Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

The foster home

This past weekend my classmates and I visited a foster home.

Located not far from Beijing, the foster home takes care of kids with special needs. We brought with us toy gifts, hoping to make our visit a festive time.

The kids, who ranged from toddlers up to the age of 14, were all orphans hoping to one day be adopted. Many had different disabilities, whether it be physical or mental. Others were born with deformities. To help them, the foster home specializes in treating their conditions and facilitating surgeries so that they can lead better lives.

The kids themselves were all very sweet.  During our time there, we built up and (unfortunately destroyed) a few Lego-made pyramids. We also played with toy cars, heard their cute voices sing, and wiped their noses clean when needed.

I especially enjoyed a few of the younger ones who constantly wanted to be held up in the air and swung around.  But after two days of playing with them, I was so tired, taking a 4-hour nap once I got back to my dorm room.

It was very touching while being there. This wall is largely made up of plaques commemorating each adoption made. Many of these orphans, however, were taken in by foreigners. Unfortunately, adoption is not that popular in China; this is often said to be because many of the native Chinese would rather raise their own blood.

Despite the foster home's efforts, it's still not easy to find a home for all the orphans. The Chinese government has a variety of different laws and regulations making it difficult for foreigners to adopt in China

One such law states that once an orphan turns 14 they can no longer be adopted. During my time at the foster home, I met one teenager who wasn't adopted simply because of this.

These laws are meant to promote safety and security. But a doctor working at the foster home said of the regulations: "It's not always easy for the Chinese government to admit that their orphans could receive better care in another country."

Still, the foster home has seen a lot of success, being entirely funded by donations, mainly coming from abroad. (Local Chinese have also donated goods, and facilitated the building of the foster home).  Currently, the home has 100 orphans all from different parts of the country. While living there, the orphans also receive schooling, as well as therapy and life skills. For the ones most severely disabled, the hope is that they can become self-reliant and hold their own job.

In China, you do meet a lot of people less fortunate than you. (Some of these kids were abandoned because of their deformities or were left disabled because of an accident.) But it was nice to see that these group of orphans were in a safe place where they could enjoy their childhoods.

We left the foster home, exchanging hugs and goodbyes. I think we all plan to visit again in the future.