Field report: Five orphanages in Jiangxi Province


Reporter: Ms. Zhou Bo

Dates: Nov.8-18, 2004

Schedule:
11.8 Travel from Nanjing to Jiujiang
11.10 Travel to Nanchang
11.12 Travel to Ji’an
11.13 Travel to Ganzhou
11.15 Travel to Ruijin
11.17 Return to Ganzhou and proceed to Suzhou by train
11.18 Arrive in Suzhou at noon and return to Nanjing in the afternoon.

Jiujiang


Activities:

1. Visited Jiujiang Orphanage and discussed with the Orphanage Director and Project Coordinator both the present state of affairs as well as the ongoing progress of current projects.
2. Observed the working conditions of the Amity Grandmas Project.
3. Visited several foster care families.
4. Visited two students receiving aid through our Education Sponsorship Project at Jiujiang Bo'ai Deaf School

Observations and Comments:

Amity Grandma, Jiujiang

Amity Grandmas Project: Jiujiang Orphanage currently has six Amity grandmas, all assisting disabled children with their rehabilitation exercises and carrying out their work in the rehabilitation rooms on the second floor. The 12 Grandmas from Half the Sky (HTS), a project which began in June, are currently working with toddlers and babies on the first floor of the orphanage. In my meeting with the six Amity grandmas, they expressed their love for these children as well as their support for the project’s aims of providing the children with love and care. Although they are aware the HTS grandmas earn 600 yuan each month, the Amity grandmas are not bothered by this. As Amity grandma Li Huozhi stated: “I feel these children are like my own. Sometimes on Sundays I miss them. We want the environment they live in to be as happy and warm as possible. We will continue our commitment to working with children in need." All the grandmas glowed with pride whenever they spoke of the children.

As Director Yu explained to me, when the caregivers of the orphanage’s young babies are particularly busy, the Amity grandmas help with caring for them as well. In my time at Jiujiang Orphanage, more than ten children came down with diarrhea. During this time, the Amity grandmas assisted the orphanage doctors and nurses in caring for the orphanage’s babies.

Foster Care Project: During my time in Jiujiang, I visited six foster families. Cao Jiayuan’s situation appeared much improved since my last visit. Her foster mother seemed very patient with her, and Cao Jiayuan knows many Chinese characters now. Cao Jiayuan tried to tell me her foster sister helps teach her many things as well. Cao Yutian, another child living with a foster family, also appears happy. Her foster grandmother seems to give her a lot of love and care. All the foster children I visited seemed close to their families.

Foster children, Jiujiang


Education Sponsorship Project: The Jiujiang Bo'ai Deaf School is a private school run by deaf people. Cao Bowen, one of the two students Amity is assisting at the school, appeared very happy to see myself and the orphanage staff when we visited the school. Cao Bowen’s teacher described him as an energetic boy who gets along well with his classmates. Cao Yunan, the other student at the school benefiting from Amity’s Education Sponsorship Project, is a quiet boy who is at present not doing particularly well in his studies. But his teachers expressed their continued commitment to helping him and to taking good care of these two orphanage children.

Nanhu Kindergarten, located near the Jiujiang Orphanage, is preparing to move its location. Director Yu informed me that they are attempting to arrive at a convenient solution for four orphanage children presently attending classes at the kindergarten.

Sponsored children, Jiujiang


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Nanchang


Activities:

1. Talked with 12 grandmas about their work.
2. Visited six new foster care families.
3. Communicated with the director about the project and witnessed new arrangements at the orphanage.

Observations and Comments:

New arrangement: Ms. Tan, vice-director of the orphanage, informed me that the orphanage’s rooms and buildings have been re-arranged. Under the new scheme, there are three sections devoted to the orphanage children’s unit. The first is the Upbringing Center, in which babies and toddlers live. The grandmas and teachers from the Little Sisters Early Childhood Development Center from Half the Sky are working on the first floor while Holt-supported staff are working with young babies on the second floor (Holt International is an organization which supports orphan children in China). The Upbringing Center is located on the east side of the children’s unit. The second section of the children’s unit is the Center for the Education of Students, and includes the Welfare Primary School and orphanage classrooms. The three Amity grandmas who assist in tutoring students work in this section, which is located in the middle of the children's unit. The third section is the Medical Care and Rehabilitation Center for Children with Special Needs. It is located on the west side of the children’s unit.

