Die Evangelische Gemeinde Peking sammelt immer wieder im Gottesdienst zur Unterstützung verschiedenen Sozialprojekte in China. Um Ihnen jenseits der notwendigerweise knappen Beschreibung in den Abkündigungen einen Eindruck davon zu geben, wofür Ihr Geld verwendet wird, dokumentieren wir hier einige der von den Projekten an Ihre Spender versandten Informationen.

Golden Key Center of Education for the Visually Impaired

Exzerpte aus dem "Golden Key Newsletter"

Education and Teaching Recommendation Third Issue Published

The goal of the Golden Key Projects is to set a foundation for the future development of local VI education. For this, Golden Key Center has designed and included a guided evaluation plan in the next three issues. Implementation will be attempted by all parties involved. After three years, all levels' teachers and administrators can “master the basic” of VI education with clear result.  After the project is finished, should a building be built on this foundation?  What is the size of the building? This will be decided by the local educational bureau and it is a suspense. Inner Mongolia Chifeng Education Bureau took the opportunity; they not only cemented the original achievement, but also developed the deaf, mute and low IQ education.  The schooled VI children are increasing every year. Under very tough condition, Chang Wu county of Shaanxi Province  adopted a series of measures. Chifeng city and Chang Wu county's experience will be published in the third issue of Golden Key Education Teaching Recommendation.  Hope it can help boost and promote the continuated development work.

The Story of Tina's Mother

Golden Key has opened a door for groups of VI children; a door of hope. There is a group of high level massagists, who are influcenced by the Golden Key spirit, and wish to save money through their labour to help those little children who are eager to go to school. For this, we built a Golden Key Blind Massage Center. Because we have not been in the business too long, it is still not well known. Clients have been an agonizing matter. During this process, a kind hearted mother and her daughter appeared. From then on, her husband, her friends also pay their patronage. Everyone forgot to ask her name, but everyone remembers her lovely daughter's name, Tina. Everyone calls her “Tina's mother”.  One day Tina's mother called us; she wanted to organize a group of friends to visit our center. We were overjoyed.

On the afternoon of March 21st, she brought ten friends. They listened to our introduction,and tried our service. They promised that they will advertise for us from now on and try to improve customers. Golden Key has made the kind hearted Chinese and German close. Tina's mother is called Elisabeth. They do not live very close, but because of the Chinese blind children's welfare, they are willing to put themselves out of the way to spread the seed of love. We will forever remember this valuable freindship. Hope many Dina's mothers will come to support our work.

Wide Distribution of Training Series for the Parents of VI Children

After 2 years of struggle, with the support from UNICEF and New Zealand Embassador Foundation, all the Golden Key Project - Training Series for the Parents of VI Children have been published by the Chinese Braille Publishing Company. This field is finally filled after more than ten years of blankness.

This series are intented for: 1. parents or teachers of VI children in poverty areas, so that more VI children can benefit. At present they have been donated to Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Heilongjiang. 2. teachers and students of special education universities, so that knowledge can be spread through them and exert a subtle influence. More visually impaired children can benefit. At present they have been donated to Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Harbin schools.

On March 24th, under the support of Mr. Li Shuhua, administrator of  Beijing Disabled Association, had a special donation ceremony. Mr. Masahiro Ono, Chief of Protection and Community Services Section, UNICEF Office for China, sent a letter to congratulate it. Ms. Guergana Guermanoff, Education Counsellor of New Zealand Embassy Beijing was present.

Pilot Project of Blind High Students Integrated Class

There are more than 8 million VI people in the Chinese mainland and, according to incomplete statistics, there are more than 100 thousand VI children. The Central Education Department's policy regarding special education is: with special education schools as a backbone and special education and integrated classes in general schools as the main body. Since the start of Golden Key Project in 1996, there have been thousands of VI students studying in general schools. At present, there are a number of blind elementary school students who have graduated and need to continue to study in junior high school, but there is no mature experience for reference in China. According to data provided by the China Association of the Blind, the rate of sighted internet users is 10% of the whole population; while the rate of VI internet users is 0.1% among the whole VI population. The rate in Taiwan is 13% and in Hongkong it is 40%.

