My two fulfilling years at SYB

我在海上青焙坊充实的两年

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It has been two and a half years and I can still recall what it was like when I first joined the Shanghai Young Bakers team in May 2014. I was passionate about China and its people, and was looking for a more meaningful social mission; I was lucky to have the opportunity to make my dreams come true: helping the underprivileged have a new start in life. I remember the first time that I was genuinely moved was during the recruitment trip of the summer of 2014: for the first time in my life, I was interacting everyday with young adults from very impoverished backgrounds who talked about their life experiences and traumas in the simplest and humblest ways. Their dreams and hopes for the future were buried under the surface, as their main concern was to “survive today, this month, and see what happens next”. It felt amazing to welcome these young people to Shanghai every August: we could see their hope in the programme which has given them a new chance in life. 

已经两年半的时间过去了，我回想着2014年5月我第一次加入海上青焙坊团队时青涩的样子。我热爱中国和中国人，并找寻一个更加充满意义的使命，幸运的是我有机会实现我的梦想：帮助弱势群体有一个新开始。我记得第一次我充满情感的招生旅行是在2014年的夏天：我每天面对来自非常贫困家庭背景的年轻人，听着他们用简单却又卑微的方式谈论他们的生活经历和精神创伤。他们把他们的梦想和对未来的希望隐藏在心里的深处，因为他们主要的担忧是‘活过今天，这个月，看接下来会发生什么’。每个8月，迎接这些年轻人来到上海是一件让人激动的事情：我可以看见他们对这个给予他们新生活的项目充满了期待。

Each year, it was incredible to see their evolution: beginning as young and shy teenagers, they were growing into confident young adults, learning how to communicate and express their opinions, and even making plans for their future. I was always filled with pride when seeing them wearing their baker’s uniforms, whether it was in class at SYB or during their internship at our partner hotels. My biggest reward was to see them graduate and start their new careers with confidence! Even now, I love visiting them at their respective workplaces around Shanghai and find out how they are doing. I feel proud that they have achieved our goal: find stable jobs as bakers and lift themselves out of poverty. And the number of companies who reach out to us to recruit qualified bakers just confirms that the Young Bakers have a bright future ahead of them!

每一年，看着他们的改变我都感到非常的不可思议：从年青、羞涩的青少年，到成长为自信的成年人，并学习如何沟通与表达他们的观点，甚至学会为规划自己的未来。不论是在海上青焙坊的课堂上或者在我们合作伙伴的酒店里实习时，看到他们穿上烘焙师的制服，我为他们感到自豪。我最大的回报是，看着他们毕业并带着自信开启他们全新的职业生涯。直到现在，我喜欢去他们的工作场所访问他们，了解他们近期的情况和消息，并且我为他们实现我们的目标而自豪：找到稳定的烘焙师工作，然后让他们自己脱离贫困。许多与我们接触的公司向我们招聘合格的面包师，因此对面包师的高需求也证明了海上青焙坊和其学员我们的烘焙师们都有很好的前途！

In the end, the Young Bakers are like all of us: give them a chance, believe in them, and they will blossom and grow into confident human beings who can achieve their dreams.

在最后，这些年轻的烘焙师们就和我们一样：给他们机会，相信他们，然后，他们会自信的成长及绽放并且实现他们的梦想。