A Day in the Life: Inner Mongolia

Currently we have 7 older children, ranging from 3-9 years old, in our mom-care-model in Inner Mongolia.  Three nannies by day and two by night provide amazing, around the clock, mother-like care to these children with special needs.




Although this special care unit is housed within the orphanage, it has a single door that leads to an apartment-style living area. It is comprised of 6 different rooms: two bedrooms (a large one for the children and a small one for the nannies), a kitchen, a dining area with child-size tables and chairs, a play/therapy area, and a bathroom/laundry room.












This mom-care-model functions as one large family and provides the children with not only the love and nurturing that is crucial to their overall health, but also the stability, structure and consistency to help them thrive and optimize their potential. Monday through Friday, the children have busy schedules that look something like this:
















With the exception of Zhong who is in specialized seating, the children all sit independently in their chairs at the table for meal time. While waiting for their food, you might hear singing, laughing or even typical sibling banter. This communal eating has a very family feel and has been therapeutic for the younger ones who haven’t always enjoyed mealtime; you’ll see them desiring to feed themselves or possibly even trying new foods.

 The children go to school on-site with other children from the orphanage.  Classes typically include 6-8 students and two teachers. Their nannies drop them off and pick them up from school, just like a parent might.



 

The children are thriving in this environment and tremendous gains are evident. This mom-care-model has got to be the next best option when fostering or adoption aren't immediate realities. Several of these children, do however, have adoption files and others will in the future.  We hope and pray that each child in our mom-care-model will come to know the love of a forever family.

The Railway of Life

In today’s China, high-speed rails and bullet trains are becoming ever ubiquitous. The old “green carriage” trains, on the other hand, are slowly fading from the collective consciousness. However, to everyone here at Dew Drops the “green carriage” trains are heaven sent, for they have provided lifelines to our precious children. On September 12, a little angel with so much desire to live boarded a “green carriage” train and began her journey to life-changing medical care in Beijing. After safely arriving in Beijing, doctors confirmed that little Ying’s heart condition was in a bad state. She needing emergency surgery. On September 15, doctors successfully operated on little Ying. Our little angel now has received her second chance at life thanks to the “green carriage” trains.

The much needed lifeline that was afforded to little Ying was not a one-off event. Over the years, these trains have provided passageways to second chances for many abandoned children.  They did so by making sure that the children arrived at their hospitals in Beijing on time, so that they could receive their life-saving surgeries. The captains and crew members not only provided our nannies with sleeping bunks, but also lent a hand whenever help was needed. Even though the crew members were very busy with their work, they always found the time to assist with looking after the children, so that our nannies could take a rest or go to the bathroom. 

This little guy, Cheng, is familiar with travelling back and forth from Inner Mongolia to Beijing. He took his first trip in February when he needed a life-saving surgery for anal atresia and took his second trip for a follow-up surgery not long ago. The crew members were moved to tears when they found out about his condition.

  

 

 Here are more children that have travelled from Inner Mongolia to Beijing.

We don’t know if these broken-winged angels will still remember the “green carriage” trains in the future or if they will remember the lifelines that these trains provided. Even if our angels do not remember, the smiles on their faces after receiving a second chance at life are enough to warm the hearts of the crew members. Thank you for giving them a second chance at life!

Expanding to Inner Mongolia

This year, we launched two new baby homes outside of Beijing that provide long-term, specialized care to abandoned children. Beijing is still the center of everything, and through our Beijing home we are able to provide world class medical care and surgeries to our children. After the children have surgeries and are stable to travel, they move to our Inner Mongolia or Shanxi homes for long-term care. These programs are hosted inside of official state-run orphanages and represent a big step forward as the local authorities affirm our model of care.

Today, we take a closer look at our Inner Mongolia baby home. Mrs. Qin, or Qin Jie (sister Qin) as we call her, is the project manager at our Inner Mongolia home. She joined our team earlier this year after retiring from her previous job at the same orphanage. She actually worked there for more than fifteen years. It is pretty impressive to choose to continue to work with orphan children even after you are supposed to retire. Her passion and dedication for these precious children is priceless.

We currently have 21 children in our home in Inner Mongolia ranging from a three-month-old baby girl to an eight-year-old girl. The kids have a variety of medical needs including cerebral palsy, heart defects, anal atresia, and spina bifida. Meet some of our new arrivals:

Would you like to invest in one of our children living in the Inner Mongolia Dew Drops home? Please consider sponsoring a child today. Your monthly donation will help cover basic living expenses and provide a future to the precious children at Dew Drops. You can sign up to become a monthly sponsor on our website here:  https://www.dewdropslittleflower.org/get-involved/sponsor-a-child/