Friday, November 7, 2008
Mungmung giggles
MungMung hardly ever shows emotions, and stays to herself. But when we put her on her back and played with her feet she cracked up.
Thursday- Friday Katie, Phil & Todd
An insulated Bathroom
We saw these everywhere- it's a laundry sink. You wash your clothes here. Feel free to print this picture and put it on your washing machine.
just Like with Charlie's group (below), we had a sweetie that had almost never sat up a day in her life. She spent all day lying on her back and rocking in the crib or lying on her side. A plastic box and some blankets gave her support to sit up, and by the second day, with our friend trainging her, she could sit up outside the box without help for a longtime! It may not sound like much, but to her it was a life changing event and she squeeled and laughed the whole time.
We saw these everywhere- it's a laundry sink. You wash your clothes here. Feel free to print this picture and put it on your washing machine.
just Like with Charlie's group (below), we had a sweetie that had almost never sat up a day in her life. She spent all day lying on her back and rocking in the crib or lying on her side. A plastic box and some blankets gave her support to sit up, and by the second day, with our friend trainging her, she could sit up outside the box without help for a longtime! It may not sound like much, but to her it was a life changing event and she squeeled and laughed the whole time.
Wednesday Thursday Friday for Charlie, Amy & Lisa
Wednesday: The kids at the nice orphange where Charlie held a Q&A are having a ball with Hoola-hoops. This little guy can't understand why Charlie won't give it a whirl. Later that day though Charlie had to play "eagle and hen" and chase the children (hens) around acting like an eagle.
Thursday: The road to Wanzo- it was a 4 hour ride from the big city. The bus was bumpy but the country side was beautiful. (you can click on the photo to make it larger)
Thursday & Friday: The Wanzo orphanage was in the mountains. The windows never closed to the fresh air, the room was like a damp smoky mountains morning. But even in this beautiful setting, it was harder on our hearts here for some reason. The burden was probably because there were many more kids here and not enough time for us to love on each of them. When we initially arrived, we were seated in a large room. Several children were led in one by one and stood on a stool as they recited poetry and sang songs for us. It was adorable. There was a film crew here, and much of this day was filmed for promotional purposes by the local government. Our team was eager to hold the kids and smile for the cameras. While here we also saw a new sport- crib hopping. There were several 1 & 2 year old crib hoppers that would "race the cribs". They had a line of 15 cribs in the room and the kids would jump from one crib to the next, all the way down and back. It was hillarious to watch. In the photo below, these two babies had spent their entire life without hardly ever sitting up. A simple laundry basket made all the difference. They sat up for 4 or 5 hours the first day in the basket. Now they will be able to sit up anytime that the workers put them back in it. These two also had a special helper. She was a beautiful 5 year old girl that would play mama and check on them all thru the day, caressing them and loving on them.
This little boy has a cleft lip but a wonderful smile in his "Making Strides T-Shirt. Maiking Strides is a wonderful organization that kindly donated alot of items to make this trip possible.
Thursday: The road to Wanzo- it was a 4 hour ride from the big city. The bus was bumpy but the country side was beautiful. (you can click on the photo to make it larger)
Thursday & Friday: The Wanzo orphanage was in the mountains. The windows never closed to the fresh air, the room was like a damp smoky mountains morning. But even in this beautiful setting, it was harder on our hearts here for some reason. The burden was probably because there were many more kids here and not enough time for us to love on each of them. When we initially arrived, we were seated in a large room. Several children were led in one by one and stood on a stool as they recited poetry and sang songs for us. It was adorable. There was a film crew here, and much of this day was filmed for promotional purposes by the local government. Our team was eager to hold the kids and smile for the cameras. While here we also saw a new sport- crib hopping. There were several 1 & 2 year old crib hoppers that would "race the cribs". They had a line of 15 cribs in the room and the kids would jump from one crib to the next, all the way down and back. It was hillarious to watch. In the photo below, these two babies had spent their entire life without hardly ever sitting up. A simple laundry basket made all the difference. They sat up for 4 or 5 hours the first day in the basket. Now they will be able to sit up anytime that the workers put them back in it. These two also had a special helper. She was a beautiful 5 year old girl that would play mama and check on them all thru the day, caressing them and loving on them.
