Soaring Beyond for Children in Out-of-Home Care

Xuany once stayed in Mustard Seed Youth Home, and now he is currently a first-year student at a university. In order to finish his studies, he found a job in the catering business and used his spare time to earn tuition and living expenses.

Looking back to the summer vacation four years ago when Xuany was referred by the social bureau to Mustard Seed Youth Home in Hualiene, the first impression the life counselor had of him was his thin body and weak body condition.

At that time, when other youths in Youth Home were washing their own clothes, he would stand by the sink for a long time without moving. After inquiring why, the counselor learned that none at his home had taught him how to wash clothes by hand. Under some instruction, Xuany learned to wash clothes by hand.

On holidays, when the teenagers in Youth Home usually take turns preparing everyone’s meals. Apparently, Xuany without cooking experience at the beginning could only be an assistant, helping wash and chop vegetables or watching others how to cook. After several times of learning and asking for advice, Xuany was able to cook a few simple dishes, and later even participated in the creative cooking competition of Youth Home with others.

The improvement of self-care abilities is to cultivate young people and also makes an introverted boy like Xuany more confident. During more than 3 years in the Youth Home, Xuany once took pictures of camp activities, and also often served as the chairman to host monthly meetings in Youth Home. With a lot of experience, Xuany's confidence has improved. Before leaving Youth Home, he had already been a leader among the teenagers.

In fact, when Xuany was a sophomore in senior high school, he had the experience of taking summer jobs during the holiday. He worked as a hotel housekeeper for a short period of time and was also looking for a job more interesting to him. It happened that the school has an eSport team. He likes it and participated in the team. In the beginning, his performance was not good. But, after some practice, Xuany's skills improved, and reached second place in the team. The nature of teamwork also cultivated communication skills and problem-solving abilities.

During his time at the Youth Home, Xuany also experienced the pain of the loss of loved ones: his mother and grandmother passed away. Although he kept himself looking calm, the grief engulfed him like a flood in the deep night. With the counselors' company and comfort, Xuany tried his best to get through the sad storm period, and his mood gradually stabilized.

Although there will be bad days, with the company and encouragement, the youths' abilities will be cultivated to face future challenges.