Healing Home

October 10, 2011

What is Healing Home?  It is salvation for a few abandoned babies that were thrown away because they were born with Clef Palette.  In a country where the vast majority of its people are Hans and only allowed to have one child, the girls and the babies born with deformities or mental issues are thrown away and abandoned.  The orphanages are full and overflowing.  But for the generosity of the couple that founded this program, there a few babies that get saved from death or a life being ostracized because they were not born perfect.

I am not completely sure how the babies are chosen to be a part of this wonderful program.  Our first reaction would be that these babies are the most unfortunate, but the reality is… these babies are the lucky ones!  In the orphanage, the babies are only given basic necessities.  There just are not enough people to take care of the basics AND provide the loving and holding these babies need to thrive.  These are the children that are really saved in more ways than just with a surgery.  They are adopted by westerners and taken into a new life… one of promise and hope for a future.

I decided this would be one of the many programs available for volunteers, the one that I would focus on.  We are a small band of volunteers that go and spend time trying to teach these toddlers English, Chinese and sign language.  It is called the SMART program… and again, no one could really tell me what the SMART stood for, but not the important aspect here. 

Because of the hole in the roof of their mouth, they cannot suck on a bottle or make the sounds of other babies.  They are slow to learn to talk and some of the babies do not even make sounds.  In addition, their hearing can be impaired.  Our job is to work with the toddlers… they learn simple words in all languages and get social interaction.  We love on them and give them the emotional support they need. 

Monday the fall program kicked off.  The house is a long way from where we live.  The cab ride was RMB50 just to get there.  It is way beyond JinQiao where I go to the supermarket and church.  But the distance was worth every minute I was there.

I walked in the door to a small fenced off play area full of toddlers.  After signing in and washing my hands, I waited for others in the SMART program.  I had not gone through the mandatory training to actually interact with the children in the play area. But the kids were immediately curious about me and came running.  They were reaching up through the divider fence… wanting for me to pick them up.  It was all I could do to hold myself back.

Jo, the coordinator for the SMART program came in… and I was telling her that I could not wait to be able to just play with the kids…  She laughed and asked me what I was waiting for… the training???  She asked… you have kids don’t you? Yes… and grandkids… and even great grand kids!  She told me to get in there… she felt I knew how to handle a toddler… I could go through the training later.

I opened the gate and they flocked to me!  I sat myself down and began to recall the simple little melody and movements of patty cake and itsy bitsy spider.  It was so much fun!!  Brittany crawled up in my lap and tried to imitate the movements.  She was also the child I worked with during our session for the SMART program. 

Another little one, Joy, was so precious… very tiny and very loving.  They told me that she is leaving next week to be with her adoptive family.  She crawled up in my lap and laid her head on my shoulder… she fell asleep there.  One of the Ayi’s came to get her to take her to a bed for a nap.  They just crave the attention and being close to someone.

We got through our session with a few bumps… which is to be expected when you are working with toddlers.  I was amazed at how well they did.  I am so looking forward to next week.   I am so blessed to be able to have this incredible experience.   I will take it with me always.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  James 1:27. 
Please keep these precious babies… and all the children cast away because they are the wrong sex… or have problems… in your prayers.