A couple from Germany has supported dozens of hearing-impaired people by employing them at a Western snack shop in Changsha City, capital of Central China's Hunan Province.
Uwe and Dorothee Brutzer, who have been in Changsha for 16 years, are known locally as Wu Zhengrong and Du Xuehui.
The 48-year-old Uwe Brutzer from Stuttgart specialized in chemistry and once worked for a pharmaceutical company. After volunteering for a charity organization, the couple arrived in Changsha during 2002.
Uwe said he started the store in 2011 in downtown Changsha but suffered losses six months later due to high rent as well as salaries for more than 10 employees. With the help of a social welfare center, he reopened the store in another location and invited a baker from Germany to teach handicapped people there.
Uwe said he never planned to stay in Changsha for so long or become a baker, but when he realized he could help hearing-impaired children to master a skill and gain confidence in life, it felt right.
The couple has now sponsored 54 hearing-impaired children and say they "will try our best to do good things, big or small."
