Special thanks to the volunteer team from Killester College!

Every year we have several Australian student groups come to Little Flower to volunteer. This month we were joined by a group of young women from Killester College.  They were brave enough to leave their warm summer weather and brave the freezing temperatures of northern China!

The volunteer team

Many of them had previous experience taking care of babies. Even the girls who didn’t have a lot of child care experience did an amazing job in our baby home.

A sweet smile warms many hearts.

Look, we found another cool way to have fun!

Little Ke, who often doesn’t feel well due to his chemotherapy treatment, enjoys having someone cuddle him and play with him.

Little Xiao and his friend found a warm, sunny spot to play near the window.

 

Sweet dreams, little Yu!

Working with abandoned children is always an emotional, life changing experience.  During goodbyes on the last day of service it’s often the volunteers who are the ones shedding tears. All of us at Little Flower are grateful to the Killester girls for sharing their time and talents with our little ones!

January 2016 Featured Child: Hong

Happy New Year and greetings from Little Flower in 2016! Hong, a 2 ½ year old boy, is our featured child for January.  He was abandoned when he was just 2 weeks old.  His orphanage contacted us for help as he had severe pneumonia, was born with 6 fingers and was suspected to have a heart defect.

His condition was very bad when he arrived – he needed heart surgery urgently in order to survive. He was admitted to the hospital and arrangements were made for his surgery right away.

Although the surgery repaired his heart defect, Hong was still very fragile.  He was discharged home but still faced other challenges.

He began having spells where he would stop breathing and would need to be resuscitated. At first it was just occasionally, but these spells became more and more frequent, until he was having them several times each day. We were not sure what was causing this. His prospects did not look good, but we did not give up. Hong is a real fighter and kept pushing through the next months. In April 2014, we took Hong back to the hospital to try and get some answers. However, the doctors were puzzled by his symptoms and were unable to give a diagnosis. Tests to visualize his respiratory tract also failed– no one had the skills or equipment to find out what was wrong.

In June 2014, Hong went to Shanghai accompanied by one of our medical staff, Lily. The doctors there were finally able to tell us that he had growths on his larynx and also bilateral paralysis of his vocal cords.  They were able to remove the growths and do a tracheostomy to keep his airway open.  We were so relieved to finally have a diagnosis and solution to his problems!

Since then, Hong has continued to grow and develop. He is an amazing boy who understands a lot, although he does not have a voice. Here he takes one of his first steps by himself!

We were told that it was possible Hong would outgrow his need for the trach, or that he might never improve and would need it for the rest of his life.  Just last month, Hong went back to the hospital and doctors were able to successfully remove his tracheostomy tube. After 1 ½ years of having a tracheostomy tube, we are so glad that it was finally removed and he can breathe easily on his own!

Handsome Hong is looking for a family to call home!

Ci's Busy Schedule!

When you are 9 months old, there are only a few options of things you can do. Little Ci does a great job exploring her world and keeping busy.  Click on the pictures below to see what Ci is up to!

There you go.....a typical day at work for little Ci!

December 2015 Featured Child: Gong

For December, we are featuring one of our group home boys, Gong. Gong joined group home #2 in July 2009 as a 3 year old boy. Earlier this year in July, he turned 9 years old. Gong currently attends our learning center and enjoys spending time with his older brothers.

This year has been an eventful year for Gong. He has had the opportunity to participate in some fun activities and outings. In July he spent the day on the beach having a lot of fun!

Who doesn’t like to play with a water gun!

In October, Gong with the help of some volunteers created an amazing art project. Look at him showing off his great work! We are all proud! Do you think he is a fan of batman or just bats?!

Just last week, Gong returned home after being in the hospital for a 21 hour long surgery. Gong has had a few surgeries since he has been with us and this most recent surgery was to fix his bladder related issues. He is currently at home, recovering from his surgery. Here is a picture of him with his dad resting at home after his surgery.

A Look into what Qing is up to these days

When you enter room 4 at the Infant Care Home, you often see Qing sitting in a booster seat. At first glance, you will never guess that he cannot see. As soon as you come near him, he detects your presence and enjoys the extra attention.

Although Qing is a big boy, he doesn’t have too much strength or muscle control. So our staff and volunteers are helping him to learn to move around and use his hands and feet. His cataracts and developmental delays are serious obstacles, but we are seeing him make some progress.

Look at him! He is so happy to be cuddled.

With all the extra attention, Qing is slowly learning to turn over by himself! He is continuing to develop in his own way. We hope that he will soon be able to get a treatment plan in place for his eye problems. As the Chinese saying goes, Jia You (keep trying) sweet Qing!

It's all about the toy...

The Infant Care Home is usually peaceful and quiet after lunch. The toddlers, full from their meal, return to their room for nap-time. Last week, Hong and Qiu decided that they would like to play for a bit before taking their naps. So we took out some toys for them to play with. Obviously, they both go towards the exact same toy!

Hong and Qiu look around…..is anyone going to intervene and help us?!

We decided that this was the perfect opportunity for these two little ones to learn about sharing. So we waited to see what they would do. These two cuties continued to fight over the toy, although there was the exact same toy by their side!

So as you can imagine, there was some crying.  Precious Qiu uncertainly looked over at Hong, not sure how long she needed to cry for!

And then, they suddenly realized “Oh, there are two identical toys in front of us! We can both play with one!”

It’s no longer all about the toy! Hong and Qiu are happy playing together again!

In fact, they even shook hands and made up!

What a productive day it has been! Hong and Qiu learned the importance of sharing…or at least until the next toy shows up!