Amity Home of Blessings
Amity Bakery Six students from the Home of Blessings received vocational training and worked in supportive employment at the bakery in 2009. After series of training, these students are able to take an active part in the kitchen and their concentration and stamina has improved a lot.
Amity Children’s Center 20 children joined the daycare course in 2009, 12 in the half-day care course, and 16 in the special course which is offered to children in common kindergartens. The center organized 19 training sessions and 14 psychological counseling workshops for parents.
Master baker Mr. Kwong Chun Chung, a volunteer from Hong Kong, is teaching.
Social Impact In 2009, Amity’s social service in Nanjing was not only reported in the media locally, but also through other provincial TV channels. Its social recognition has been increased. Because of the promotions in the media, local enterprises began to know about Amity and its work, and they showed Family outing to Mo-chou Lake. great enthusiasm in supporting current projects. Besides continuous collaboration with universities and colleges in Nanjing, the center also strengthens the links with overseas institutes such as Hong Kong Baptist University, International Christian University and Haverford College. 736 opportunities of service and internship were offered and 19 promotion campaigns of equalitarianism of challenged people were launched Lecture by Swan Bakery, a leading social enterprise in Japan. on campus.
Learning to be independent Many students at the Home of Blessing acquired independency skills after being trained. Zhang Yucen, who didn’t know how to hold a knife at home, can now cut cucumber and sweet pepper into slices; Hu Wangqi, who knew nothing about housework, can cook some simple dishes; Cheng Zhongyuan, who never washes tomatoes before he cooks them, now knows the importance of hygiene. Another progress of the Home of Blessing is that students are beginning to serve the others rather than to be served. Ms. Meng Xiaomei lives by herself and suffers from severe arthritis. She cannot walk a long distance and her only son works in another city. Students of the Home of Blessing take turns to do grocery shopping for her. “They are so nice,” Ms. Meng said. “They are even better than my own son.”
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