Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Visiting the new Siping SWI
As we finished our conversation and donned our jackets to walk towards the new orphanage, Hannah described the efforts to make her ASCCAC an integral part of the SWI.
Hannah had been wrestling with how to expand her extremely successful child care center. Currently, Hannah's ASCCAC is located in central Siping. Success stories of the special needs children in her care was achieving higher visibility.
Given that the two facilities were so far apart from one another, Hannah and Ms. Li decided to move the ASCCAC to the Siping orphanage. But while that will solve some problems, it will bring about new complications.
The SWI has only one vehicle, a 10 year old mini-SUV, pampered to extend its lifespan. Any children requiring hospital visits or emergency care will have a more difficult time in getting quickly to a hospital. A charity group, though, is trying to raise funds for a new van. The nannies will have an additional distance to travel to work at the SWI, and they will probably have to walk or bike ride down this unpaved road. In addition, there will be more children for Hannah to look after, which will require more nannies. So now she is faced with additional labor
costs. She would really like to have a nanny on staff with advanced medical qualifications. If she spoke English she would be of good use when future charity groups or medical missions visit the Siping SWI.
My eyebrows furrowed as I contemplated overcoming these hurdles. But as we left the building into the open air, Hannah smiled and tugged at my arm, and in a high happy voice shouted, "Look! Look! Isn't it wonderful?" There were smiles all around as we caught sight of the rooftop of the new Cinderella castle structure of the new orphanage.
We passed through the building that housed the elderly, walking down a long hallway lined with doors. Some of the elderly residents, shuffling along, looked up and gave us a warm or surprised smile. The courtyard and the new orphanage appeared before us like a bright centerpiece of an old table. The bright orange-red bricks of the front courtyard looked only hours old. Cameras clicked away and hammers pounded inside the building, construction still underway. The building would be finished soon, but Hannah was going to hold off moving her facility. The brutal winter was fast approaching, and she did not want move the children in the cold or risk any heating malfunction in the new buildings. Instead, she intended to make the move in spring of 2006.
The new Siping orphanage will accommodate around 100 children. There are three floors with five or six rooms each. The first floor is for older children. The second floor is designated for infants, and the third will be allocated to Hannah's American Special Chinese Children Assistance Center, accommodating perhaps 20 children. Although the exterior of the building was complete, the interior areas were still full of construction and finishing equipment.
As we ascended the stairs to the third floor, Philip (Chen Mo) was already impressed with the orphanage staff and with the efforts that were being made here. He asked why I was taking so many pictures.
I told him that we're only the beginning here. There's many families and charities who want to make a difference here, and are just trying to find out what they can do to help. We're here to collect the data, for people like 'A Mother's Love' and others so they can make some big strides
in the quality of life for the children here.
Philip was clearly impressed. He slowly began to see my heart, and the hearts of Hannah, Ms. Li, and the other staff. Our passion was here, our drive was for the children, and we were here for the long haul.
Philip and I took pictures in front of the refrigerator and the washer, still in their boxes. We were very proud to represent Siemens, but Philip now understood what I already knew.
This was just the beginning.
These gracious gifts energized us, much like the new orphanage must have energized the staff there. There was a mountain of work yet to be done, with huge obstacles before us. But our hearts were ready for it, and our passion for the children drove us onward.
Hannah had been wrestling with how to expand her extremely successful child care center. Currently, Hannah's ASCCAC is located in central Siping. Success stories of the special needs children in her care was achieving higher visibility.
Given that the two facilities were so far apart from one another, Hannah and Ms. Li decided to move the ASCCAC to the Siping orphanage. But while that will solve some problems, it will bring about new complications.
The SWI has only one vehicle, a 10 year old mini-SUV, pampered to extend its lifespan. Any children requiring hospital visits or emergency care will have a more difficult time in getting quickly to a hospital. A charity group, though, is trying to raise funds for a new van. The nannies will have an additional distance to travel to work at the SWI, and they will probably have to walk or bike ride down this unpaved road. In addition, there will be more children for Hannah to look after, which will require more nannies. So now she is faced with additional labor
costs. She would really like to have a nanny on staff with advanced medical qualifications. If she spoke English she would be of good use when future charity groups or medical missions visit the Siping SWI.
My eyebrows furrowed as I contemplated overcoming these hurdles. But as we left the building into the open air, Hannah smiled and tugged at my arm, and in a high happy voice shouted, "Look! Look! Isn't it wonderful?" There were smiles all around as we caught sight of the rooftop of the new Cinderella castle structure of the new orphanage.
We passed through the building that housed the elderly, walking down a long hallway lined with doors. Some of the elderly residents, shuffling along, looked up and gave us a warm or surprised smile. The courtyard and the new orphanage appeared before us like a bright centerpiece of an old table. The bright orange-red bricks of the front courtyard looked only hours old. Cameras clicked away and hammers pounded inside the building, construction still underway. The building would be finished soon, but Hannah was going to hold off moving her facility. The brutal winter was fast approaching, and she did not want move the children in the cold or risk any heating malfunction in the new buildings. Instead, she intended to make the move in spring of 2006.The new Siping orphanage will accommodate around 100 children. There are three floors with five or six rooms each. The first floor is for older children. The second floor is designated for infants, and the third will be allocated to Hannah's American Special Chinese Children Assistance Center, accommodating perhaps 20 children. Although the exterior of the building was complete, the interior areas were still full of construction and finishing equipment.
As we ascended the stairs to the third floor, Philip (Chen Mo) was already impressed with the orphanage staff and with the efforts that were being made here. He asked why I was taking so many pictures.
I told him that we're only the beginning here. There's many families and charities who want to make a difference here, and are just trying to find out what they can do to help. We're here to collect the data, for people like 'A Mother's Love' and others so they can make some big stridesin the quality of life for the children here.
Philip was clearly impressed. He slowly began to see my heart, and the hearts of Hannah, Ms. Li, and the other staff. Our passion was here, our drive was for the children, and we were here for the long haul.
Philip and I took pictures in front of the refrigerator and the washer, still in their boxes. We were very proud to represent Siemens, but Philip now understood what I already knew.This was just the beginning.
These gracious gifts energized us, much like the new orphanage must have energized the staff there. There was a mountain of work yet to be done, with huge obstacles before us. But our hearts were ready for it, and our passion for the children drove us onward.
# posted by PoH_to_China_2005 @ 7:36 PM 
