"Xihan'er" refers to special people with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and other diseases. They were given such festive titles because they were "very joyful, very simple" throughout their lives, and their faces were always smiling, and they were called "angels' smiles". In order to be able to integrate these special groups into society, live with dignity and reflect their own value, it is important to provide them with semi-sheltered places of employment. With the support of the Zhengding County Disabled Persons' Federation and other departments, the first "Xihan'er" car wash center in Hebei Province was established in Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang City.
The precision disability service project is one of the 20 livelihood projects in Hebei Province in 2023, and the Shijiazhuang Disabled Persons' Federation is vigorously promoting the precision disability assistance service project. Among them, supporting the employment and entrepreneurship of disabled people is a key step to help them integrate into social life and realize the value of life.
The first "Xihan'er" car wash center in the province settled in Zhengding, Shijiazhuang
"As long as everyone gives a little love, the world will become a beautiful world..." These two lyrics have long taken root in Zhao Guoliang's heart. Zhao Guoliang, a native of Yong'an Village, Zhengding Town, Zhengding County, and in September 2022, in order to have a better future for the "Xihan'er" people, he and his partner Yang Lipeng established the "Xihan'er" Car Wash Center in Zhengding County.
Zhao Guoliang, who has been engaged in the auto repair industry for more than 20 years, is also a little famous in the industry. "In addition to working in the auto repair industry, I also run a car-themed homestay, a classic car museum and a classic car sightseeing car, so I often encounter some 'Xihan'er' who can't find a job and can't be accepted at work, and I feel very sad and helpless." Zhao Guoliang said that in his opinion, mental disability is only some lack of ability, just like myopia, with glasses, myopia does not constitute a barrier. He wants to make a pair of "glasses" for the "Xihan'er" so that they can live like ordinary people.
"There are more than 1,700 people with intellectual and mental disabilities in Zhengding County, and their employment rate is less than 5%. Knowing this, I felt that I should do my part to help them. After some research and thinking, Zhao Guoliang found that although the "Xihan'er" did not have advantages in thinking, some work could be done, such as car washing, this industry is not highly technical, operable and strong. With this idea, Zhao Guoliang thought about building a platform to absorb them into employment.
In September 2022, with the help and support of the Zhengding County Disabled Persons' Federation, the County Education Bureau, and the County Special Education School, Zhao Guoliang established the first "Xihan'er" car wash center in Hebei Province, which has placed 10 students who graduated from Zhengding County Special Education School for employment.
The "Xihan'er" are seriously washing the car. (Photo courtesy of Zhengding County Disabled Persons' Federation)
Happy work Live with dignity
"Flushing, foaming, vacuuming, adding water..." The 10 "Xihan'er" were divided into two groups, each led by a master to complete the car washing work. In order to help the "Xihan'er" master skills, the master divided the car wash into more than 10 small links, arranged the position according to the characteristics of each "Xihan'er", and judged what kind of work they were suitable for. "For example, if some 'Xihan'er' don't like squatting, the master will notice this feature and will not arrange for them to clean the bottom of the car or the mat." Zhao Guoliang introduced.
In order to make the 10 "Xihan'er" feel more comfortable, the car wash center is equipped with dormitories, toilets, activity rooms, kitchens, etc. on the second floor, and does everything possible to provide them with living convenience. "Xihaner" Chen Yunze's home is far from the car wash center, and he needs to take a bus to and from work every day. Due to the complicated bus route and the large number of people on the bus, Chen Yunze often sat at the station. "To this end, Yang Lipeng, the manager of our car wash center, told Chen Yunze that as long as he sat at a station, he would call himself, and he would ride an electric car or drive a car to pick him up according to the distance." Zhao Guoliang said that for a while, Yang Lipeng was busy, worried that Chen Yunze would not be able to pick him up after sitting down. So he directly let Chen Yunze live in his home in Zhengding County, responsible for taking care of him to eat and rest. Chen Yunze, who has been well taken care of, is very happy every day and has become the most outstanding one in "Xihan'er".
"Some of the 10 'Xihan'er' did not have time to take care of them because their parents gave birth to a second or third child; Some people are taken care of by elderly grandparents because their parents are divorced, and they cannot guarantee all three meals a day. Zhao Guoliang said that after learning about these situations, the car wash center provided them with free lunch. In order to cater to everyone's taste, the recipe arrangement is basically different for a week.
