Foundation and Foster Homes

I think many of us have heard of children being adopted from China. Last week I was able to get an inside glimpse of what happens before the child can be part of a new, loving family.

The hospital Philip works for donates 1% of their revenue to pay for medical care and operations for children born with correctable deformities or illnesses. This is done through a separate organization, UFCO, which has one employee(paid for by the hospital) and otherwise volunteers . The volunteers fill different functions like: finding donations of infant formula, keeping the books, running fund raisers for special projects, visiting the children and ayis when they are hospitalized and going with them for pediatric visits plus documenting this.(This is what I am being introduced to do with 2 other "prior life" nurses.)

Anyway, the foundation just hired a new director , a 30 year old New Yorker with Chinese back ground. In connection with this a tour was arranged so she and volunteers who wanted to could visit 6 foster homes in the greater Beijing area. Foster homes are not officially recognized and are somewhat illegal but tolerated in most districts because of the good work they do. They take children that are sick or need medical attention from the state run orphanages. In name the children are still at the orphanages and adoptions go through these (However, the foster homes try to keep the kids till adoptions since their care is so superior).

Most foster homes are founded by amazingly giving individuals who see it as their mission in life to transform the lives of children who otherwise would have no chance, and sometimes this can be as simple as helping to arrange an operation, other times it is a decade long commitment to certain children. Many foster homes are faith based, and supported by churches and individuals at home, others are founded by individuals. But they have one thing in common, they rely 100% on donations!

It is not unusual that sick and physically disabled children are abandoned. Being allowed only one child pr. family, it is hard if that child is born with a lot of medical needs, especially since poor families do not have free medical care. So often the only option the parents see is to bring their child to an orphanage. And once you abandon your child, you cannot have it back. The state run orphanages do not have a lot of resources, and often have 10-15 children pr. employee. If they receive an infant with many medical needs, they often turn to foster homes. Many foster homes are run by or employee pediatricians. Once a child is in foster care, the homes arrange for treatment plans. They employee local nannies (aiy's) who give loving care to their designated child (if the child is fairly healthy, there may be a 1:3 ratio, but never more).

Once the child has been treated, they are often at the same time in process of being adopted away through the original orphanage. This can take time, but the foster homes like to keep the kids till this is in order. Sometimes the orphanages demand they come back for a limited time, but until then they stay with the foster homes.

If the child needs an expensive operation and is stable, the foster home tries to see if the adoptive parents can take them preop and then receive needed medical care on the adoptive parents insurance once they reach their new homes. Our hospital are one of the places where the foster homes seek care. And, as previously said, this is free to them until the 1% of the hospital revenue is used up. After that each foster home receives 40% deduction on hospitalization, and most of them have ongoing fund raising, both general and for a specific child.

The 6 foster homes we visited all had in common that they were run by great, loving individuals and the children seemed to receive an abundance of love and attention. In other ways they were quite different, so I think I would like to describe them in smaller chapters. What could have been a very painful trip, was really a confirmation of humanity.


VISITING FOSTER HOMES

Tuesday morning six of us met early in the morning to drive to three foster homes in the same general area, about 1 1/2 hour from our area of Beijing. As we pulled up to Shepherd's Field founded by Philip Hayden, we were greeted by a big fenced in area with several new stone buildings. Several of these were residential with living area on the first floor and nurseries on the second. A big new house served as a hotel for visitors , where they can come as paying guests while volunteering either here or at nearby "Harmony" or "Agape. The reason for having a "hotel" is that there really is no place nearby where Westerners could comfortably stay, and also no transportation to get here from Beijing.

The inn was nice and bright with lots of art showing children. The art is for sale as a way of raising money. Also in the back one can find a small factory making flags. As this is in an industrial zone, this property is registered as such. (But everyone knows it is a foster home)

As we approached the living quarters, we were met by a wall of hands, a very moving sight. The fence consisted of plaques bought by adoptive parents, and bore the names and hand prints of their children, and through these donations more children could receive help.

Inside the houses we were met by smiling, happy babies and toddlers, being helped by ayis. If you looked a little closer, you could see the scars from cleft lip repair on some of the faces. An ayi revealed a club foot on a beautiful little boy. The director of the home is a pediatrician, but not licensed to practice in China, so a Chinese physician is present at all times. Also here you see art on all walls and photos of the children who live here. If you see the picture of twins in the slideshow, that is a painting of two little boys by a local artist, the boys themselves have been adopted into the same family. I believe about 40 children live here, all undergoing therapy or waiting for the papers to go through. The director told us that all the buildings have been built with donations, mainly from the states. Daily operations are also provided for by donations, 100% of the operating cost. "We never know where next months money will come from, but till now it has always arrived."

For our next home we entered into what appeared to be a regular housing complex. "Agape" was founded by a couple from Illinois, a tractor operator and his baker wife. They adopted two children from China, and knew they could do more if they moved here. So they packed up and came! They are now in the process of adopting child no 5. One of their children has Brittle bone disease, and through this they became very knowledgeable about treatment and needed operations to transform a child's life from being bedridden to a functional life, depending on a wheel chair. So they have made a mission of helping children suffering from brittle bones. Doctor's from USA have trained local doctors to perform needed surgeries periodically. But then what? So 'Bread of Life" was conceived. The residents, all treated like their own children, live in 2 somewhat rundown houses in the neighborhood. The home has a live-in teacher and the wife teaches them to become bakers. Western style baked goods are highly regarded locally and can lead to good jobs. Agape runs "Bread of Life" with one of their 18 year old residents in charge. They are in the black, and their cheesecakes and chocolate chip cookies are famous throughout Beijing! For more info, see http://agapefamilyhouse.org

On this day the sky was blue, and the sun shone bright. When we arrived to meet everyone, nobody could be found. We were told to go to the park where among numerous wheelchairs we found a picnic and 20-25 kids eating MacDonald Happy meals!! A volunteer was visiting (Staying at Shepherd's Field) and had provided food for today's picnic. The picnic also included children from "Harmony", another foster home nearby operated by exceptional individuals.

