He credits music with helping him ease pain and anxiety.
Based on her experiences as a teacher, Bao said she believes music can improve the body's cardiovascular, endocrine and digestive systems because rhythm and sonic vibrations affect brainwaves, heartbeats and respiratory rates.
Bao has no shortage of fellow believers. Take Pan Jiaqiong, a retired university teacher, who came to the "cabin" sessions but was too shy to sing because she thought her voice was awful.
She was urged to try by others at the get-togethers, and soon she was singing along with everyone else. Her voice was melodic, and she even gave a small solo concert at the "happy cabin."
Pan celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in 2009. She invited her friends to a little ceremony at Bao's house and sang to them to express her gratitude for their friendship.
"My relatives are surprised that I am enjoying such a full life after retirement and have so many good friends now," she said.
Another visitor to the "happy cabin" is 67-year Pan Dexian, who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis and has to take drugs every day to relieve the pain. In the summer of 2008, she was hospitalized as her disease worsened.
After learning the news, Bao and her friends visited the hospital, where they offered cheerful songs and best wishes for her recovery.
"During that period, I missed my friends very much, and their visits gave me a spiritual lift," she said.
Pan was the first to recover among the other patients who were hospitalized at the same time as her. She said the suffering she experiences from her illness has also been relieved partly because of her happier mood.
"Happy cabin" has proven such a success among residents in Longbai that Bao's home can no longer accommodate the increasing number of people who want to attend. As a result, five more "happy cabins" have been opened in other homes in the complex, with Bao's guidance. Her home is now nicknamed "the headquarters."
More than 60 residents, aged between 55 and 87, are regular attendees at these gatherings.
Local residents call her tiny apartment "the happy cabin" because of its success in bringing some rays of sunshine into lives covered with clouds.
Bao is a retired music teacher, and she believes the secret of happiness and health lies in music. About five years ago, she opened her apartment and invited neighbors in to sing and chat -- and most of all to laugh together.
The open house sessions exude an aura of warmth, caring, love and sharing. Bao teaches her guests tunes to sing and accompanies them on her electric organ. Sometimes she arranges little concerts at her home, and her husband serves as cameraman to capture all the smiles.
"Every time my husband and I see these people smiling, we think our efforts are worthwhile," Bao said, with a big smile herself.
Sometimes smiling is not so easy. Bao's husband is in poor health, suffering from cardiovascular disease. He credits music with helping him ease pain and anxiety.
Based on her experiences as a teacher, Bao said she believes music can improve the body's cardiovascular, endocrine and digestive systems because rhythm and sonic vibrations affect brainwaves, heartbeats and respiratory rates.
Bao has no shortage of fellow believers. Take Pan Jiaqiong, a retired university teacher, who came to the "cabin" sessions but was too shy to sing because she thought her voice was awful.
She was urged to try by others at the get-togethers, and soon she was singing along with everyone else. Her voice was melodic, and she even gave a small solo concert at the "happy cabin."
Pan celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in 2009. She invited her friends to a little ceremony at Bao's house and sang to them to express her gratitude for their friendship.
"My relatives are surprised that I am enjoying such a full life after retirement and have so many good friends now," she said.
Another visitor to the "happy cabin" is 67-year Pan Dexian, who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis and has to take drugs every day to relieve the pain. In the summer of 2008, she was hospitalized as her disease worsened.
After learning the news, Bao and her friends visited the hospital, where they offered cheerful songs and best wishes for her recovery.
"During that period, I missed my friends very much, and their visits gave me a spiritual lift," she said.
Pan was the first to recover among the other patients who were hospitalized at the same time as her. She said the suffering she experiences from her illness has also been relieved partly because of her happier mood.
"Happy cabin" has proven such a success among residents in Longbai that Bao's home can no longer accommodate the increasing number of people who want to attend. As a result, five more "happy cabins" have been opened in other homes in the complex, with Bao's guidance. Her home is now nicknamed "the headquarters."
More than 60 residents, aged between 55 and 87, are regular attendees at these gatherings.
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