ShanghaiExpat: “Shanghai Young Bakers: Wang Li “

By Sonia Su

in Charity and Community

Five years ago, Wang Li would have never imagined that she would go from working in a toy factory in Guangdong Province, to teaching other disadvantaged Chinese youth how to bake French bread and pastries.

‘I find that I can relate a lot to my students, because we come from similar backgrounds,’ Wang said.

Wang still recalls fond memories upon beginning at Shanghai Young Bakers, a charity program that launched in February 2009 by a team of 12 French volunteers aiming to French bakery training to those who need it most. SYB held its opening ceremony for the program’s first students at luxury hotel Sofitel Shanghai Hyland, adding to what Wang describes as one of the many good first impressions.

‘I had never been to Shanghai before, and I was very happy,’ she said. ‘I was very impressed by the dorms, and the French teachers were all very polite.’

Wang still keeps in touch with Chung To, the founder of the Hong Kong-based charity Chi Heng Foundation who helped connect her with the opportunity to escape the life she said she didn’t want to live.

‘He is someone very important to me,’ Wang said.

One of the first students to be recruited for SYB and to receive help from the Chi Heng Foundation, Wang has earned a French bakery diploma from France’s top-ranked bakery school, Ecole Française de Boulangerie et de Pâtisserie. Thanks to sponsorships from the Carrefour Foundation, Accor Foundation and yeast producer Lesaffre, students are able to train in French and Chinese bakeries with four- to five-star hotels while taking classes. Upon graduation from SYB, students are equipped with the skills to follow their baking pursuits, with the top three graduates sent to study further and earn coveted diplomas in France.

In 2012, 80 percent of the students had one to three bakery job offers even before graduating, and within two weeks of graduation, all students had started their careers as either bakers or pastry chefs.

As a student, Wang thought both the classes and the internship experiences continue to be the best parts of the program. She now finds it amusing that students often begin the classes not liking French bread, being more accustomed to the soft sponginess of most Chinese bread. In time, though, Wang said they all learn to love French bread. In fact, Wang said one of her favorite items to bake (and eat) is the baguette.

‘You learn a lot of skills through making a baguette,’ Wang said. Her next favorite indulgence? Chocolate mousse cake, which sells for 258 RMB at the Saturday market.

Every first and third Saturday for the past few years at the Jiashan Market, Wang and other SYB members sell a variety of breads, pastries and cakes (5 RMB for croissants to 258 RMB for 20-cm. cakes). These items rotate every two weeks, depending on what the students practice baking.

In addition to training in classes, students gain real-world experiences through internships at hotels, bakeries and markets throughout the city. During her time as a student, Wang interned at the international French chain PAUL Bakery and Patisserie, Boulangerie Daniel in Shanghai and a pastry shop.

Nowadays, Wang teaches anywhere from 20 to 30 students the skills she herself developed through SYB. Wang said her favorite part of being a teacher is the students.

‘Even as a teacher, I learn a lot from the students, too,’ Wang said. ‘They are very hard working and remind me of who I was just a few years ago.’

As for the future of the program, Floriane Lemoine, SYB’s program manager, said it hopes to achieve financial autonomy through a social enterprise model, under which the program would increase its sustainability. One step it has taken toward this goal include using its best graduates as SYB teachers. SYB also hosts open baking classes in Chinese, English and French, the proceeds of which go toward training costs.

Lemoine said that she also hopes to provide this social enterprise model to other NGOs adopt to their own needs. One example includes Braille Without Borders, which provides Tibetan youth training in a variety of fields, including baking.

Wang remains a powerful example of the program’s success in providing disadvantaged Chinese youth the skills necessary to lead independent, joyful lives.

For more information on Shanghai Young Bakers and to learn how you can contribute to its program, please visit www.shanghaiyoungbakers.com.

ShanghaiExpat: “海上青焙坊:王莉的故事 “

王莉依然和香港智行基金会的发起人杜聪先生保持着联系。杜聪先生将她介绍给了海上青焙坊项目，这使得王莉有机会开始一段和过去和之前的生活截然不同的人生旅程。

“杜聪先生是我人生中对我帮助非常大的人。”王莉说。

在智行基金会的帮助之下，作为第一批海上青焙坊的学生之一，王莉在法国顶尖的法国奥利亚克烘焙学校,取得了法式烘焙证书。来自家乐福基金会，雅高基金会和法国酵母生产商乐斯福公司的资助也使得学员们能够在学习理论课的同时获得在四星级或五星级大酒店实习的机会。当学员们从海上青焙坊毕业时，他们已经掌握必要的烘焙技能，可以大胆地追求他们的烘焙梦想。而前三名的同学则会被送去法国继续深造并且在法国取得烘焙证书。

在2012年，80%的学员在毕业前就收到了两至三个烘焙业的工作录取信。在毕业两个礼拜之后，所有的学员都在烘焙界找到了心仪的工作。

当王莉还是一个学生时，她觉得这个项目最好的部分就在于它的课程和实习机会。她也跟我们分享了一个有趣的事实：初来乍到时，所有的学员都不喜欢法式面包，觉得它们都太硬了。大家起初都偏向于松软的中式面包。但是过了不久，王莉说大家就渐渐开始喜欢上了法式面包。王莉说，其实她现在最喜欢做也最喜欢吃的就是法式长棍。

“在学习法式长棍的过程中可以学到许多技能。”王莉说。她其次喜欢的是巧克力慕斯蛋糕，这款蛋糕在每周六的集市上能卖到258人民币。

在每个月第一和第三个周六，王莉和其他海上青焙坊的成员都会在集市上售卖不同的面包和蛋糕。这些产品会根据当周学员们学习的面包类型而不同。

除了在课上学到的理论知识，学员们也通过在酒店、面包房和集市中实习获得了许多实际经验。当王莉还是一个学员的时候，她所实习过的地方包括国际性的法国烘焙连锁店保罗面包店，上海丹尼尔面包店和一个糕点店。

如今，王莉是20-30个学生的老师，教授他们那些自己在海上青焙坊习得的烘焙知识。她觉得学生是她当老师的过程中最喜欢的部分。

“尽管我是老师，但是我能从我的学生身上学到很多。”王莉说，“他们都非常努力地学习，这让我想起了几年前的自己。”

对于海上青焙坊的未来发展，项目经理林兰表示她希望海上青焙坊能通过社会企业的模式达到资金独立，这样这个项目会更具有可持续发展的潜力。目前海上青焙坊已经着手开始往这个目标努力，而录用自己曾经最优秀的学生来当后面几届的老师也是方法之一。海上青焙坊现在也开设多语种（中文，英文和法文）对外烘焙课程。课程所得款项都会成为海上青焙坊的项目运作资金。

林兰说她希望海上青焙坊这样的运营模式可以让其他更多的NGO参考借鉴。例如盲文无国界组织就曾经为西藏的盲童提供烘焙培训帮助那些孩子们自力更生。

海上青焙坊通过教授贫困家庭儿童烘焙技术而帮助他们获得独立，快乐的生活。王莉就是这样一个例子。
想了解更多关于海上青焙坊的信息，请访问：www.shanghaiyoungbakers.com