On Friday we again met to visit other foster homes in a different geographical area. This time we drove into a typical Chinese neighborhood. "Blue Sky Healing Home" is also a private home, started by a woman from Singapore and a Chinese physician. They originally bought one house, and as you enter you really feel you are in a home. Again bright photos of all the kids greet you from the wall. Children sit on their ayis laps, playing with toys. The adjacent building houses somewhat older children sitting around a table, practicing cutting with scissors. This home has 20 workers and 18 children with health problems, bladder extrophy, cleft lip and palate, bone deformities and Down's Syndrome. Celine who showed us around is a soft spoken women. Right now she is working hard to try to find a school for a bright 8 year old child. He is handicapped, and the schools here are not handicap accessible. Also, they do not need to take him. On top of that he is nearing the age where he can not be adopted, so they will keep him till he comes of age. The atmosphere in this home was very down to earth and as in the others, full of love. "Bluesky" also works with poor families and assist them to receive medical care and help before they are forced to abandon their child . For more info:
www.blueskyhealinghome.org

Our last visit went to Hope Foster Home. Hope was started by an Australian physician in the early nineties. She came to China as a tourist, and was so taken with the hopelessness of being handicapped and orphaned here that she never left again. She and her husband bought a home, and went to an orphanage to find one child whose life they could totally change with early medical intervention. From there they now run a model foster home that had provided medical help to about 90 children who are now adopted worldwide. On one of the photos you should see a map with pins that identifies where the children now are. As you see, one of their former guests now lives in Maine.
In addition to foster homes, they have now started Hospice homes where children will be cared for in a loving environment and not suffer unnecessary.
For more info, see: www.hopefosterhome.com

I had expected the trips to the foster homes to be hard and depressing. But what strikes me as I reflect on our visits is the love and dedication of some amazing individuals who through their work has dramatically changed the lives of the children who meet them.

People of China

We have taken a trip to Pingyao, an ancient walled city, and yesterday visited the Summer Palace and Jinshung Park in Beijing. More to come about those visits soon but for now we wanted to introduce you to some interesting people we have come across in China.

SPRING is here. The winter in Beijing was harder than I had thought. It was icy cold with clear, blue skies most days. And the wind, bitter and penetrating... Only one day of snow, and that wonder of nature was helped along with a little seeding of the clouds by the authorities in charge. And for me it is the snow that makes winter worthwhile, the chance to be outside and play: ski, snowshoe,ice skate,winter hike etc. Without snow, the landscape looks brown and dead.

But, spring is here. We went from night time frost last week to about 27 degree Celsius (high 70s F)presently. Our compound is full of activity: Everywhere great, big hoses are watering the grass, bushes and trees, and as by a miracle they leaf out and start flowering. Magnolias brighten up the landscape in pink and white, and just stop you in your tracks, demanding admiration. And you will find me tugging at the branches, trying to smell the flowers after my good friend Bingbing told me that sniffing magnolias will improve hearing. Too bad the season is so short, right now I can hear very well!! Around the corner you will also see forsythia and beautiful white and pink cherries, check the photos in this blog for a visual treat.

The birds are singing at the top of their voices, especially early in the morning and around 3 PM. It is very common to keep birds here, and just as we walk our dogs at home, here the birds are walked twice a day in their big, wooden cages. As the bird walker walks, he/she swings the cages energetically from side to side. This is because in the wild, a bird is used to sit on branches swaying in the wind. So to improve the ability to cling to a branch, this exercise is done daily. And then when a park is reached, the cage hood is removes, and the birds sit in the sunshine and sing loudly their joyful songs.

Spring cleaning is also in full swing. The compound sidewalks, the outdoor furniture, the awnings are all being scrubbed down by the ayis, even the bottom of the artificial waterways. Every cleaning woman and child care worker here is called an ayi (Or auntie) And they are plentiful, the child ayis usually one per child, and very many cleaning ayis. And, there is more to clean here than any other place I have ever lived. With very little rain, and the pollution, everything gets pretty dusty. Even inside, you have to clean and dust twice a week or you will definitely see visible dust. The average pay for an ayi is 15 RMB pr hour, about $2.20 or close to kr 15.- Not a lot, but quite average for unskilled workers.

Everywhere you will see children and adults alike outside to play, enjoying the new spring. Beijingers really enjoy being outside, and the numerous parks are teeming with activities like morning exercising, pilates, backward walking, ping-pong playing, choir practice , dancing and card playing. It feels like the whole city is emerging from hibernation, awakening anew to the wonder of spring.

Ryan Bradeen Visits

Ryan Bradeen was our 2nd Maine visitor. Ryan is a native of Milo, Maine and a graduate of Dartmouth. We were introduced to Ryan and his wife, Nan, after our decision to move to China. Shortly after we met, Ryan and Nan, accepted positions in Wuhan, China where they administrate and teach at an English language school. Ryan stayed overnight on his way back to the States for a week. It was great to see him. We had a nice albeit noisy dinner at the Red Rose, a Muslim restaurant with belly dancing and Ryan got to see Beijing United Family Hospital and meet several of my colleagues here.