<*n>Li Gan, developer of the Love Hula Hoop app (third from left), helps hand out gifts in January to bere*ed parents in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. [Provided to China Daily]

A father who lost his only child almost a decade ago has developed a *artphone app that links bere*ed parents with volunteers offering emotional support or help with everyday tasks.

Li Gan started working on Love Hula Hoop last year and said the app should be *ailable to download on Apple and Android devices as early as October.

The 49-year-old customs officer lost his 4-month-old son in 2008 to an acute illness that doctors were unable to diagnose. Since then, he has offered support to other bere*ed parents, setting up an NGO and hotlines, and organizing home visits and get-togethers. His efforts are mainly aimed at helping parents who h*e lost their only child.

"Although the meetings helped ease the pressure for parents, they still suffered due to spending most of their time alone," said Li, who lives in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. "The app will make the care offered by volunteers go further, so that people get the help they need when they are in real need."

Most volunteers with the NGO h*e a full-time job and are un*ailable to be on call 24/7 for a chat or simply to change a broken lightbulb, he said.

So, much like a ride-hailing app, users will be able to send a request on Love Hula Hoop and the nearest *ailable volunteer will respond.

The app, which is being designed by a local technology company, has cost about 1 million yuan ($145,000), financed with Li's own money and donati* from the public.

"Th*like I'm fostering new 'childre*look after us," he said. "I no longer h*e my son by my side, but I can still help myself and others to h*e a better life."

Lu Xiaoyu, 66, lost her 19-year-old so*leukemia in 2000 and since then has gotten a divorce. She said she likes the idea of the app.

"It's important. It's easier to make a request using an app than seeking help from someone in real life," she said. "I'm physically OK now, but I'm afraid for when I get older. I migh*e alone in the apartment."

Bere*ed parents like Lu are susceptible to breaking down in the face of even the most trivial of problems, according to Li. "They often blame the one-child policy, which was in place for about 40 years, for their suffering and sometimes harbor social hatred, which in the end only hurts them," he said.

In 2016, China i*oduced a new policy allowing all couples to h*e a second child.

As a city of immigrants, Shenzhen has never lacked volunteers willing to help others who may also be far from home, he said. "I h*e been able to rally more than 1,000 volunteers in just two hours via an internet site for a charity activity."

A*rt of a partnership with the city government, volunteer service hours spent using the app will be recorded and linked to an individual social credit system and other social programs like applicati* for a hukou, or residence permit. People accrue benefits as they volunteer.

"That encourages volunteers and helps sustain quality care and support over a long period of time," he said.

There are roughly 2,000 households with bere*ed parents left childless in Shenzhen, Li said. "Many of them, like me, left their hometowns for the city and h*e no other family members here."

A caring and resp*ive society help*rents feel loved, which helps them develop a more *itive mindset for later in life, Li said.

Also, as they get older, "actual needs in daily life arise, like changing a bulb and buyin*roceries", he said. The app can turn nei****ors i* volunteer helpers when needs arise.

The city government ha*ssed measures to help such bere*ed pareticularly in the context of family planning policies in the past 40 years.

Supporting measures for parents who h*e lost their only child include a monthly living allowance of 1,000 yuan, additional health insurance, and easier access to medical care.

"But equally important, handy access to social support and service providers has to be secured as well," he said.

Lu Xiaoyu agreed. "Money is important but that alone cannot provide a sense of security," she said.