The Handicapped and Serves for the Handicapped in China ---- From Non-governmental light

Founder of Hui Ling Regional Organizations in China   Meng Weina

Draft of the speech invited by German friends in August 30, 2007

I am very grateful to German friends for being invited to give a speech here and cherish the chance to participate this seminar as a non-governmental service organization. Though the title of my speech is so comprehensive, in fact my speech mainly concerns “Hui Ling Regional Organizations in China ”, which decides my opinion is limited. Then what is the concept of “Hui Ling Regional Organizations in China ”? I will tell you proudly that we have founded Hui Ling organizations in eight regions in mainland of China, where the development of national non-governmental organizations is restricted. Most important is not number or range but that we took initiatives to found community normalization serve model after obtaining the help and training from experts of social works from western countries, which pulsed the change of the old closed serve model for the handicapped step by step.

Reforms and opening up in mainland of China have made visible achievements during 30 years, especially on economic development. It is a paradox that dramatically fast development of economy promotes prosperity of other sectors. Economic development also enhances development of social service realm. But in mainland the earliest or biggest development opportunities are monopolized “within system” in all sectors, so the greatest reform in modern history in mainland have brought limited development opportunity to non-governmental service realm.

So called “within system” referring to state ownership before reforms and opening up in 1979, has been unclear after 1979, for example, there are many forms of organizations in social service realm including governmental, non-governmental, half-governmental and non-governmental in name but governmental in fact, etc. No matter what form, theoretically all legal organizations are “within system”, but the fact is legal non-governmental non-profit-making social service organizations not only gain little benefit from tax sharing or well-being lottery, but also are restricted in organizing fund-raising campaign by ourselves. For example, Hui Ling tried to set a fund-raising box with some supermarkets, which is interfered by some big organizations claiming to serve the poor and handicapped; Companies donating to governmental or half-governmental organizations but non-governmental organizations can be exempt from tax. They all show system reforms actually lag behind during 30 years reforms and opening up period.

Currently those surviving well non-governmental organizations all gain international aids, such as strategic cooperative friends relationship between Hui Ling and German Missule Fund. Funds from Germany are our greatest financial aid source. But as far as more grass root non-governmental service organizations concerned, it is necessary for getting international aids to understand English. In fact how many people in those grass root organizations understand English? (Because of low salary, people understanding English hardly choose to work for us.)

As early as 1985 I put myself into social service, when lacking of professional information and social resources our service concept and approaches were so backward and inhumane from current light, and there were no rehabilitation services. The simplest approach was bringing handicapped children from their families to a so-called organization, which was a building in fact. In governmental service organizations buildings were getting more and more beautiful, facilities getting more and more modern, but in lots of non-governmental service organizations buildings were quite crude as they were founded. Both in governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, both objects of service and staff were closed in buildings to take lessons like school, that’s education rehabilitation, whose effects could be imagined.

Being affected by social fast development environment, generally governmental and non-governmental rehabilitation organizations claimed they had made good achievements though they knew little about new concept and technology. In various concepts and achievement indexes of overall rehabilitations (including generally medical rehabilitation, education rehabilitation, career rehabilitation, community rehabilitation and rehabilitation project), community rehabilitation was easily becoming a vague and general slogan. There are many signboards and files of community rehabilitation, but the situation of community rehabilitation was out of the picture, because till now the handicapped have seldom appears in normal community activities, and the handicapped are mentioned generally when they are visited by governmental leaders in special holidays or in their own activities organized by organizations for the handicapped. The frontier between normal people and the handicapped is still clear.

Since 1990s’ international professional rehabilitation organizations, especially from Hong Kong, have brought new value concepts and rehabilitation technologies of “human-based” and “community or normalization”, which has promoted governmental or non-governmental organizations to accept those new concepts and technologies actively or passively.

Hui Ling started to change from old close service model to community open service model separately in 1995 and 2000.

