I traveled to Jiangxi province in June with Wu An An, the director of the Social Welfare Division of Amity, and Dr. Hong, the retired pediatrician who now works for Amity.  I also met Yang Jing, their assistant, at their office in Nanjing before we went on to Jiangxi.  I was very impressed with all three of them.  They work hard and are overseeing a lot of projects in several provinces.  This involves frequent traveling to monitor the work and a lot of paperwork.

They are concerned about the children in the orphanages and have a high standard for the foster care homes.  Even homes that seemed acceptable, and certainly better than orphanage care, did not always satisfy Wu An An and Dr. Hong and they then ask the orphanage to find even better homes.

They are conscientious about making sure the orphanages are using the funds as they're intended.  They have the orphanage keep records, which they check closely and also ask the foster families questions to double check the validity of the records.  After spending a week with the Amity staff I felt confident that our funds are in good hands and will be used appropriately.

Increasing the Number of Children in Foster Care

It was exciting to visit the children in their foster homes.  The foster parents seem quite attached to the children and were proud to show them off.  Often several foster families lived in the same complex or area.  As we were visiting with one family a neighboring foster family would come over with their child.  Or the ones we'd just visited would follow us to the next apartment.  If I started taking photos of one baby as the mom was showing what the child could do the other moms were quick to get their child into the act.

How can institutional care compare to this type of loving family environment?  The Jiujiang orphanage has a good reputation but even there the babies spend a lot of time in their cribs with little stimulation.  And the older infants and toddlers spend much of their day in their chairs lined up in the hall facing the same white wall.

The Nanchang orphanage seems to have improved a fair amount compared to photos and video I've seen from 1995 but with 580 children in their care they just can't give the individual attention the children need.  Over 300 of the children at Nanchang must be over the age on one and their chances of being adopted are diminishing rapidly.  The orphanage signs a contract with Amity that says once the child is placed in a foster home the child will remain in that same home until she is adopted or until the family is not able to continue fostering.  In this way the child is able to come close to the ideal of having "a family of their own".

Amity requires careful record keeping by the orphanage in regard to the child's health and development and also of the finances.  And they visit often enough to make sure their standard of care is met.  I was reassured that our donations are being spent wisely and honestly.  I'm grateful for those of you that are sponsoring a child; it's making such a big difference in the lives of those children.

Already since I returned from that June visit we have found some additional sponsors and Amity has asked that another seven children be placed in foster care.  But there are so many more children that could benefit.  If you know anyone else interested in sponsoring a child in foster care please let me know.  It is money well spent!

Hugging Grannies Touch the Lives of Many Children

Since hundreds of children remain in the orphanages without the benefit of foster care the Hugging Grannies are also very special.  When we visited the Nanchang orphanage on Sunday afternoon two of the Grannies were with the toddler/preschooler group.  They were warm and caring, someone a child would want to cuddle up to.  They were in the midst of a large group of children, supplying some extra touching and attention.

The Jiujiang orphanage had all four of the Grannies there the day we arrived so we could meet with them.  At least two of them were in the hall with the older infants and toddlers when we arrived, playing games with them as they sat in their chairs and making sure each child had a toy.  The addition of the Grannies made it so that the staff to child ratio was more acceptable.  Although the attention and stimulation they can provide a child isn't what the child could get in a foster home, one Granny is able to touch to lives of a large group of children.

If additional sponsorship can be found we'd like to add more Grannies and in particular would like some for the physically challenged children at Nanchang.  They are kept separate from the other children.  Many of them are toddlers whose only "handicap" is that they are Hepatitis B positive.  Currently their care has not improved like it has for the other children and the extra attention from a Granny would go a long ways.

Special Projects at the Wanzai Orphanage

We also visited the orphanage and some foster families at Wanzai.  They proved wrong my assumption that the smaller orphanages were poorer and the care not as good.  This orphanage has a well-established foster care program and 50 of their 70 children are in foster care.  There are four or five caretakers at the orphanage for the remaining 20 children and they appeared well cared for.  With funds raised by a group of Wanzai families we will be able to pay for two children to have eye surgery (one nearly blind due to congenital cataracts and the other with left eye glaucoma).  And a sponsor has been found to pay for a six-year-old girl to attend a boarding school for the blind.  Childhood Friends is also donating some funds so, in addition to funding the surgeries, Amity will purchase the air conditioner and refrigerator needed for the children's rooms at Wanzai.

Fuzhou (Linchuan) and Guixi Orphanages Also Request Assistance

We had hoped to visit these two orphanages as well but unfortunately arrangements could not be made for us to do this.  But Dr. Hong did visit them a few weeks prior to our trip and provided us a list with some of their needs.  There were several children needing surgeries, school age children needing sponsorship for the cost of their schooling, and some other requests.  Hopefully between Childhood Friends and us we can meet many of these needs.

Sincerely,   

Peggy Gurrad 
peggy@gurrad.com

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