Jenny Wu/Shanghai Daily news

When Wu Meijuan became a neighborhood community director at the age of 40, many of her employees were put off by the idea of having a boss who was several decades younger than they were.
That was in 1996, when most communities were run by people in their 50s and 60s, and the idea a younger woman could do the job seemed laughable to many.
Wu proved her critics wrong, and this year she was named a model worker.
"I was quite confident that I could solve tough problems around the community," said Wu, who runs the No. 4 Kailu Community in Yangpu District.
Just after Wu took office, she heard about a retired factory manager who was diagnosed with cancer but turned away any community officials who tried to visit. "At that time, I was often warned when trying to call on him as the man had said he would beat up officials that dared to get near to him," Wu said.
She sought out a way to talk with the man.
"I knew the reason he was angry," she said, noting the manager had left the city to work in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, but when he returned to Shanghai he couldn't get a local residency permit, which made his life very difficult.
"When he was in need of help, we just did not pay enough attention," said Wu.
Wu was challenged by the man's hostility and determined to win his trust.
Her opportunity came one day when the man underwent an operation.
"I knew when he's out of hospital, he must be too sick to raise a crutch," Wu laughed.
She was right. When she stepped into the man's house, he was too weak to sit up. But he was annoyed by the unexpected visit and turned his back to her.
"That day I told him it was only a personal visit to see a patient who lives as a brave man. I told him I was longing to making friends with him. And I also ensured him I would solve his residency problems," said Wu.
Wu's few words moved the man and she saw his eyes filled with tears when she said "goodbye."
Wu fulfilled her promise and took care of the man with frequent visits and talks. They had set up a solid friendship until he passed away.
During her ongoing tenure, Wu has made many friends with the community's residents from minority groups, venders and isolated elders whose lives are too tough or lonely to make them trust anyone.
"If thinking in their way, we will find their lives are full of hardships. So we need to pay more attention to them, respect them and try to help them. Only in that way, will they trust us," said Wu.
Wu has achieved a lot in her job: she prevented a big protest by residents annoyed by the demolition of part of their buildings; persuaded an isolated elder to rejoin community life and helped a villager with a reputation for violence find a job in a kindergarten to support her family.