In 1995, an Italian missionary worked in Hui Ling, whose views caused we thought about our value views. For example, there are about 100 mentally retarded adults in Guangzhou Hui Ling, who were bathed from afternoon every day. The process was that the first staff helped them prepare clothes to change and take off their clothes, the second staff washed their bodies, and the third staff dried their bodies and took them on. We were satisfied with the high efficiency of the whole process like the assembly line, but the Italian felt distressed and regarded it as inhumane. For another two example, there was a wall of above one meter high between six or seven toilet pits, which we were proud of that we could have set up portable toilet earlier, but the Italian proposed to build higher wall for hygiene and privacy; when more than 100 trainees were eating together, staff supervised them concerning who ate faster or slower instead of who was full or satisfied or not, because they hurried to shift on time. Those things above aroused the discussion between the Italian and us. The Italian said that everybody should enjoy eating, bathing, and going to the toilet. But we didn’t offer good service to our trainees in these fundamental aspects of life, so was there happiness they could get? However, staff of Hui Ling said that 100 trainees must be bathed within one hour, which we are tired of, that letting them eating longer would influence shift on time, that the walls were high enough in mainland, compared with other organizations. After long discussion we adjusted shift timetable and employed more staff (increased cost was a pressure to non-governmental organizations). The trainees were also changed as adjustment of the organization, who were more active and smiled more often, had less emotional instability and trouble making. Changes of trainees in turn released the pressure of staff, who devoted themselves in service with pleasure, were getting well along with the trainees, so the effect of rehabilitation had improved as change of interpersonal relationships.

But because the Italian missionary was not professional, change of Hui Ling was restricted within some event or some aspects, and there was no a systematic and long plan. Till 2000 Pei Lini from Hong Kong became a member of Hui Ling, who with abundant social work experiences, after deep probe to mainland, undertook “community service model” practice in Beijing Hui Ling, which gave a vivid example to Hui Ling in other regions and other service organizations.

Ms Pei firstly gave staff and parents of the handicapped a most basic and simplest training, then let them discuss about it.

1.                                Draw a picture comparing between normal people’s life with mentally retarded people’s life at the same age

2.                                Discuss: What resources and conditions are necessary for mentally retarded people to realize their life normalization?

Like that staff in Hui Ling and parents of the handicapped heard about “normalization” principle for the first time, which originated from western countries 40 years earlier.

  1.Normal daily life rhyrm. 2.separation of work-entertainment-home. 3.Normalization of yearly life rhyrm. 4.Normal life process. 5.Needs being respected. 6.Normal gender contact. 7.Normal economic condition;as noromal people, economic condition of the mentally retarded people are protected legally. 8.Normal life facilities condition.

We soon realized that it was impossible for anybody or any group to lead a normal life without community, that service in closed buildings was of low quality, that institutionalized model made objects of service lack of life.

It needs incomparable bravery to break up old service model. In 2003 we put forward a 3 years strategic plan, which set our prospect and mission as follow:

The handicapped play a fair role in community construction and share social civilization achievements; Promoting community service model and raising the life quality of the handicapped.

From our slogan, you can see our goal is not only using community resources, but also encouraging the mentally retarded to participate in and make contribution to community.

After 3 to 4 years’ practice, we began to write for serving the mentally retarded older than 16 years, which overturns thoroughly old service concepts and standards through changing from “assess the abilities of the mentally retarded” to “assess the support level”, from “raising the abilities of the mentally retarded as the goal” to “raising the life quality of the mentally retarded as the goal”. Hui Ling in different regions set teaching staff the new value view to life as the fundamental lesson. Only having correct value view, new service technology and tool can be mastered.

Then how do we put community normalized service model into practice?

One visible example is now Hui Ling accommodation service has realized basically family model. There are a mother, father and 5 to 6 mentally retarded people in one family, who share the responsibilities and joy and trouble of life. People being treated in assembly line method will not happen again. For objects of service are all older than 16 years, we change “taking lessons” to “community activity” in day.