Project Object

1. To maintain that VI children and young people should have equal quality education: "equal education" means that the blind will not only study in elementary school, but also study in high school and university; "quality" means no matter which school the blind student attends, they should be given teaching of various subjects, including math, physics and chemistry.
2. To maintain the blind's right to enter the information era like normal people: the basis of information is math, physics and chemistry. The source of information is the computer. We help blind students with their math, physics, chemistry and computer studies, to allow them to enter the information era together with normal people and equally survive in mainstream society.
3. To promote inclusive education and remove the old concept: at the end of the 80s in the 20th century, the term "Integrated Education" formally appeared in documents of the National Education Committee. It means making VI children study together with normal children in mainstream schools. It was advanced, at that time, according to international thoughts on intergrated education. It answered for thoughts of international integrated education then. But nowadays, Inclusive Education is powerfully promoted around the world. The central government emphasizes education on the "principle of humanism". Everyone is a part of the main body of education, we therefore must reform education to meet all children's needs for education and teaching. We will change integrated education "Study Along with the Class" into "Study in the Same Class", in order to promote understanding and implementation of Inclusive Education for all.
4. To carry through special training, according to difficulties met in math, physics, chemistry, computer studies and other courses by blind students going to high school. To search for practical experiences of integrated education for blind high school students, in order to provide reference for all.

Main Achievements

1. Science teachers from grass roots schools have got to know handling rules of Braille math, physics and chemistry symbols, characteristics and difficulties of science teaching for the blind, methods of organizing science experiments and they have set up a foundation for future teaching and consulting services.
   The blind students have begun to learn Braille symbols of math, physics and chemistry, initially to know how to learn in the future, how to make experiments, and have accepted some rudimentary knowledge.
2. Computer teachers from grass roots schools have mastered how to use specialized computers expertly and they are able to be responsible for future computer teaching for the blind.
   The blind students who participated in the training have begun to handle computers, learn some simple operations and set up a foundation for the future. Each blind student has got a specialized computer, a printer and related software; the low vision student has got closed circuit TV magnifier which will be put in school, to be used by VI students in the long term, the proprietary right belongs to the resource/guidance center.
3. Teachers from the resource/guidance center and itinerant teachers have entirely learned basic knowledge of teaching science and computer studies to blind students, and have set up a foundation for directing implementation, research and summing-up experience of the project in the future. City level supervisors have got to know the above knowledge and it is propitious for their future guidance and support of the pilot project.
4. All of the participants have learned "Individual Teaching Plan", "Integrated Teaching Plan" and other courses, so that to establish a foundation for implementation of the pilot project guided by the spirit of inclusive education.

Appraisement from Foreign Friends

Michael from Boeing China and Dan Sandifer-Stach from Congregation of the Good Shepherd gave speeches at the graduation ceremony and gave affirmation of the deep meaning of the pilot project on human rights, social equality and other aspects. Representitives from German Embassy Church, German Christian Charity Bazaar and Radisson SAS Hotel expressed congratulations to the start-up of the pilot project.

A Little Participant's Self Introduction

My name is Ding Lili, I'm from a poor farming family from Baoguo village, Aohanqi, Chifeng City, in Inner Mongolia. Ever since I arrived into this world, cruel misfortune has brought only darkness to my life. I've never had a chance to see the colorful world. When I was at the age to attend school, most of the children my age went to school, I desperately wanted to attend as well. But my mother said, "Dear daughter, how can you go to school without vision?" At that moment, I realized I was different from others. I often thought, if I could only see with my own eyes, I could go to school just like my friends. That will be awesome! Just then, the Golden Key Project started in Inner Mongolia, and I finally got the opportunity to fulfill my dream of going to school! My teachers were trained in special education, and I also got help and support from the rest of society. My teachers taught me how to use Braille to study. I cherished this God given opportunity; I was often in tears of happiness.

This year I was enrolled into a local junior high school. My teachers and I now face a new challenge of teaching and learning additional subjects, for instance, especially, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. At this time, my school principal brought me good news. My teacher and I were invited to go to Beijing and attend a training program. As soon as we heard this news, my mother and I burst in tears. When the villagers heard this news, nobody would believe that a blind child could travel to Beijing. This is all thanks to the sponsors and supporters from the Beijing Disabled Person Federation, the Beijing Blind Massage Guidance Center, and the Golden Key Research Center of Education for the Visually Impaired.

During this training program, I learned Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Operations. In order for me to learn with hands-on experience, they even provided me with a computer. I was born unfortunate, but I was the lucky one among the millions of other blind children. I will study very hard. I will not disappoint anyone who believed and supported me. Not only will I be a good student, I will become a self-supporting citizen who will be helpful to rest of society.

Kontakt

Golden Key Center of Education for the Visually Impaired
Enjili Bldg. 33, Haidian, Beijing
Zip code:  100036
Tel:  86-10-88122497 / 8812652
Fax:  86-10-88122497
Email: goldkey@public.bta.net.cn
Website: http://www.goldenkey.org.cn