On Wednesday, 17 November, some of the ELC staff visited Jinwan Centre for Disability Services (Jinkangyuan Branch) and spent a wonderful time with the parents of disabled children. I was honoured to be part of the team.

We received a warm welcome from all the staff and parents in Jinkangyuan. In the first part, some of the lecturers played guitar and performed English songs and all of us were enjoying the delight brought by music. It seems that we are connected by the music although we haven’t met each other before. In the second part, we were divided into different groups and interacted with the parents. Lecturer Amran and I performed magic tricks and taught them how to do magic tricks. They were amused by our magic tricks and willing to learn from us. One of the parents tried to use all the English words she knows to communicate with Amran. It made us feel warm and moved.

At the end of the trip, centre manager gave us a guided tour in Jinkangyuan. We were all amazed by the teaching curriculum for autistic children and facilities for physically disabled children. Special Education Needs (SEN) is a concept lacking awareness and attention in China. We hope that they are able to receive better care and education in the future.

Zishan Peng

Junior Language Instructor

The trip to Jingkangyuan, Jinwan Centre for Disability Services, was a meaningful community service experience for me. We arrived at the center receiving a surprisingly warm welcome from the center staff and parents. As the theme of the events put it, beautiful melody and touching voices help people share emotions and happiness transcending the barrier of languages. The one-hour music theme performance brought parents of the disabled children, center staff, and ELC staff closer, and I saw feelings of love, joy, and cheer for life showing up on everyone’s face. After some guitar and singing performances, I performed a set of Tai Chi moves with soft music in the background. Soft, gentle moves guided by natural breathing and rhythm reduce stress and give one a meditative state of mind.  Since I have just started to learn Tai Chi for a month, I hope that my body movements were graceful enough to express the feeling to the audience.

In the second part of event, I taught a mother of disabled children some gentle ways of stretching, which she found to be a convenient way to exercise amid a busy schedule. I was particularly impressed by the optimism and positive attitude everyone shows, and in this regard, the event was therapeutic not only to parents but also to me as a volunteer. With all the burdens of living and the anxiety trapping us in work, we should take a break from time to time caring for others and spending some cheerful moments with our community.  

Zhenqian Chen

Junior Language Instructor