Our vocational school officially opened its doors in March of 2008 in order to address two areas of concern. We had recognized the need for a vocational school for many years, but circumstances had prevented us from realizing the vision that had been planted within us years ago. It was not until older orphaned girls in our care came of age, that the need for the school directly hit home. According to Chinese regulations, at age 14 orphans are placed in government run factories and work units that purport to teach them vocational skills, since overburdened government run orphanages cannot continue supporting the children indefinitely. We could not allow this to happen to our girls, as well the countless others who are confronting the same fate in orphanages throughout China. By 2025 there will be an estimated 250 million youth ages 15 to 25. A majority of these youths will come from underprivileged backgrounds. They have no chance of acquiring any type of education. Our school seeks to equip these youth with the skills that will enable them to take their place as productive members of society, living a life filled with hope rather than despair.
We were forced to close the doors of the vocational school in 2014 after facility lease with option to purchase, was not honored by the developer of the property. The facility had been home to both our Orphanage and Vocational School, but with eviction, we sought out other locations for both orphanage and school. Orphanage has continued its care of special needs children to this day, but sustaining the vocational school became more difficult without adequate facilities to operate on a workable basis. We suspended recruitment and placed all school programs on hold in 2016, until a new permanent facility could be found. Long distance correspondence learning was put in place for students wanting to continue their education and training.
Vocational School facility will open its doors by the end of 2020. The School will be part of the new Orphanage location. Local authorities have designated the new location as being situated in a permanent use zone, able to be used without future threat of dismantling and eviction through eminent domain laws. Authorities provided this location as a form of compensation for having forced us out of our previous orphanage building. The new four storey building with full basement, has much more square footage than previous building, thereby allowing us to reaffirm our plans for a multi use facility that can care for special needs and orphaned children, who as they grow up, naturally transition into a vocational school program that they can enter with the many underprivileged youth that will be in attendance.
The primary focus for vocational education will be in skills required for entry into the health care sector – specifically elderly care. China is projected to have over 250 million seniors aged 65 or older. The current estimate of 250 million youth aged 15 to 25 are the very demographic that will become the needed workers in elderly care. Our school will provide youth with skills that will enable them to acquire positions in nursing homes, hospitals, clinics, and in home care agencies. Along with instruction in elderly health care, we will teach basic English and computer skills.
We will also be starting a Family and Marriage Counseling study and training program in conjunction with the elderly care program. The new facility will provide basic classroom instruction, as well as mentoring seminars and sessions, conducted by domestic teachers, as well as visiting foreign instructors. With counseling program in place, we plan to have a working counseling center that can open its doors to the public, providing services, while concurrently being used as a practicum medium for our counseling program students. The counseling program students will be individuals who are being trained and certified to open their own counseling centers in cities and townships in their respective regions.
Our efforts have all been made in order to improve the life of children, and provide each one with a hope for the future. Through the dedicated work of all our staff at the orphanage and vocational school, we hope to make a difference in the lives of the children and youth entrusted unto our care. We hope that many others will be able to join us in providing the orphaned, abandoned, and discarded children of China a chance to have a better life, and achieve their dreams and goals.
