The Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB) proved to be of great help to Shanghai after it achieved its purpose to create employment for the differently abled residents of the Chinese city.
Since it was established in 2008, the SYB has helped those with special capabilities to make a living with a number of "special" bakeries after receiving training in baking tasty bread, cakes and pastries.
"They generally do not receive training in professional skills, which can help them earn decent incomes," said program manager Floriane Lemoine, explaining how 12 volunteers from the French Junior Economic Chamber in Shanghai founded the charitable organization.
According to Lemoine, the foundation had provided trainings which aimed to help children from poor families in the city "to obtain valuable skills that would benefit them throughout their lives."
In Feb. 2009, the founders of the organization--businessmen, artists and housewives--began training 16 people from impoverished families aged between 17 and 23 years old.
Some of the most loved recipes taught to them include top-quality, French-style baked goods which, according to a report from Women of China, have become a huge hit in Shanghai.
Included in the first batch of SYB trainees is 23-year-old Wang Li from central China's province of Henan who later became an instructor himself.
During the course, Wang was taught how to leaven the dough before baking it into a loaf of bread, which then kindled her passion in baking.
"The baking course I took in 2009 was much more interesting. . . . Our teacher, Loic Ledru, asked me to make a loaf of bread, in any shape I liked. I made the dough into a 'little mouse' and put it into the oven. To my surprise, the 'little mouse' baked into a big, round loaf of bread. It looked so funny," she recalled.
A year after that, she later took a seven-month course on French-style baking with support from SYB and has later become a teacher who helps those participating in the program.