Classes drive social inclusion for people with disabilities

What can fit inside a 1,680-square-meter space?

Since its establishment in 2019, the Shenzhen Longhua District Career & Entrepreneurship Base for Person with Disabilities has achieved remarkable results: it has incubated 48 firms and organizations, created 220 jobs, 140 of which, or 63%, are held by employees with disabilities. In 2021, the base was recognized by the Guangdong Disabled Persons' Federation as the province's first "provincial-level demonstration base for entrepreneurship incubation for people with disabilities.”

People are taking IC I TALK lecture events at the Shenzhen Longhua District Career & Entrepreneurship Base for Person with Disabilities. Photos courtesy of the Shenzhen Longhua District Career & Entrepreneurship Base for Person with Disabilities

How can persons with disabilities step out of their homes and keep pace with a rapidly developing society? With the support of the Longhua District Party Committee, Longhua District People’s Government and Longhua District Disabled Persons' Federation, the base has hosted the IC I TALK lecture series for three consecutive years.

It has organized 84 events covering cultural and sports training, mutual aid activities, vocational skills training, psychological lectures and Party-building events, involving 1,610 participants. In 2025 alone, more than 20 training sessions were held, attracting nearly 500 attendees.

Behind these numbers are real people and vivid, everyday moments.

From craft to income opportunity

In November 2025, wheat-straw painting classes were offered at the base. The instructors — a  team of intangible cultural heritage practitioners at the base – were already selling their works on Taobao and Douyin.

Students enjoy the wheat-straw painting classes.

The students included wheelchair users and those using crutches. The course ran for several weeks, beginning with the basics: how to process wheat straw, how to use fire to gradually create color variations, and how to layer the straw to add depth in an image.

"They put tremendous care into their works," said Li Zhisheng, director of the base. A moderately complex piece can take a long time to complete, but that meticulousness gives the art a special warmth.

The choice of wheat straw painting was no coincidence. The heritage team had already built partnerships with schools and occasionally received large orders that required outsourcing. "They wanted to recruit people with wheat straw skills," Li said, meaning graduates would leave not only with a hobby, but potentially with a new source of income.

Skills targeting the "mum economy"

If wheat-straw painting is about patient craftsmanship, baking and children's face painting offer quicker routes to earning money.

A baking class attracts many participants.

In 2025, the base launched baking and face-painting classes, with most participants being women with disabilities or their family members.

"Neighborhood group buying is very popular now. Many mothers bake cakes at home and take orders through WeChat groups," Li observed. This trend, he noted, applies equally to women with disabilities. If the skills and quality are there, neighbors can become the first customers.

Face painting is even simpler. At shopping malls or parks, painting a child's face takes just over 10 minutes and can earn tens of yuan. "It's a convenient, practical skill," Li said.

Children's face painting class offers participants skills to earn money.

There is also image-management training, which has evolved from nail art in 2023 to makeup in 2024, and into a full series in 2025. Most participants are still women.

"Some have been at home for years raising children and may have lost touch with certain skills," Li said. These sessions, he stressed, are not just about teaching techniques but about helping people reconnect with society.

All training courses at the base are deliberately kept small, with classes of 20. Despite limitations in funding, space, and instructors, this setup allows teachers to give each student individual attention, while making it easier for participants to bond with one another.

To encourage members of the disabled community to step outside their homes, every session includes small gifts, framing participation as the first step back into wider society. After completing their training, many students have gone on to bake cakes for their families or try their hand at weekend stalls — gaining not only practical skills, but also a renewed sense of purpose.

Stepping out of the classroom

Skills training is just the beginning. Equally important is helping people with disabilities leave their homes and be visible in society.

To that end, the base launched the "Shenzhen Matrix" IP activity series. It includes "Shenzhen Talks," which shares stories through livestreamed interviews, "Shenzhen in Motion," which focuses on wheelchair dance training, and "Shenzhen Dating," which helps people with disabilities build social connections. The eight themed IP events open up various channels for engagement with wider society.

A photo of participants of the "Shenzhen Rolling Run."

Among them, the "Shenzhen Rolling Run" series, initiated by Li, has attracted many participants. It eventually led to the formation of the "Step to Win" sports team under the Longhua Disabled Persons' Federation, with squads for darts, floor curling, wheelchair racing, and blind running.

In 2024, team members took part in the Meizhou Marathon and the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.

Yu Jijing is an active member of the running squad. At the Hong Kong marathon, the steep slopes left her breathless. "There was no chance to catch your breath," she recalled. The bridges were even harder — one steep flyover took her four or five stops to climb. Still, she signed up for the next race.

In April 2025, at the K-Run race in Shenzhen Bay, the wheelchair squad unexpectedly placed third in the group category. A video of the race, filmed by a blogger with millions of followers, showed the wheelchairs in motion and reached a huge audience.

The wheelchair squad posts for a photo after the K-Run race in Shenzhen Bay.

"That kind of exposure helps more people realize that we run too," Li said.

Inside that 1,680-square-meter space, stories like these continue to unfold.

From wheat-straw painting in the classroom to wheelchairs on the track, from 20-person classes to marathons with tens of thousands of participants, from 2019 to 2025 — this modest space has become the site of an ongoing experiment with no finish line: using skills training to help people stand on their own, and running to help them go further, so that everyone who walks through its doors can eventually step into a wider world.