Pengcheng Special Education School: profile of compassion

Two band members prepare for their performance, Sept 18, 2014. [Photo by Chen Bei/chinadaily.com.cn]

Karin got to know Doreen in Beijing in 1997, when they helped raise funds for the refurbishments of the Wolong Primary School in Fangshan, a suburban district in Beijing. They continued to work together in the ensuing years to help raise donations for Pengcheng.

Vital Vocations

Over the past 25 years, the school has had more than 400 students, of which more than 70 were able to secure employment, according to the principal's assistant Guo Suyao.

Wang Juan, a math teacher at Pengcheng for more than 10 years, said each year teachers reach out to factories to help find suitable jobs for students old enough for internship or employment.

"They can earn a monthly pay of more than 1,000 yuan ($162), while doing manual labor as a porter, cleaner, packager and labeler in factories and supermarket," she said.

"We learn the manual skills first and then instruct our students to do as we did, hoping they will finally get employed."

Despite the help and support, Wang said the process is still not an easy one.

"More than half of them are capable of doing routine works well after graduation, but few employers learn of this group and give them an offer."

The reason for this, explained Wang, is a culture of discrimination against people with disabilities, especially with intellectual and development disabilities.

"Some of the prospective employers told me they are afraid that my students will make troubles and others thought it is a humiliation to hire intellectual disable people," said Wang with a sigh.

"[If they don't find jobs] they will ultimately stay at home for life, with no opportunities to live in society", she added, emphasizing the positive role schools like Pengcheng can play in a student's future.

"How can they live a single day if they outlive their parents?"