« Give an orphan some bread, you feed him for a day

Teach him to bake, you feed him for a lifetime"

The Carrefour Foundation has been the first partner of the project since its creation in 2008 and has decided to accompany it for two more years. The 92 000 euros-subvention from the Foundation will be used to develop a social business model allowing the students to sell their own bread to become self sufficient.

SYB is a non-profit-making initiative launched three years ago by members of the Young Economic Chamber of Shanghai, to give Chinese orphans or undpriviledged young chinese aging from 17 to 23 the opportunity to learn how to bake French bread and western pastries. The association thus promotes social and professional integration, giving the orphans the key for a job, in a fast-growing sector in China. At the end of their training, the students receive a diploma officially recognized by the Chinese State.

The Association is lead by international volunteers, most of them being French. It works in collaboration with a network of local partners, among which the city of Shanghai, The Chihenh Foundation and Caoyang’s hotel school, with whom a contract was passed, organizing the hosting of the students during their training.

To ensure the long run stability of the project, the 3 best students of the first promotion were send to France to pass a professional diploma in bakery and then become the new teachers of Shanghaï Young Bakers.

In March 2011, the General Delegate of Carrefour Foundation went there to meet the students and to visit the new baking center.

All the 18 students who graduated in 2011 want to start a career in bakery: 4 had already found a job even before graduating, 9 were hired less than 2 weeks after the end of the classes, and 5 went back to their original province to look for a job as bakers.

Testimonies

Xueyan ZHAO came first in 2011 and now work at the Grand Mercure. She shares with us her career plans.

"I plan on staying in Shagnahi for the next 2 or 3 years, to work in a hotel. Then, i would like to work in a bakery for a few years, before going back home in Henan, ma native province. My dream is to open my own bakery one day."

Her friend Zhen LUO, is just as much enthusiastic, even if it took her time to adapt herself to the training.

" I didn’t feel well at the beginning of our life in Shanghai. But our teachers taught me how to get adapted gradually, how to learn and how to communicate with others…Everyone needs a long time to learn how to make bread, because it is difficult to understand its nature. In fact, making bread is associated with much our feelings. Only if we put our hearts to it and enjoy the process can we succeed.I am grateful that I have such a good opportunity. I won’t give up until the last minute."