The young man who possesses this brilliant smile is Charlie, and 2012 is starting out as an eventful year for him. He has started attending school in LWB’s Education program (and we couldn’t be happier to have him) and has also had his adoption paperwork filed! Since Charlie is almost 12 years old, his chance to be adopted is unfortunately limited by time. Read more.
Joy, this beautiful 14-year-old young lady, has autism and attends our Believe in Me Jingzhou School. For the first two years that Joy was in school, she refused to write, work on math or reading, and participate with arts and crafts. Then one year ago Joy had an amazing breakthrough. We all rejoiced when we received the update that told how this precious young girl had started to participate in class!
It wasn’t long before Joy was doing much more than coloring and crafts; this sweet girl was soaring in her school work… learning math and practicing writing! We are so proud of Joy’s success and how she has overcome so much in her young life. Without our Believe in Me schools, many of our children would never have the experiences or opportunities to attend any type of school. Read more.
Please meet our sparkling, smart, delightful Sammy! Sammy is a very bright little nine-year-old boy at our Believe in Me Jinjiang School, who is also on the shared list. Many of us who know and love Sammy are thrilled to think that there is a family somewhere who will be blessed to have him as a member. This dear boy is as clever as can be and has such a bright future ahead of him. He is speaking, singing, dancing, running, beginning to memorize and read, and is working hard to learn and grow in school. His kind heart and very funny sense of humor endear him to everyone. Read more.
Sports and cartoons, friends and fun. Does that sound like a typical eight-year-old boy? It describes Joseph perfectly. From ball sports to agility on the playground, his teachers report he is quite the athlete. Joseph is also a true friend and is quick to stick up for his classmates if one of them is being teased or picked on. He has what some would call a “heart of gold” and is filled with courage and valor. These traits serve him well as both a student and a friend.
Joseph is the blessed recipient of that very special extra chromosome that gives him what we call “Down Syndrome.” His special need only makes him the lovable guy that he is. Joseph is very verbal, incredibly high functioning, and has a future filled with possibility once he has the opportunities that a family would provide for him. Read more.
The end of any year and beginning of a new one always brings lists: lists of the best movies, most livable cities, and who is in and who is out. In this spirit, we thought it might be interesting for readers of LWB Community to see a list of the waiting children who were featured on our blog in 2011 and their current status. We’d like to start with the most wonderful list of all — the list of those children who were matched or adopted by their forever families in 2011.
Matched or Adopted:
Nicholas was adopted with his foster brother!
LWB provided nutritious formula to two orphanages when it first began over eight years ago. Since that time our nutrition program has expanded to serve children residing in numerous orphanages throughout China. Quality formula is essential for babies to grow and thrive, particularly when they have medical needs. We use only quality formula, which, unfortunately, comes at a premium price.
In December we received the unexpected news that Nestogen, our formula of choice, will no longer be available in China. We plan to switch to Lactogen, a formula that is produced by the same company and has a similar formulation. This formula will meet our babies’ needs but comes with a price tag that is almost twice that of Nestogen’s. We now have the difficult task of telling the orphanages that, without additional funds, we must send half the amount of formula. Please help us keep our babies’ bottles full! Read more.
LWB has many programs in Anhui province. Through the years, we have come to know a number of lovely older children from Anhui who have been waiting so long for their chance to find a family. We have featured several of them in the past few months, such as Brianna, Michelle and Wendy – all students in our Believe in Me Huainan school in Anhui.
Maryn was once a student at the same Believe in Me school in Anhui and was good friends with all of these girls. She had the good fortune to be adopted and has been home with her family for two and a half years. When her family learned that Maryn’s friends had the same chance as she did to have families of their own, they decided to share a bit of their story to encourage folks to consider these lovely Anhui girls and older children in general. They have likened their exhilarating experience to “taking the plunge.” Read more.
Over the holidays, we had a call from an orphanage who had been sent a care package from a kind and well-meaning adoptive parent. Unfortunately the package had been stuck in customs, and since there were multiple items inside the parcel, the customs agent was insisting on charging the orphanage a $60 fee to pick it up. The orphanage staff had to go into the city several times to fill out paperwork before the package could be released, which took quite a bit of their time as well. Once we had worked out the details of this last package, the orphanage director suggested that while they appreciate the good intentions, perhaps we could let adoptive parents know that packages often cost them precious money and time to pick up, depending on each city’s customs rules.
We know everyone sends packages with such good and kind intentions, but we felt it was important to point out some of the issues that can arise when a package is mailed to an orphanage in China. One orphanage was once hit with a $125 customs fee for a large box that a parent had sent. Read more.
Layla has just turned seven years old; yet she has had to endure more in her short life than most could imagine. Abandoned at a young age, she was adopted domestically and enjoyed family life. When her parents divorced, her mother continued to raise her until she took ill and passed away last fall. Layla was returned to the orphanage, and, while dealing with the grief of losing her mother, she became very sick. Doctors discovered she has a VSD and is in need of surgery.
Layla wants nothing more than to return to school, but her caregivers would like her to have a healthy heart before doing so. Read more.
When LWB first started our Unity Medical Fund, it was with the hope that we could actually prevent children from becoming orphaned. Through our medical work in China, we had learned that many parents abandon their children born with medical needs when they are unable to pay for the surgeries their children need. Our LWB managers had been approached multiple times by pleading rural parents who didn’t have the funds to get their child admitted to the hospital for care. They would frantically say, “we will give you our child if you will just save her life.” There is only one word to describe what I saw in too many rural parents’ eyes when they could not afford to help their child: desperation.
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