Heartbeat February 2020
From the Founder
This month, we hosted a meeting on our 7Acres Campus with three local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Tianjin Civil Affairs Bureau (TJCAB) and the International Non-Governmental Organization Public Security Bureau (INGOPSB). The meetings were very informative, and a way for local charities doing similar work to get to know one another. Each group shared about the work they’re doing, and the TJCAB and the INGOPSB both gave encouraging and informative reports about specific charity work being done. We’ll visit the other Tianjin organizations after the Chinese New Year to see firsthand the good work they’re doing, and to explore ways we can work together in the future.
As we continued to prepare for the launch of the new 7Acres Project on our campus, we received some exciting news that our first participants will be older disabled teenagers from the Tianjin Social Welfare Institute. These teenagers and young adults will benefit from the life skills, vocational training and therapy that 7Acres will provide, with the aim to prepare them for a productive, meaningful life outside of an institution. While we’ve done this kind of work in the past on a small scale, the new project will be much bigger and the main focal point of our work. The goal is to equip those teens and young adults with the training they need to live independent lives. There will be more news coming after the Chinese New Year, so stay tuned!
A Joyous Visit
This month, we paid a visit to one of our long-term orphanage partners, the Taiyuan Social Welfare Institute to visit some of our former Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village (SFCV) residents. We were blessed to see Anthony, Levi and Matthew. The three boys are all doing great, and attend special education classes onsite in the orphanage school. They have a wide variety of classes, including art, music and dancing – and it was awesome to dance around and have a blast with the boys, just like old times. Anthony was amazing, flying around in his wheelchair with a huge smile on his face! He even busted a few moves on the dance floor with his chair. We were very impressed with the quality of care the boys receive – the orphanage leaders and staff do outstanding work with the boys.
Luke’s Heart Surgery Amazes Doctors
Because of the complexity of his recent heart surgery, Luke (Tianyi) was in the operating room for 16 hours, which is an incredibly long time to be under the knife. His doctors said that because of his previous surgery, scar tissue caused more bleeding, so they had to be extra cautious to ensure he didn’t lose too much blood during the operation. After the surgery, Luke spent 10 days in the ICU due to infection, poor lung function and phlegm in his lungs. As he progressively got better, he was finally released from the ICU and moved to a room. Since then, he’s made remarkable progress in his recovery, and maintains a very positive outlook. He’s able to eat solid food, go for short walks and get out of bed to go to the bathroom. It was pretty cool watching him eat a Whopper from Burger King with a huge smile on his face! His oxygen levels have returned to normal, and his skin has become a normal pink color – no longer the pale blue skin starved of oxygen for so many years. His cardiac doctors were amazed at Luke’s resilience, in spite of the difficulty of his operation.
This surgery changed Luke’s life, and promises to give him hope for a normal future. His doctor told us that Luke will be able to go to school again, get a job some day and even have a family. Please keep Luke in your prayers as he continues to recover. Many thanks to all those awesome doctors, nurses and technicians at Huaxin Hospital for giving such good care to Luke, as well as all the generous donors who helped support his surgery. THANK YOU!
This young man is all ready for a Forever Family of his own. Luke routinely takes the initiative to help others, and is also very kind. He does very well in school, excels in math and is well-liked by his classmates. He’s now eligible for international adoption, and would be overjoyed to be part of a family. You can Be The Change for Luke by sharing his story. Read more about him – and others – on our website at chinaorphans.org/features/advocate/advocate-for-luke.
Montessori Coming to 7Acres
We’re very excited to introduce our new Associate Teacher – Rachel Trenkler! Rachel joined our team in mid-November, after completing two years of Chinese language school in Wuxi. She received her Montessori Certificate in Minnesota and will help implement Montessori-style teaching at our campus school this year. This method focuses on helping each child become a lifelong learner, and provides for more hands-on learning, which is often a good fit for children with special needs. We’re excited to implement the Montessori method in the next few months, and provide our students with an education that will help prepare them for rich, independent lives.
Become a Partner in Hope
Over the past 15 years, China has worked diligently to improve orphan care in government-run orphanages. As a result, the number of domestic adoptions has steadily increased, and fewer children have been abandoned – although more than 96% of the orphans in China have special needs. In spite of China’s significant progress, these children still need our help.
One other requirement changed as well – to encourage each province to provide for their own orphans, the children are now required to receive care in their own province. This means that while orphanages can receive help from non-government organizations (NGOs), children must still reside in their own province. Philip Hayden Foundation is an NGO, which means that any child residing on our campus near Beijing must be from Tianjin.
Our mission is to provide compassionate medical care, therapy and education to orphans in China – and that’s unchanged. But the type of resources needed for these vulnerable children has changed – and so have the methods to effectively meet those needs. At this time, our Child Sponsorship Program is ending. The children have lived in their province of origin for more than a year, and it has become much more challenging to stay individually connected with them, as the policies in China continue to evolve.
To offer stability in the midst of ever-changing laws and situations, we’ve developed a new recurring giving program called Partners in Hope that will ensure that your generous donations are maximized in their effectiveness. You’ll choose one of four areas to support with your recurring donations: Bright Stars Therapy, 7Acres (vocational training), Medical or our General Fund. As a Partner in Hope, you’ll be updated with stories and photos of children whose lives are changed because of the work you undergird. We’re very thankful for our faithful friends and donors who have supported us through this challenging transition, and for the new friends who have joined our team. As a Partner in Hope, you can Be The Change!
Is China Calling You?
Staff Position Open for Bilingual HR Director
Our Foundation has an immediate need for a Human Resources Director at our Representative Office in Tianjin, China. We’re looking for an experienced professional with a background in personnel management, human resources and advocacy. Our organization employs approximately 15-20 individuals, and the successful candidate will be responsible for managing every aspect of the team’s employment needs. If you love working with people, are bilingual in Mandarin Chinese and English (both written and oral), have two or more years’ experience in HR, and are familiar with Chinese labor policies – we’d love to talk with you. On-campus housing is available, and a competitive salary is offered. More details are available at: chinaorphans.org/get-involved/staff, or email: info@chinaorphans.org.
HR Director Skills
• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Human Resources or related field.
• Minimum two years’ experience in HR oversight.
• Deep knowledge of Chinese and international labor laws.
• Strong understanding of interviewing process, benefits administration and payroll systems.
• Excellent communication, leadership and planning skills.
• Fluent in Mandarin and English.