This little boy has a cleft lip but a wonderful smile in his "Making Strides T-Shirt. Maiking Strides is a wonderful organization that kindly donated alot of items to make this trip possible.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Layer upon Layer
It is widely known that germs are spread by cold air and exposed skin to cold air. Therefore, our orphanage workers ensure there are no germs getting on the babies.
Tuesday & Wednesday- Charlie, Amy & Lisa
Tuesday Charlie & Lisa held a Clinic/Q&A for about 40 clinicians, PT's and nannys at an Orphanage in Chongquin. It went very well. They saw many kids, some with severe special needs. They were able to answer many questions the orphanage staff had about some of the kids. Hopefully, seeds were planted for a future relationship.
On Wednesday Charlie, Lisa, Amy and our friends went to Wanzou to visit an orphanage we have never been to before. Phil is hoping we can develop another long term relationship there as well. Charlie said it was much larger with many more kids. They were quite overwhelmed by the shear number of orphans and the challenge of institutional life they live daily. There was a film crew making a documentary/promotional video about the orphanage and our team was aksed to pose with many of the kids through-out the day. Overall it was a good initial visit and the door is open for us to return.
Also on Wednesday, Phil, Todd, Katie & our friends went Back to Jiangjin orphanage and spent the day loving the kids and training our friends who come to visit every other week.
On Wednesday Charlie, Lisa, Amy and our friends went to Wanzou to visit an orphanage we have never been to before. Phil is hoping we can develop another long term relationship there as well. Charlie said it was much larger with many more kids. They were quite overwhelmed by the shear number of orphans and the challenge of institutional life they live daily. There was a film crew making a documentary/promotional video about the orphanage and our team was aksed to pose with many of the kids through-out the day. Overall it was a good initial visit and the door is open for us to return.
Also on Wednesday, Phil, Todd, Katie & our friends went Back to Jiangjin orphanage and spent the day loving the kids and training our friends who come to visit every other week.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What a fantastic toy
This is our deaf friend again who lives on the special needs hall. They dont have pens or pencils laying around. I'm not certain who gave/brought this etch-a-scetch but this simple toy means her ability now to communicate beyond a few simple hand signs. She does go to a deaf school some & they are teaching her to do simple signs, but here at home she can now express herself in words, just because someone bought a $10 Walmart toy.
A few More
These local kids tried to steal my pepsi. Luckily there was a net right above there heads and I caught them all!
Mungmung
Katie braces a leg
xian xian
This angel stays in her chair all day... some foam pads and a tray attatched with velcro means she can sit more comfortably. Lisa & Katie are training a friend (with back to camera) to do many things for the kids after we leave. She comes bi-weekly to love on the kids.
Mungmung
Katie braces a leg
xian xian
This angel stays in her chair all day... some foam pads and a tray attatched with velcro means she can sit more comfortably. Lisa & Katie are training a friend (with back to camera) to do many things for the kids after we leave. She comes bi-weekly to love on the kids.
Take your daughter to work day
We keep seeing this happy fella. He gave Todd and orange as a gift, and Todd wants to share a gift with him if Dad makes it happen.
What Timing !
This is Grace, she was dropped off at the orphanage in June when the last team was here, and they gave her that special name. Of course everyone's desire was to see her adopted. Well,... she was adopted yesterday while we were in the room. So many great things are happening this week.
Its no small thing to feed yourself
Before we arrived, she had never been able to eat without someone else feeding her. With some of the equipment here, and a hand brace, the team was able help her feed herself for the first time. Her new "eating chair" is something the nanny can and will easilly use daily now. beyond that, she can put the hand brace on and off by herself.
I hardly ever get to swing... Thank you, Thank you, I love you.
I hardly ever get to swing... Thank you, Thank you, I love you.
Some of the special needs kids spend many hours simply sitting on the potty, there will be four or five in a row along the wall. There are a few of the older children that are very gentle and caring with these helpless ones.
No bouncing on the wooden planks! We walk carefully across the boards to get on the river ferry. The Yangtze is supposed to be the "Yellow River" but here it is more of a mocha java with a sprinkle of lost shoes and sewage.
......................Y'all Come
Sunday was Amy's birthday
She was born in the year of the sheep, so..... she's got that going for her.
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