Not far from the Forbidden City, at 31 Da Shizuo Hutong, lies a very special siheyuan (courtyard home). Once the residence of a Beijing family, the siheyuan today houses Beijing Huiling Community Services for People with Learning Disabilities, a community-based, non-profit, non-governmental organization.

The first Huiling centre was opened in Guangzhou in 1990 by Meng Weina and Fernando Cagnin, colleagues at a Hong Kong-based non-profit organization. Today there are ten centres around China, with more coming. The Beijing branch of Huiling was established in April 2000 by Meng and Jane Pierini, a British social worker.

The centre is open every day of the week. It offers classes and activities that help people with disabilities become more independent and discover and fully use their gifts and talents. Ray Li is the development director of the centre. A trained graphic artist, he first came to Huiling as an intern and volunteer, but he says he found the work meaningful and stayed on.

“The people who use the centre’s services are called ‘trainees.’ From the start, there is an understanding that they will advance and move forward,” said Li. “Planned activities such as shopping trips, cooking lessons, classes on life skills, are all aimed at helping the trainees live independently and gain confidence.”

Most of the trainees come to Huiling through referrals and from humble backgrounds. Each trainee pays about 300 yuan a month. 

In addition to learning practical skills of life, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and banking, there is a strong emphasis on the trainees being creative. There are art and craft classes offered on a daily basis, and every room houses some of the paintings and arts and crafts made by the trainees. Some rooms’ walls are even decorated by trainees. The art and craft displays have twin purposes: to showcase the trainees’ talent and earn money as items for sale. Income from the arts and crafts supports the operation of the centre and the trainees themselves.

Ray Li says he has learned important and interesting things by working at Huiling: “The trainees may be limited in how they express themselves, but they are very creative in their use of colours and pens and pencils. The art they produced is impressive and expressive in its simplicity and innocence. I believe this is how God opens one door when another door is closed.”

The trainees’ intellectual abilities may not allow them to do certain things, but they can create art and do what they can to live a respectable life and earn a living. In late October, some Huiling trainees will hold an art show in the 798 Art District.  

Huiling has gained international recognition and volunteers come from home and abroad. Li says there are many things people can do as volunteers. “One simple thing is to come and talk with the trainees and have a normal conversation. The trainees may have many things to say, but most people don’t have the patience to hear them out.”

Another way people can give of their time is to teach a skill or craft. Vincent Balsan is a volunteer from Paris, France. He committed to Huiling for one year and has been coming to the centre three days a week. Balsan will return home in a month. He has been spending time with the trainees, playing games with them, and teaching them English and how to make French pastries, which everyone loves. In return, he says he has learned a sense of humility.

“We often say time is money, but it isn’t,” said Balsan. “A true relationship comes from being with people and that takes time. Money can’t buy time.” Now, after a year of living in Beijing, Balsan goes back to France with a good command of Mandarin and Chinese cooking skills learned from one of the trainees who prepares lunch for the staff and other trainees each day.

Both Li and Balsan said their favourite part of being at Huiling is seeing the trainees become more confident and taking pride in what they can accomplish themselves.

“There is an internal desire in all of us to live a meaningful life,” said Li. “The trainees have the same dreams as anyone else, to gain self-respect for how they live their lives, and to be respected and accepted by those around them.”

For more information on Huiling, see: http://www.huiling.org.cn