Amity Grandmas, Nanchang

According to these new arrangements, the nine Amity grandmas working in children’s rehabilitation will be assigned to the third section. At present, however, they have not yet moved to this Medical Care and Rehabilitation Center. For the moment they are working with eight disabled children in different shifts in a room located in the first section of the children’s unit. Since most of the rooms in this section are occupied by Half The Sky, the Amity grandmas are left with only one room to work in. The Amity grandmas are not entirely happy with this situation, but they have adjusted to it. As Mrs. Qiu, one of the Amity grandmas, stated, “After our meeting with Ms. Tan in September, we now understand the reasons for the orphanage’s new arrangement. We are also glad to see that more and more people are showing concern for and are willing to help these orphanage children.‿ As the orphanage is our partner, I believe we should be flexible and respect each other despite any differences. I hope this problem will be settled soon. Indeed, Ms. Tan assured me it would be settled in time.

Holt has developed a project with a group of six families in which each couple is assigned six children of different ages. The houses of these families are being built inside the orphanage. Of the 36 children benefiting from this program, some are also beneficiaries of our Education Sponsorship project. Ms.Tan informed me that Holt provides a living allowance for these children while Amity provides the fees for their education. Three Amity grandmas will also work on tutoring these students. In order to clarify Amity’s involvement in these projects, we plan to put up a sign on which the name of the project, its sponsor and the name of the Amity Foundation will be written. By placing the sign at the entrance of the project building, those who visit the orphanage will be notified of Amity’s longstanding involvement in the project and of your support in Jiangxi.

Foster Care: During my time in Nanchang, I visited eight foster families. I was told the children have changed a lot after joining their families, displaying attachment and affection towards the family members.

There are more than 10 children living in the Hongcheng suburb area, located some 20 minutes away from the orphanage. Among these, seven children need some kind of rehabilitation. Ms. Ni, an expert in the physical rehabilitation of disabled persons and a staff member at the foster care office, informed me she believes these seven children’s rehabilitation will proceed more smoothly under her direction. She has planned to find a room for the children’s rehabilitation exercises in the local area. These children, along with their families who live nearby, will be asked to do their exercises together each day under the supervision of Ms. Ni. This situation will not only aid the children in their rehabilitation but will also allow foster mothers and children an opportunity to communicate with each other.

Foster children, Nanchang


(L to R) Yu Zai, Ms.Xu, Yu Huai

Nanchang Blind School: During my visit to this school, I spoke with two students from Xinyu and one student from Nanchang, as well as with their teachers. Ms.Xu, the teacher in charge of their class, told me the students are independent and know how to cope with daily life tasks by themselves, but they are not particularly interested in studying. Yu Huai is particularly shy and does not talk often. Yu Zai communicates easily with her classmates and teachers and is very kind in helping other students who are younger than her. The teachers said that they would do their best to help them. The children wanted to express gratefulness to their sponsors for allowing them the opportunity to attend the school and learn the skill of massage.

Needs:

Medical Needs: I happened to meet Fu Nanhai in the orphanage. She is walking very well with her braces. She was very glad to see me and led me to the knitting room to show me the sweater she is knitting in the knitting class run by Holt. She told me about her three friends who, after discovering she was able to walk after receiving Amity’s help, would like to undergo the same operation themselves. The three women are about 28 years old and are not yet scheduled for such an operation.

Children fitted with braces, Nanchang


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Ji’an


Activities:

1. Visited two new foster care families.
2. Visit Amity Grandmas and the children they help with.
3. Communicated with the director about projects and inspected the new playground facilities for the children in the orphanage.

Observations and Comments:

Foster child, Ji'an

Foster Care: The two foster children are living in foster families not far away from the orphanage. Ms.Hu, vice director who is in charge of children’s unit, has been responsible for this project since Amity started it with the orphanage. After she saw the changes in these two foster children, Ms. Hu feels convinced that foster care really is better for children than living in an orphanage. The children appeared to be receiving good care and love from their foster families. Ji Zhouzhen, who entered foster care in June this year, has particularly benefited from the care from her foster grandmother and foster sister. Her foster sister said she always takes some time to play with Ji Zhouzhen after school.

Equipment: I saw equipment donated directly to the orphanage by an American donor all set up and being used by the children.

Donated orphanage equipment, Ji'an


An incubator has also been provided for the orphanage, it will be useful for the babies this winter.

