THE great English poet John Milton once wrote: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

His words mean that each of us performs an important function in this world, regardless of ability or profile.

Common people doing common works without receiving much attention. They are the target of the district’s annual “Lovable Minhang People” program, which highlights the achievements of unsung heroes who contribute to the community without fanfare.

Ten individuals and six groups won citations in the recent eighth “Lovable Minhang People” awards. Shanghai Daily talked with some of the winners about the loving hearts that motivate their actions. Luo Gongqi, 88, writer

Citation: Despite his age, he is still working hard to write about the history of the district and the daily lives of common people.

Luo Gongqi worked in the police and in public relations before becoming a businessman. But it wasn’t until he was 73 years old that he embarked on a lifelong dream.

“Finally it’s time to sit down and write something,” he recalled saying at the time.

After some consideration, Luo decided he would write about heavy industry in Minhang. In specific, he focused on what were once called the “four giants” of Shanghai industry: factories producing turbines, water-cooled generators, hydro presses and boilers.

“The four plants played a key role in the history in Minhang and Shanghai,” he said. “I wanted to write their stories so this history wouldn’t be lost to future generations.”

He interviewed now retired staff of the old factories.

“Some of them were 80 or even 90 years old when I started to write the book,” said Luo. “Many of them were confined at home because of ill health. No matter how far away they lived, I went to see them.”

After talking to around 1,000 people, he composed four stories based on the plants, and had them published in “Shanghai Scene” magazine.

“Readers wondered if the stories were written by a professional or a journalist,” he said. “They were amazed when they found out they were actually written by a retired old man.”

After that, Luo turned his focus on cultural relics in the district, such as ancient plants, snacks and architecture on the verge of disappearing.

“My writing always focuses on Minhang because I love this place,” he said.

Even now, as he approaches his 90s, Luo said he has no intention of giving up his writing. “I still have a good memory,” he said.

 “I don’t even need to take a lot of notes when interviewing people. I think I can still work for years to come,” he added.

The volunteer group of Shanghai Minzhong Investment Management Co

Citation: The group has been active in community volunteerism for eight years.

Despite its somewhat expansive name, Minzhong is just a small management company that operates a wet market in the Jiangchuan Community. Charity is a core belief. Every year, 10 percent of profits are earmarked for needy people in the district, and a volunteer team has been formed by company staff to go out and do good works.

In the last eight years, the company has helped 400 families and has opened after-school programs for migrant children whose parents have to work beyond the end of regular school hours.

The company’s charitable deeds actually started with a quarrel. The Xin’an Grocery in the market, which was open around the clock, used to have trucks delivering goods during nighttime hours. The noise disturbed area residents, who complained to Minzhong. Eventually, measures were adopted to reduce the noise, and the residents were placated.

“Later, we got to thinking that the company survives on the goodwill of local residents,” said Jin Tao, director of the market management department. “So we thought maybe we should do something to reward their support.”

At first, staff members weren’t enthusiastic and treated volunteer work as just another job chore.

One of the disenchanted was Qi Huajun, who was only 18 years old when he joined Minzhong. As part of the volunteer effort, he was assigned to do housecleaning for elderly people who lived alone. Qi said he seldom did housework at home and had never engaged in any volunteer work.

“In the beginning, I worked for maybe half an hour in their homes and seldom talked to them,” recalled Qi. “But gradually, without knowing how it really happened, these seniors grew on me. Now I love to spend more time with them, and I don’t feel forced to do it any more.”

Jin said the volunteer program has changed the attitudes of staff and the lives of the people they help.

“The seniors used to have few people to talk to, and we found them to quiet, even timid,” he said. “But now, many of them have been opened up and treat our volunteers almost as family. They invite them to dinner and give them presents such as homemade pickles.”

Zhou Ruomei, 69, retired kindergarten teacher, paper-cut artist

Citation: She has conducted free paper-cutting classes for more than 15,000 people, devoting her life to promoting the ancient Chinese art form.

Zhou Ruomei has loved the art of paper-cutting since she was a child, but her obsession didn’t flourish until she retired in 2001. Her dream is to save a culture at risk of dying out.

“Before retirement, I had little time for paper-cuts,” she said. “But then, everything was different. My husband still had a stable job, and there were no grandchildren to take care of. I could spend all day on paper-cuts.”

Zhou realized that the true art of paper-cutting doesn’t lie as much with scissor skills as with the creation of the patterns. She believed that there was no future for the art if she just stuck with existing patterns. So she started to design her own patterns, drawing on animal life, natural scenery and even modern construction.

Zhou said her biggest enemy is age. Sometimes she suffers heart and stomach problems, but she is determined not to let ailments stop her.

“When I concentrate on paper-cuts, pain seems to fade away,” she said. “They are not some serious problems, so I think it’s okay for me to continue my hobby.”

It’s really more than just a light hobby. For the past seven years, she has given free lessons in high schools, community schools and colleges for seniors. She even provides paper and scissors for participants.

“Some people think I’m daft,” she admitted. “But I can’t think of any other way to spread the art and pass it on to the next generation. To be honest, most people are not interested in paper-cuts or any other traditional Chinese folk culture.”

Zhou’s efforts have attracted some notice. Her paper-cuts have been presented as gifts to foreign visitors. During the 2010 World Expo, she practiced her art in an exhibition that drew thousands of admirers. Last year, she showed tennis players Andy Murray and Janko Tipsarevic how to do paper-cuts in a local tour they made before the Shanghai ATP 1000 Masters.

“Paper-cuts are the biggest source of happiness in my life,” said Zhou. “And when I see people happy because of it, that is my reward.”

Kong Lingtao, 28, director of an environment protection technology company

Citation: He is a pioneer in waste recycling and creator of the “green account” project.

Before entering university, Kong Lingtao faced an aimless future. He failed the high school entrance examination, lost two jobs and quit his last place of work because he saw no future there.

He finally enrolled at Shanghai University at the age 25, and it was there that he began thinking about nonprofit work.

“My initial thoughts were very simple,” he said. “I just wanted to organize a volunteer team to collect used batteries. But, gradually, the project developed beyond my expectations.”

In 2008, Kong came up with the idea of the “green account” to encourage people to sort trash by awarding them credits for material they recycle. The credits are then exchanged for daily necessities.

He went to Beijing, where he unsuccessfully tried to convince Olympics organizers to introduce the “green account” project during the 2008 Summer Games.

“They told me they already had a company contracted to handle waste,” he said. “But they encouraged me to try the idea again for the World Expo in Shanghai in two years.”

Opportunity knocked sooner. Not long after he returned from Beijing, a national contest was held for college nonprofit projects. The “green account” stood out among the 6,000 competing projects and was awarded a 30,000 yuan (US$4,833) start-up prize.

With the money in hand, Kong and a volunteer team he organized began the project. Its ideals were lofty, but the work was “dirty.” Dealing with messy garbage every day proved too much for some of the volunteers, who eventually quit the project. Even Kong’s girlfriend left him, he said, because she “didn’t want to share a life with someone handling garbage.”

The team’s work, however, did gain the attention of district governments in Minhang, Hongkou and Jing’an. They provided venues for Kong and promoted the project at the governmental level. Kong has since started his own company to support the project.

“Now the project has been expanded citywide, but I feel that my journey has just begun,” he said. “My dream is for more than 100 million people to have green accounts.”