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AUSTRALIAN MARIST
CENTRE FOR OVERSEAS
AID |
Guangzhou Huiling
China
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Huiling
is a non-government, non-profit, grass-roots organization founded in
1990 under the leadership of Mrs. Meng
Weina. In order to meet the requests of many patents with children
affected by mental disabilities, Huiling has extended its services to
other parts of China. Homes have been established in Beijing, Xi’an,
Xining, Tianjin, Changsha, Chongqing and Qingyuan, Guangdong province.
Huiling was born as a simple shelter for mentally disabled persons. Now
it includes various types of service and accepts people with mental
disabilities of any age and social condition. Guangzhou Huiling
looks after more than 200 persons with mental disabilities spread in
various centers and a dozen family homes.
Huiling
means “wisdom” and “soul” and expresses commitment to help persons
with mental disabilities to have a thinking mind and a loving heart.
 
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 Facilities
- Family Homes: The
family home is the place where trainees can live a somewhat
normal life, learning individual living skills in order to make the
trainees more able to to take care of themselves. The first Family Home
was established in 2001, and the Family Home Service Department was set
up in 2005. Now, there are thirteen Family Homes for trainees with
mental disabilities.
- Adult Care Residential Home
is for adults above 18 with moderate and severe mental disabilities,
aiming to provide training, nursing and accommodation, all in all to
give residents a sence of security while strengthening their life
value. The trainees are taught simple tasks and basic living skills at
home. They are also allowed to visit market, shops and parks in the
vicinity so that they can integrate into the local community.
Specialized services are offered, such as nursing, physiotherapy, music
& art therapy and counseling according to different needs of
the residents.
- Integrated Kindergarten
is a full time kindergarten for children between ages 2 and 6
where children with and without mental disabilities have been
integrated into a common environment for the benefit of both groups.
Their are several classes for children, namely English class, painting
and mental arithmetic class. Each class accepts mentally disabled
children to promote the development of integrated education.
- Special Primary School
caters for children between 6 and 15 who are moderately and
severely menally disabled. The students use learing materials
especially designed for those with learning disabilities according to
their ages and personalities. The students usually graduate at fifteen,
they are admitted to Youth Training Centre, Youth Sheltered Workshop,
and Adult Care Residential Home to receive different levels of training
after assessment.
 
Left: Special primary school.
Right: Adult care residential home
- Youth Training Centre
was set up in 2006 for the purpose of providing vocational education,
training and accommodation for persons aged above 15 with
mild
and moderate mental disabilities.This training will help
trainees
develop vocational skills, community independent living skills and work
behaviors.
- Huiling Farm
was set up in 2006 for the purpose of providing vocational education,
training and accommodation for persons aged above 15 with
mild and
moderate mental disabilities.This training helps trainees develop
vocational skills, community independent living skills and work
behaviors.
For
more detail about these programs click
here
to visit the Huiling website services page. Links are at the sidebar to
the left of screen.
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Left:
A Huiling art class. Right: Guangzhou huiling staff
with MMC's Fr Kevin Stewart (2nd from left)
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Farming
Project
To
let mentally disabled people participate in farming activities in a
natural environment is worthwhile. This is an example of helping the
underprivilaged to stand up on their own with farming work
providing a sense of achievement and human value.
Here is a list of objectives:
- Since
farming involves a lot of skill training and it offers employment
opportunities for the persons with mental disabilities, financial
rewards can be gained for them by selling the produce in the market.
- Through
taking part in farming activities, we provide motor skill training for
our moderately and severely disabled clients. Working under the sun
improves body metabolism and health.
- The
farm may act as a hospice service for some aging clients. Their
tensions may be reduced by participating in farming activities in the
natural environment.
- The
farm offers a vacations site as well as an education site. While
interacting with mentally disabled persons, helpers and sponsors
can better understand the meaning of their voulunteer work. On the
other hand, clients get more interaction opportunities with other
citizens.
Operating
Schedule:
- 2009:
Selection and assessment of participants, selection and assessment of
staff, Tentative accommodation and farming practice
- 2010
Year plan:
- To collaborate and seek
advice from an agriculature university or institution in planting
environmentally friendly vegetables and fruit trees so as to secure
crops and produce. To do the same for pasturing activities.
- Purchasing farming tools and
packaging equipment. The latter will enable with the processing and
packaging of the produce.
- Increasing the living space to
cater for more residents by building a 3 storyed house to cater for
staff, workers and visiting experts.
- Training of 4-6 youth with mental
disabilities on farming skills so as to enable them to enter job
markets in the future.
- Training the staff on various
aspects such as hospice service, nursing knowledge, farming skills and
farm management techniques
- Improving the productivity of the
farm by further staff training and breaking down the various farming
techniques to suit the ability of the workers.
- Offering weekly practice sessions
for the youth training centre so as to enable skill transfer.
- The farm may provide short term
accommodation facilities or a work camp venue for other special school
pupils.
- Open days for parents will be held
so that they can actually participate in various farming activities,
thus improving the understanding and communictation abilities amongst
pupils and their parents.
- Cooperation with other similar
organisations to hold activities which increase contact opportunities
among citizens and mentally disabled persons, and in turn promotes
better understanding and acceptance.
- There
are plans for further expansion in years 2011 and 2012
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