April 2014 Featured Child: Ye

This month’s featured child is little Ye. With spring finally here, the weather warming, and leaves beginning to turn green on all of the city’s trees, it only made sense to feature this bright little girl, who’s name can actually be translated as “leaf.”

Ye, or “Yezi,” is now three and a half years old, and is currently part of our Group Educational Foster Care project, as well as a student at our Early Education Center. She came to Little Flower last year. She was born with spina bifida, for which she has already had surgery, as well as club foot. Due to her diagnosis, she once couldn’t walk by herself, but has progressed to being able to walk with a walker, as well as braces that are helping to correct her feet and legs.

When she first arrived at Little Flower and moved in with her foster family last summer, she needed a bit more time than other children normally do to adjust. She was shy, quiet, and timid around new people. So it was only after a couple months of acclimation that Ye joined our Early Education Center in the fall of 2013.

Compared to those first few months after arriving at our Beijing foster care program, however, she is much more out-going these days!

This strong little girl is smart and independent. Her language ability is very advanced for her age; she can have complex conversations with adults and teachers, and is quite talkative at school. This little comedian also loves telling funny jokes and doesn’t get tired of hearing or telling the same jokes each day. Her sweet laughter is enough to make your heart melt.

She’s also much more patient than the average kid, a sign of great maturity for a child her age! But in the end, Ye is still a three-year-old girl, and like many other girls her age, she loves to play princess games. As a matter of fact, anything girly is great! She loves when her foster mama puts bows in her hair!

At school, she loves to play with her two older brothers from Group Home #4, Ping and Ming. In general though, a lot of the boys in her class, also part of our other Little Flower Group Foster Homes, have taken on big brotherly roles toward her! Whether it's helping her put on her jacket or pushing her wheelchair around the playground at recess, her classmates are always willing to lend a hand.

She loves participating in every activity that our teachers set up at our school. At last year’s end-of-semester party, Ye was actually crying because of the loud music. Nevertheless, the minute her teacher Maria took her in her arms and started dancing, she was laughing and enjoying herself!

Ye has been doing really well recently. Though she is still wearing leg braces, she spends an hour every day practicing walking with her walker. We all hope that she will be able to walk on her own very soon. With her determination and growing sense of confidence, we know she can do it!