Shenzhen car wash employs people with intellectual disabilities

Spreading seeds of hope

Thanks to the sustained smooth operation of the car wash, many parents with intellectually challenged children from across the country have paid visits to learn more about the venture, and Cao is delighted to share its professional competence assessment system, training content and job assignment system with them for free.

Supported by Cao's car wash and the local provincial disabled persons' federation, another Xihaner car wash center went operational in Qinghai province in 2016, where 16 intellectually disabled people were hired.

In May 2022, the China Disabled Persons' Federation issued a document supporting the promotion of the Xihaner car wash project nationwide.

By the end of last year, the number of Xihaner car wash centers had reached 42 across China, with more than 400 mentally disabled people employed in many cities, including Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Hefei in Anhui province, Altay in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Chifeng in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Zhou Lingang, executive director of the research center for the development of disabled persons at Shenzhen University, said that the Xihaner model has been rapidly promoted and replicated nationwide, helping shatter the employment barrier for people with intellectual disabilities.

It has explored a path that is socialized and market-oriented and has also activated local resources in different areas according to local conditions, such as the disabled persons' federation and caring enterprises, Zhou said.

Zhou's research team thoroughly investigated the Xihaner car wash model and drafted a guide on professional car washing services for people with mental disabilities. The guide is expected to be released as a group standard soon.

Although the Xihaners have no financial ties with Cao's car wash in Shenzhen, he said he hopes more such facilities will open.

"If 1,000 such places are operational, they can help some 10,000 families with mentally disabled children," he said.

Xinhua