Grandmas: The children with disabilities moved to a new building in May. The Amity grandmas said the new building, new kitchen, and the new playground have really improved conditions for the children now. A few months ago, the Amity grandmas started to teach the girls knitting and have already finished three sweaters with them.

Needs:

Amity Grandmas, Ji'an

Amity Grandmas: There are a total of 64 children in the orphanage, 18 of which are living in foster care families and 46 living in the orphanage itself. There is only one doctor in charge of medical services for the orphanage children now. Ms.Hu has asked for another Amity Grandma to help as a doctor with the basic medical needs of the babies. Gao Yanping, who once worked as a paediatric doctor in a hospital, has been volunteering at the orphanage since September. She appears to be interested in working with orphanage children.

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Ganzhou


Activities:

1. Visited six foster children.
2. Talked with Amity Grandmas.
3. Communicated with the director and the coordinator about the project as well as the basic situation in the area.

Observations and Comments:

Re-building the Old People's Home, Ganzhou

Basic information: The rebuilding of the old people's home will be finished in one or two months. This five-storey building will provide accommodation for old people on floors one through four and for children on the fifth floor. When I visited the orphanage, I could see the workers were still busy renovating and working on interior decoration. I was told the children would be moved into this new building after two months.

There are a total of 69 children in the Ganzhou orphanage, 15 of which are living in foster families with Amity sponsorship and another 54 (12 with disabilities) living at the orphanage itself.

Foster care: Mr.Qian, the coordinator of the project, told me that three foster children were taken back to the orphanage in the week before my visit. The foster mothers of these children had decided not to continue taking care of these children for different reasons. Guo Runfang has already changed families three times. He Xinming is too naughty. And Gan Jun cannot do anything for himself even after a long period of trying. Mr.Qian said he will continue to try to look for suitable families for these children. It is really hard because they are more than 10-years-old that they don't adapt to new families easily.

I visited six foster families. The two Gan Hua children (with the same pronunciation but different ways of writing their names) live in the same community. When I visited them, they said that they are both fond of going to school. Their foster mothers said they had changed a lot. They can accompany each other to school with the assistance of adults, have learned some basic sign language, and have found new friends in school.

Foster children, Ganzhou


Amity Grandmas, Ganzhou

Amity Grandmas: I saw five Amity Grandmas in the Babies and Toddlers room. They sing children’s songs, hug the babies, and take care of the children's everyday needs. The children seemed to be attached to these grandmas. The grandmas themselves are very glad that the children will soon move into new rooms. They told me that training for Amity grandmas should be held every year for every grandma since it is so useful and practical.

Equipment: I saw the facilities provided through Amity by the sponsorship of the Altrusa Club of Longview Kelso Washington Foundation. The washing machine is working non-stop every day and the dryer is used in the winter and on rainy days. An air conditioner was installed in the children’s room.

Needs:

Eight children in need of foster care: I found there are eight children with special need who are at the right age to be taken on by foster families and receive individual care.

Children in need of foster care, Ganzhou


Solar water heater

Solar water heater: There is one electronic water heater for the babies and this heater can only provide baths for three babies at a time. For the older children, the caregivers have to fetch boiling water from a heater in the boiler room and carry it to the bathroom. After the children moved, it is now hard to carry hot water all the way up to the fifth floor. Since the children’s unit is on the top floor of the building, a solar water heater would be ideal.

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Ruijin


Activities:

1. Visiting with foster care families.
2. Checking the work of grandmas.
3. Communicating with the directors and persons in charge, emphasizing the principles of foster care and the requirements for its successful implementation.

Observations and Comments:

Basic information: There are 89 children in the orphanage, all of whom have been placed with foster families.

Foster Care: After I received an e-mail about foster care in Ruijin, I contacted the director., Mr.Zeng, who attaches great importance to this. During my visit to Ruijin, the coordinator in charge of foster care was changed. Having received an updated name list of those in foster care, I found things had really changed a lot. Since the children are mostly healthy infants, many of them had actually been adopted. I visited 16 foster families, most of whom were new to fostering.

Foster children, Ruijin


Amity Grandmas, Ruijin

Amity Grandmas: Since all the orphan children are living in foster families, the two Amity Grandmas help the children by visiting foster families. During my visit with the families, I found the children and families are all familiar with the Amity grandmas. The Orphanage Director thinks very highly of these volunteers’ work.

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