The most successful example is as follow. Beijing is an international tourist city. The community of Beijing Hui Ling is Beijing old Hutong. We receive international tourist guests in a traditional residential compound, where the trainees show their talents such as to give some folk traditional shows or to make and sell some Chinese traditional handicrafts, instead of showing they are pitiful. Besides showing talents, we invite international guests to participate some interactive activities, such as teaching them to practice calligraphy, identifying their symbolic animals according to their birth, making jiaozi and eating jiaozi with chopsticks, etc. Since last year, we started to conduct a business of holding a Chinese wedding for foreign newly married couple (including sitting sedan chair, uncovering a red bridal veil, making ceremonial obeisances to Heaven and Earth, then to their parents, thirdly to each other). This reception project totally complies with market competition principle and depends on carrying forward and innovating Chinese traditional culture. For example, we show “Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai” and introduce it as “Romeo and Julia in China”; we show “Spanish bullfighter” with the end of “bullfighter” and “bull” becoming friends, which conveys “harmonious society” concept. All mentally retarded youth , no matter their so called abilities are high or low, can find a suitable job according to their interests, speciality or potentials, including receiving a call, showing, painting, knitting, practicing calligraphy, making jiaozi, cooking and sweeping, etc. Every trainee sense going to work in Hui Ling. Everyday they record their attendance and their work, assess each other according to record at the end of every month. Some mentally retarded representatives being voted are included in overall and individual income accounting by the financial department. In this project, we see the mentally retarded youth have strong energy beyond we have anticipated. Making money to enhance their life is a most direct and greatest motive for work, so everybody tries his best to work. Instead of taking care of their life, staff of Beijing Hui Ling pay more attention to guide the mentally retarded to work more efficiently for more monkey, to learn how to adjust interpersonal relationships, how to take part in social activity, how to spare their leisure time, and how to map out their life plan. The life quality of the mentally retarded has improved greatly, who are respected and praised for they are active constructor and contributor rather than they are merged into the society passively. Our reception project promotes the cultural life prosperity of our community. Residents volunteer to take part in the reception of foreign guests, such as making jiaozi, perform yangge, learning English. Neighbourhood Committee will definitely invite we Hui Ling to take part in their activities, such as carrying out a patrol, editing and putting up a wall newspaper, etc. The greatest change is in 2006 People’s Congress representatives vote at primary level, staff and trainees of Beijing Hui ling has exercised their right of vote for the first time during six years.

According to new service concepts and needs, we are enriching and expanding our service, such as Hui Ling take various art activities, including putting on a show  related with fashion to white-collars, putting on a show on construction site, selling paintings in decoration sector. In 2006, Guangzhou Hui Ling with 20 years’ history launched “Beautiful Life----Hospice Care” projected with financial aids from Hong Kong Jia Daoli fund.

Of course, there are also problems in new service concept, but aspects of the problems have changed. For example, in 2003 it happened in Beijing Hui Ling a sex case between two mentally retarded man and woman. Parents of the woman trainee regarded it as a rape case and sued the man trainee and the organization. Because of imperfect lawful environment the man trainee and the organization were at a disadvantage. The organization took the responsibility of inadequate education and administration, but insisted on free contact between man and woman trainees and protecting their privacy. In court there was heated debate between parents of prosecutor and the defendant Beijing Hui Ling. It was pitiful that new concept was not accepted by her parents and the man trainee was condemned to 3 years of imprisonment.

In China, folk grass root organization like Hui Ling taking initiative to practice new concept were often misunderstood, even undertaking more reputation and economic risks. For example, instead of close supervision on trainees, we try to train they to make determination by themselves, which results in that trainees’ missing and gender relationship problems are concerned by their parents. Once some accidence happens, we are claimed for compensation. However, insurance companies in mainland do not allow us to take out casualty insurance, and unions for the handicapped at all levels in China take a cautious attitude and often keep away from those accidents.

Hui Ling administrated by government should be assessed yearly. Because of different service quality assessment indexes, our simple community service can hardly be admitted by assessment standards of government focusing on material conditions.

In essence, in China non-governmental non-profit-making organizations are confronted with many difficulties in registration, surviving (funds) and development, so governmental organizations maintain the monopoly of social service realm subjecting to system. 

  Finally I’d like to convey my suggestion for international funds to help social service in China mainland. Although international or Hong Kong professional service organizations are welcomed most to bring funds and technology directly, helping social service organizations in mainland raising their capabilities is quite hot in recent years. Hui Ling has benefited a lot. Thanks so much! My suggestion is professional training should put setting up correct value view above everything, for in mainland the value view of respects to life are wanted more than professional technology. I look forward to international rehabilitation experts and funds spread to mainland, where there are many advertisements of painless abortion and pregnancy termination, more professional spirits of life value view.

Thanks!