Maryland Dough: bakery builds community for seniors and people with autism
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Linsang, a 40-year-old in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and her friend Sharon Shilla Sylvester opened Maryland Dough, a bakery that employs people with special needs and senior citizens.
Linsang noticed both groups faced isolation, children with autism and their anxious parents, and retirees lacking purpose after leaving the workforce. She and Sylvester created the bakery as a place for these individuals to work, contribute, and connect.
Maryland Dough operates under the NGO Persatuan Autism Pelita Harapan Sabah and grew from Linsang’s mother’s earlier work founding Maryland Nursery and the Maryland Learning Centre. The bakery provides participants with training at the Maryland Baking Centre before they move to the shop to practice their skills in a real work environment. Linsang believes this work helps people gain practical skills like handling money and interacting with customers.
Linsang described how the different generations learn from each other, seniors share experience and technique, while young people bring energy and honesty. Maryland Dough received recognition for its efforts, winning a state-level Shell LiveWire Malaysia Sabah challenge in June. Linsang hopes to expand the program to other parts of Malaysia and foster a more inclusive country where everyone feels valued.
