Scene 4: Documentary Interview with a Social Worker in Community in CDPF
More links:
The YouTube playlist for the documentary interviews
Interview Report
As part of our accessibility awareness initiative, BonVista Accessibility Club interviewed Mrs. Shuhong Zhou, a frontline social worker with the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF). With over two years of community experience, Ms. Zhou offered us a heartfelt window into her daily work with persons with disabilities, her reflections, challenges, and hopes for a more inclusive society.
Ms. Zhou began by introducing her professional background:
“Hello! I am a social worker for the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF). I have been working in the community for over two years. My work mainly focuses on serving people with disabilities.”
She explained that her work falls into three main areas:
Policy Implementation – including assisting with subsidy reimbursements for rehabilitation or critical illness and helping disabled persons apply for assistive devices.
Welfare Assistance – distributing aid during holidays like the Spring Festival or National Day to those facing financial hardship.
Daily Life Support – enriching the daily lives of people with disabilities through community activities that enhance their spiritual and cultural well-being.
A large part of Ms. Zhou’s work involves supporting elderly people with disabilities, a group she describes as emotionally fragile and lonely:
“They want to be noticed. They hope that young people will listen to their voices.”
She recounted a moving example of an elderly woman who had been caring for her injured husband for months:
“I only communicated with her over the phone and spoke gently, but she was so grateful. She often came to my office or called me, just because someone treated her with patience and kindness.”
This experience led Ms. Zhou to a strong realization:
“Before, I thought warmth and sincerity were metaphors. Now I know – they really do warm others like a beam of light.”
Despite witnessing many hardships, Ms. Zhou shared moments that left her deeply inspired. She spoke of a first-degree hearing-impaired individual who earned a Ph.D. and now teaches at Shanghai Normal University and a boy with autism who once sang with his head down and a barely audible voice but eventually performed confidently on stage after months of practice.
“This job allows me to see beautiful things in the world. These people’s resilience moves me.”
Ms. Zhou also acknowledged the emotional difficulty of working with people who have mentally closed themselves off:
“I visited a home where both parents were in their 80s. The mother had Alzheimer’s, the son was mentally disabled and in a wheelchair, and the father spoke little. The house was spotless, but the atmosphere was depressing. I invited them to our community activities many times, but they always refused.”
“As a social worker, I felt powerless – I couldn’t open the door to their hearts.”
Ms. Zhou defined accessibility in three dimensions:
Physical accessibility – such as ramps, elevators, and unobstructed spaces.
Information accessibility – including braille and screen readers.
Humanistic accessibility – treating disabled people with empathy, respect, and as equals.
She shared her view on disability and equality:
“Disability is just a different way of life. It presents a different kind of value and meaning.”
And on inclusion:
“It means entering the lives of persons with disabilities, building emotional connections, and respecting their perspective on life.”
To youth interested in public welfare, Ms. Zhou’s advice was simple but profound:
“Start by entering the lives of people with disabilities. Understand their real needs and provide service based on those needs.”
She concluded with a thought-provoking reflection:
“We often think we are helping them. But in fact, people with disabilities inspire and ‘teach’ us in return – they show us another way of living, another kind of resilience.”