Every day at noon, when you enter the restaurant, the "Xihan'er" will see dishes and soups with meat and vegetables. "Braised pork, fried chicken legs, and four-joy meatballs often appear on the table." Zhao Guoliang said that everyone ate with relish at every lunch, and said that it was better than the food at home, and they could feel the happiness in their hearts from the smiles on everyone's faces. Now that the weather is hot, in order to let them cool down, Zhao Guoliang also specially placed a refrigerator in the center and stocked up on various heat-proof and cooling foods. When they feel hot at work, the "Xihan'er" will go to the refrigerator to get ice cream to eat, and seeing the twinkle in their eyes, Zhao Guoliang feels that everything is worth it.
"When I make money, I want to buy a car and a house and give it to my mother." These are the words that "Xihan'er" Liu Hsien Tim often hangs on his lips. In fact, not only Liu Hsien Tim, who has achieved self-worth with his job, but also "Xihan'er" are full of hope for the future, and they want to make themselves and their families better by working hard.
In addition to taking care of their daily life, Zhao Guoliang also organized team building activities such as small games and barbecue dinners. In the game "Eagle Catches Chicken", the "chicken" played by "Xihan'er" dodges left and right, jumps and jumps, and laughs happily from time to time. In the bottle grabbing game, they also showed liveliness and cuteness. "After the game session, dinner began. It can be seen that the 'Xihan'er' are particularly active, and they will take the initiative to clink glasses with their colleagues with drinks. Zhao Guoliang said that it is not difficult to see that everyone wants to communicate more with the outside world and wants to feel the warmth of the team. Looking at the cheerful scene in front of him, Zhao Guoliang decided to hold similar group activities in the future, and let more "Xihan'er" participate in the car wash center, so that they could show a sincere smile.
Let the "joy children" integrate into society
"Xihan'er Car Wash Center is an employment project for people with mental disabilities promoted by the China Disabled Persons' Federation nationwide, with the aim of building a stage for people with mental disabilities to become self-reliant and self-reliant, so that they can live with more dignity. Our original intention is also to provide job opportunities for people with disabilities, hoping that they can be self-reliant, realize themselves, reduce the burden on their families and society, and become a window for promoting social righteousness and spreading positive energy. Zhang Hu, secretary of the party group and chairman of the Zhengding County Disabled Persons' Federation, said that the car wash center has now become a demonstration base for the employment of the disabled in Zhengding County, a volunteer service workstation for party members to help the disabled, and a caring enterprise for the disabled.
"In order to make 10 students with intellectual disabilities truly employed, the county special education school carried out curriculum development and on-site practice from the aspects of car washing technology, civilized etiquette, communication and communication, and life cultivation, and conducted all-round training for 10 students, providing technical support for students' employment." Zhang Hu said.
Zhang Hu said that these practices have been strongly supported by the main leaders and competent leaders of the Zhengding County Party Committee and the county government, and have also been fully affirmed by the leaders of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Hebei Provincial Disabled Persons' Federation and the Shijiazhuang Disabled Persons' Federation. "On May 15 this year, the relevant leaders of the China Disabled Persons' Federation also went to the car wash center to investigate the employment of the disabled." Zhang Hu said that the founder of the "Xihan'er" car wash center in Zhengding County really provides a comfortable employment platform for people with mental disabilities.
Since the establishment of the car wash center, the number of 10 "Xihan'er" car washes has exceeded 800 times, and an average of more than 20 customers come to the door every day, most of whom are repeat customers. "There are really many people who come here to wash their cars just to give love, and there are even people who drive here from Shijiazhuang City to wash their cars. One of the customers who works in North China Shoe City, after learning about the situation of 10 'Xihan'er' in the car wash center, mailed suitable sneakers to each 'Xihan'er', and everyone was praising the children's self-improvement. Speaking of this, Zhang Hu expressed his gratitude, he believes that with the attention of so many enthusiastic people, the "Xihan'er" will become better and better.
"They are strong-willed, self-reliant, and weave dreams with their own hands. We also hope that more enterprises with a sense of social responsibility will participate in the team of helping the disabled and the weak, so that more and more disabled people can look forward to the future and cheer for self-improvement! Zhang Hu said his expectations.
Text/Yan Zhao Evening News Financial Media Reporter Zhao Xiaohua Intern Chen Yuting
Source: Yanzhao Evening News