China: Day 10

I’ve spent just about two days in Hengyang, which is about 40 minutes due south of Changsha by high-speed train. I have a few hours in the morning before I go back to Changsha and catch a flight north to get to Sanmenxia. We’re due to sign an official agreement to operate another facility there.

I suppose I should give some context to why I’m in China in the first place, if you don’t already know.  Almost exactly three months ago, I joined a non-profit organization called International China Concern.  Our primary function is to work with children in China who are disabled and have been abandoned by their families.  Many of these kids are born to poor families who have not suddenly gotten rich as the Chinese economy booms.  These are families that make up the vast majority of the population of 1.5 billion (officially) — lower class people who live hand-to-mouth and can’t afford to care for a disabled child.  Many feel the only alternative is to get rid of the baby, consigning it (not so much by commission as by omission) to state care.  And let me tell you, Chinese state care for abandoned kids with major disabilities is absolutely awful.

So, I joined ICC as the Director of Communications.  It’s my job to tell the story of these kids to those outside of China — the other 4.5 billion on this planet.  Prior to seeing the ICC facilities, I was able to read the stories of these kids and see their pictures and come up with an emotion or a feeling about what it must be like. Nothing could have prepared me for seeing it in person. I’ve been emotionally overwhelmed for days now. Not in a bad way that makes me want to run away, but being here has brought feelings to the fore that had been somewhat dormant til now.

While I’ve been moved and saddened, I’ve also felt a lot of happiness and optimism.  Our workers give these kids a lot of love and attention and basic care.  Its what determines whether a 5 month old with heart defects lives or dies, like the one I’m holding in yesterday’s post.

Then there’s the story of Tey Tey (they like to repeat their names here, sort of like saying Chai Tea at Starbucks… think about it).  Tey Tey actually became a bit of a local celebrity when he was found a few years ago floating in the river in Hengyang in a large bucket stuffed into the centre of an old truck tire.  He was five years old at the time.  He’d been brutally exposed to the elements for several days and all of his skin was severely sunburned.  He didn’t talk as he was physically and emotionally traumatized.  The local welfare centre tried to find his parents and eventually he came into ICC care.  This is a picture of him today with Dave Gotts, my boss. Tey Tey’s a beautiful boy, lots of energy… but he has some brain damage. Hard to tell whether that was a result of his river ride or an earlier issue that caused the abandonment. But it seems so little that I can’t imagine why he was abandoned.

I think what’s devastating is that the parents have to make this horrible, horrible choice. Some are made by the father alone without the mother knowing, the hospital staff telling her the baby died in its sleep. The mother never knows and mourns a life lost that really isn’t lost while the father keeps this awful secret and carries guilt for the rest of his days. Or both parents are relentlessly abused and marginalized by their community because they have a “cursed” baby. Or they think no is there to help them…

I know that’s a long-winded story. If you’ve got this far, well done and I hope it’s made you think a bit.  Maybe you want to donate to ICC or sponsor a child or join a short term team. If you do, go and do it. I can tell you it is making a HUGE difference in the life of real kids.

From here on out, my trip becomes a little more business-like and a little more touristy. I’m off to Beijing at the end of the week and them I’m home on Saturday. I’m enjoying this trip, but I also miss home and my girlfriend.