"After the children started the journey of playing baseball, their facial expression and appearance became much more confident," the social worker happily shared.
The Mustard Seed Youth Home did not have any established baseball team until last summer but the level of interest in baseball among teenagers has been growing. It all started with the arrival of a newcomer, Xiaoru, who is a pitcher for the school baseball team.
Xiaoru is a teenager with a quiet personality, most of the time, he remains silent and keeps his head down in the corner. Although he has little interaction with people, during the class break, he will proactively go to the field to practice baseball pitch skills.
Xiaoru’s focused and confident appearance attracted the other youngsters. This triggered their curiosity to learn more about baseball games. Through the participation of several practice sessions, everyone became so interested in devoting further to baseball training that they further discussed with each other about the idea of organizing their own baseball team.
In the beginning, the baseball team has no professional coaching available for them to pursue depth training. As a result, the players could only practice the skills of pitching on their own. Fortunately, after being referred by the community, former professional baseball players who returned to serve in their hometowns joined, and the team began to have systematic and intensive practice sessions, ranging from warm-ups, and batting skills, to physical fitness, defense, and other ability training. Captain Xiaoru said, "The current training courses are as solid as those of the school team, and I have also been exposed to a lot of knowledge and prospects in the field of baseball." Accompanied by the coach, the players also showed their extraordinary athletic talents and even had the goal of pursuing their dreams.
A few days ago, the coach took the team to watch a professional baseball game. Seeing the fighting spirit of the players wearing exclusive jerseys on the field inspired the soul of “being a baseball pro“ among teenagers. They hoped that they would also have the opportunity to wear the exclusive team uniforms and strive for honor on behalf of the Home. Now there are 20 members in this baseball team, whether they are pitchers, hitters, or catchers, they are more proficient in passing and catching the ball, and their response to the speed is also above the standard. We believe that as long as they persevere, their dream of standing on the stage of the game is not far ahead!
Due to the frustration they had experienced during their learning process, the cases in the Mustard Seed Youth Home had low self-esteem and low motivation for learning. Under the companionship and encouragement of the volunteer tutors, the cases were affirmed and inspired to learn more when not being judged in the first place.
Admitted to the National Hualien Industrial Vocational High School with a grade of 5C, Jay once felt frustrated and nearly gave up on himself due to his unstable education in the past. Under repeated encouragement from the volunteer tutors such as "You're responding well and have a high potential for learning," Jay was inspired to study on his own and gain a sense of self-achievement along the way.
was about to make landfall...
Dreams need not only to image, but also to try! Shin worships her father since childhood and dreams to become a chef like her father.
When Shin first came to Agape Children’s Home, she was anxious about the unfamiliar environment. Like a kitten, she was always cautious about the people and things around her!
Because of her lack of self-confidence, she has the idea that others don't like her.
Just seeing other people talking makes her feel like they're talking bad things about her. She thought people all over the world don't like her. After all, even she doesn't like herself.
However, the unpleasant personality did not deter Agape Children’s Home teachers. On the contrary, the teacher felt sorry for Shin's lack of self-confidence. In addition to giving more company, it will also guide Shin to discover her own value and enthusiasm!
In the process of getting along, the teacher found that Shin admires her chef dad. She's a foodie herself, especially when it comes to desserts. Naturally, chef dad is like a hero.
Therefore, whenever there is a baking class, Shin will be arranged to participate. Really! Shin is very interested in making dim sum. In addition to being willing to try all kinds of food, when eating delicious or novel food, Shin is always satisfied and shouting loudly: "de-li-cious".
The exaggerated voice and expression will make everyone laugh every time.
Through baking lessons over and over again, Shin fell in love with this activity that was both "eating" and "playing". Because of this, she gets to know everyone more and more, and her personality has become more cheerful. The kitten is gradually conquered by love and cooking. Every time the baked dessert is released, Shin will feel a sense of accomplishment and gradually like her own cheerful self. When the teacher talked to Shin about her dream, she said, "I want to be a chef like my father and bring delicious food to everyone."
Seeing Shin find her future goals and her life has changed, the teacher is pleased.
Now, at the end of each class, Shin will always be heard asking, "Teacher~ Teacher~ what snacks are we going to make next week?"
Everyone heard a burst of laughter and looked forward to the next class.
As the proverb says, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Careworkers at Mustard Seed Youth Home (MS Youth Home) not only provide a family-like environment for teens, but also teach teens life skills, such as eating three balanced meals a day, shopping for groceries, cooking, repairing things, keeping a record of spending and saving, doing laundry and washing bedding, cleaning up environment, observing etiquette, and managing emotions, in order for them to be well prepared to live in the real world independently by the time they exit residential care.
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On a weekend in last November, teens took a 6-hour money management class at MS Youth Home taught by Ms. Lin, a social worker at social assistance division of Hualien County Government, and her fellow teammates. Teens wondered why bothered to manage money when they had no pocket money left over. How to teach teens about money management? Put simply, teens had to start by understanding the difference between needs and wants, which was something they might find hard to grasp. Therefore, raising teens' awareness of the difference between the two in their everyday lives was going to be quite a challenge faced by teachers at MS Youth Home.
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In the classroom, board games and hands-on activities were used to help teens familiarize with basic money management concepts like savings and investments (stocks and real estate). The 6-hour course covered the fundamental concepts and the fun learning activities made time fly. MS Youth Home planned to provide teens with more financial literacy lessons in 2022 that would help them incorporate money skills in their daily life.
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