From the Heart – by Tim Baker
As June is PTSD Awareness Month, I want to share the importance of supporting orphans and unsupported children who have experienced trauma in their lives. Trauma is the root cause of PTSD, whether from abuse, being abandoned, without a family, being born with a disability, or wondering where their next meal will come from. We all need to help these vulnerable kids feel safe and secure.
Our new focus is to work and partner with existing local organizations to meet the physical and emotional needs of at-risk children and young adults. We will partner with organizations who hold our same values, assuring that funds raised will work directly to helping the children and not “overhead.” In China, we continue to utilize those good relationships developed over the past 25 years with hospitals and doctors in Beijing, assuring that the kids we help have access to the best possible care available.
Covid Lockdown in Beijing
Unfortunately, Beijing has shut down again because of strict zero Covid protocols. No one is allowed in or out of the city; people are to stay in their homes, get tested several times a week, and are even required passes to get groceries. These strict lockdown measures come more than two years after the first shutdown in February 2020. The steps make it impossible for kids from outside of Beijing to go to the hospitals in the city, and it continues to prevent adoptive families from entering the country to complete the adoption process of the children they have been matched with. It’s clear that our world is still affected by Covid. Here in our region of Mexico, the mask mandate is still in full effect, and the local people are nearly all compliant. We’re able to travel about the country without restriction. We’re grateful for that and do not take it for granted. We continue to look for opportunities that fit into our mission to help kids affected by poverty, food insecurity, unmet medical and educational needs, and preparation for a successful life as an adult.
Together We Can Bring Hope and Healing
So as we acknowledge PTSD awareness month, we want to thank you for your sticking with and believing in us as we continue this journey to be a blessing to those who need love, safety, and security in their lives. Together we can bring hope and healing to this world.
Hope For JiaYi and Her Family
Over a decade ago, Rebekah was an intern at Philip Hayden Foundation. Her passion for orphans in China led her to start Hope Station, a 501c3 nonprofit. Hope Station recently established a Chinese NGO in Sichuan. Rebekah shared this story with PHF, and your donations have funded vision therapy for JiaYi.
11-year-old JiaYi lives in the city with her mom, dad, and little sister. Her parents realized JiaYi wasn’t learning as fast as her peers when she was in kindergarten. After visiting the local hospital they learned that their daughter had a developmental delay.
“At that time, we didn’t really know anything,” her mom shared later. “We didn’t know what kind of treatment she needed and and we didn’t know how to teach her. We thought her condition was just fate and that we just needed to accept it.”
“So we decided just to wait for her to grow up. We thought that if she could go to school, her situation would get better. So she went to a regular elementary school for four years, but we discovered her condition was getting more and more serious during that time. She wasn’t able to keep up with her classes, so she was under a lot of pressure! Finally, in September 2021, we transferred JiaYi to a special needs school for her to learn more self-management and life skills.
Family Support Improves Daily Life for JiaYi
A few months later, JiaYi’s family joined Hope Station’s Family Strengthening Program. With a new school and a new family support system, JiaYi’s life has improved significantly. She learns life skills at school, receives therapy regularly, and even has a new personal art teacher!
But JiaYi still had one big struggle: her vision. JiaYi’s vision was always poor, and her parents could tell it was hindering her ability to learn and enjoy her life. Her greatest love is art, and yet she can’t even clearly see what she is doing in front of her. When she goes to the zoo, she can only see the blurry shapes of the animals far away. JiaYi’s parents wanted to help her, but they could not afford the required vision therapy sessions and medicine.
PHF Donors Help JiaYi
When The Philip Hayden Foundation heard about JiaYi’s need, we were excited to step in and help. Thanks to your donations, JiaYi will be able to receive vision therapy and medication! She’ll finally be able to see clearly the beauty around her that she already appreciates so much. It will also supercharge her learning and help her become more independent as she grows up.
Most importantly, with your generosity and partnership with Hope Station, JiaYi is growing up in a loving family who cares for her.
She said to her dad the other day: “I think the luckiest thing in the world is to be by mommy and daddy’s side. So I think I am lucky too because you and mommy are always with me and love me so much!”
There’s no doubt that JiaYi will face more challenges ahead. But with such a loving family, and now that her family is equipped to support and lead her through these challenges, she will surely go far.
Her mom shared, “I hope that in the future, when my husband and I are old, she can take care of and support herself.”
Partnering with Healing Homes in China
The Philip Hayden Foundation will be supporting orphans with medical needs living at Hope Healing Homes in China. The orphans residing in the Healing Homes need medical care that cannot be met at their local orphanage. New Hope Foundation interacts closely with CWI staff and equips their own staff, providing intensive and thorough care in their facilities.
New Hope Foundation provides care and arranges medical and surgical treatment for orphaned children with special needs in addition to providing palliative care when appropriate. They currently have four facilities in the Henan Province of China, and also provide assistance to the Rainbow Center in Nanjing. In total, they provide care for about 150 precious children.
PHF will be partnering with in-country NGOs to provide direct help to orphans outside of Tianjin. The NGOs are chosen carefully to ensure the NGO reflects our values and that every dollar directly helps vulnerable orphans and children.
In Loving Memory
Elizabeth (Beth) Mae Hayden Degeneffe
If you have been part of the PHF family for any length of time you probably know how the organization began with the untimely death of Tim and Pam Baker’s friend and coworker, Philip Hayden, in China in the fall of 1994. What you may not know however is that Philip’s sister Beth was a volunteer with us using her graphic design background to format the Heartbeat newsletter for nearly two years. We’re sad to tell you the news of her passing at the age of 58, way too young.
Beth was a cherished wife, a beloved mother, a precious daughter and sister, and dearest friend. She lived self-sacrificially in all she did, always thinking of others and God before herself. In life and in death, she was steadfast in faith and devotion to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who sustained her through life and now rewards her in heaven. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her. Rest in Peace, Beth.
Teddy Ling Dairong McKinney
Some children just capture your heart. Teddy Ling Dairong captured the heart of many visitors to Shepherd’s Field, including mine.
Teddy was born in December 2007 and arrived at Shepherd’s Field when he was about one year old. Born with spastic cerebral palsy with developmental and cognitive delays, he also had great difficulty gaining and maintaining weight. Teddy loved playing in the pool, stroking our therapy dog, Zai, and swinging. He responded to nearly every conversation with a big smile. Teddy adored his primary caregiver, MengYan, and she loved him. The pair were inseparable.
Teddy joined his forever family in early 2018 when he was ten years old. His forever family knew that Teddy needed lifelong care and that he would not have a long life. But they loved his sweet spirit and wanted him to be part of their family. Teddy was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of leukodystrophy called Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease. It only affects boys, and the life span for the type he had was five years. Teddy was a resilient fighter and far outlived his expected lifespan.
As she shared Teddy’s passing in early May, Teddy’s mom shared with us “that he forever made us better, he was always happy and brought us so much joy. Our only regret is that we did not make him our son sooner. He was so incredibly precious.” Teddy was a treasure, a beautiful soul, and he was a blessing to everyone he met. He brought pure joy to the McKinney family, and the love of God could always be felt through him. He will be missed.
Access Your Account Online
Great News! We have updated our online donation system, and you now can access your account online. For your security, you will need to request access through a link on our website. You’ll be asked to provide your email address, and a link will be sent to you. For your security, that link is only good for 24 hours. But you can access your account as often as you want.