Orphanage
work in China is for me an unsolvable riddle. Sometimes welcomed and others denied entry, we hear stories
of either unimaginable child abuse filled with anecdotes of miniature
concentration camps for the unwanted juvenile population of China or incredibly
loved and provided for children. Most consistent in the stories of orphanage
work is a tale of endless bureaucracy to seek official approval to volunteer as
a foreigner. This is NOT one of
those tales.
Mr. Yu grew
up in an orphanage. Not entirely
sure of his history, it is clear that his time in a Muslim orphanage as a child
developed his current passion for orphans now that he is an adult. We didn’t hear him go into detail about
his childhood spent in the orphanage but we understood that upon leaving, he
got heavily involved in the coal industry. Not such a bad idea considering until recently coal was the
only way to heat the country. He
became wealthy from his business efforts and turned much of that money back
into orphans. He runs a private
orphanage outside our city limits.
Currently there are about 90 kids there, ranging in age from 4 to
15. He also employs 9 others to
care for, educate, and guide them into adulthood. He has promised the kids that if they work hard and earn the
scores necessary to enroll in college, he’ll cover their expenses.
Last May, a small
group visited his orphanage to bring a small gift and have a tour of the
facility. The facility was
and continues to be in good shape, has a playground and basketball courts,
activity room, dining hall, dormitories, and a school building. The gift given: the children were given
a set of four books that highlight parts of David’s life. It was explained to
Mr. Yu that these books illustrate and give examples of values that we as
Believers hold to be important. He
was in full support. As the
visitors left they asked Mr. Yu what sort of needs the kids had. “They only have one set of winter
clothes and some share bedding & sheets with others.”
As a gift
for Christmas/New Year’s, each child was given an extra set of winter clothes
and additional bedding. For their
activity room games were given that stimulate mental development and problem
solving skills. Every gift was
individually wrapped and had a short message telling how Christmas is a time of
hope and love that celebrates the birth of the Son, and how the physical gift
they had in their hands came from people that love them and hope that they will
understand how valuable they are to the Father.
We three had the privilege of helping to distribute the gifts to the
children and we are grateful to have such a positive story to tell about
orphanage work in China. Now
we’re brainstorming future
opportunities for involvement…
Check out the photo album on the left for more pictures of the trip.
