Story of Yan Shang: 'I would like to work in open environment'

Yan Shang is volunteering at CDPF’s Training Camp (His mother, Ms. Zhang Daxin, the left)

During 26-30 August 2013, Wuhan Training Camp for Youth Leaders with Disabilities in Wuhan, which is held by ILO and other partners, there is a young man walking around to help others or talking about his experience visiting U.S and see how supported employment are working there. This young man names Yan Shang. Children here all regard him as a big brother. 30-year-old Yan Shang has smiling eyes and his kindness always leaves a deep impression on people.

Despite his intellectual disability, he won lots of awards in Special Olympic Games. As for him, the best moment is when he running freely on the playing field. The happiness of, in his words, "playing with friends" could take him mind off all the troubles. From 2002-2008, Yan Shang participated in trainings and Special Olympic Games of district, city, national and international level and competed in events like basketball, football, hockey and running.

Yan Shang said that he now also learned to play bowling. But his favorite is always basketball. Every day after work, he invites friends to play together or watch CBA or NBA games on the sports channel. He felt proud to be interviewed by China Central TV-5 during 2007 Special Olympic Games in Shanghai, because it was rarely for him to find many reports or magazine articles on Special Olympics and the game in 2007 brought people's attention to it.

The trainings for Special Olympic Games are very intensive and getting hurt is sometimes inevitable, which constantly worries his mother, Ms Zhang Daxin. Yan Shang took each training extremely seriously. Once he was kicked at face and chest and his nose began to bleed. But he did not stop running and went on training with others. Another big challenge during confined training for disabled children is that they need to learn to take care of themselves. In a cold winter, Ms Zhang brought some changes of cloths to training base but surprisingly found Yan Shang's clothes has already washed clean and hang in the yard.

Ms Zhang thought that to learn in an inclusive environment from kindergarten and primary school helps Yan Shang know how to get along with his peers, while training for Special Olympic Games strengthened Yan Shang's abilities to live independently, to cooperate with others and to handle emergencies. More importantly, it helped him discover his self-value and build up his confidence for life. All of these experiences benefit him a lot in finding a job and integrating into society.

But finding a job that realizes one's self-value is not easy for persons with intellectual disabilities. One of the reasons is social discrimination. Yan Shang has experienced many heart-breaking moments. Back in school teacher treated him in a different way even though he worked very hard and did well in all the exams. During trainings, Yan Shang never cried for physical pains. But once he and other persons with intellectual disabilities was bullied and insulted by a volunteer there, he phoned his mum without telling what happened but just said sadly that he want toquit.

Yan Shang has very good computer skills, including typing and tabulating. If his family members have any troubles with computer, they would ask him for help. Yan has already booked the train tickets and searched the route online for the trip to Wuhan. Yan hopes to work in an open and competitive workplace instead of sheltered factory. So he sent out his resumes to several companies, but still did not receive any reply.

Another reason is that sheltered employment is still the major way of providing opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities. However, in these sheltered factories, due to lack of informed attitude and human-based management, workers are under strict and intensive surveillance. They hardly enjoy much reasonable accommodation, not to mention personal development. In last October, Yan Shang and his mother visit a sheltered factory in Guangdong Province and he felt quite uncomfortable for the situation of workers there.

Moreover, the contents of the contract signed by employment service centers for persons with disabilities and parents are full of parents' responsibilities without mentioning much of centers'obligations. They hardly follow up once they recommend a job opportunity. Yan Shang was recommended to work in billiard hall of Youth Palace for nearly a year where he had to work from nine am to twelve p.m. each day, sometimes to one am of next morning. He tried to ask for more reasonable working hours or any measures to guarantee his safety but failed.

Presently, Yan Shang works at a Sunshine Home in Xicheng District to bag wet paper towels. The management there is like any other sheltered factories. But Yan Shang has never complained about his frustration of finding a job in open workplace. In the past years, during his visits to Nepal and U.S to attend meetings on supported employment for persons with disabilities, he found that many countries are doing really well for promoting employment opportunities for disabled persons. Especially in U.S, persons with intellectual disabilities are able to find job in open and competitive workplace that meet their abilities and interests. And after learning the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD), he now also understood how to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and see hope for the future.

In June, Yan Shang has given a very inspiring speech that summarizes his visit to Washington and encourages persons with intellectual disabilities to use the CRPD to protect their rights of equal participation on Intellectual Development Service Meeting for Chinese People in Four Areas Cross-Strait in Guangzhou. People were greatly touched by his speech and wrote e-mails to him after the meetings to praise his advocacy of rights protection.

Yan Shang often shares his experience and thoughts with other friends with disabilities during activities. On one of the meetings, he specially mentioned the supported employment project of Rong Ai Rong Le Parents' Organization of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities. He said that different from the time he spend at sheltered factories, he always felt happy and free during activities held by Rong Ai Rong Le.

It is the first time for Yan Shang to come to Wuhan to attend the 2013 Training Camp for Youth Leaders with Disabilities. He said if he had time he wanted to go to Shengnongjia Scenic Area. And he is really looking forward to the activity that it would be a precious opportunities for him to exchange ideas on self-advocacy with disabled friends from different provinces. He believes that with more and more activities like these, the employment situation of persons with disabilities would be improved and the future is full of hope.