Back to School!

September is the time to go back to school! At the beginning of September, the children in our Group Home Project started getting ready to head back to school after their summer holiday. We currently have 29 children in our 6 group homes. Just over half the children (17 currently) attend our Chunmiao Education Center, and the rest of them attend local schools.

Wei and Ya are working hard at the Chunmiao Education Center

Art class at the Chunmiao Education Center

Right before the new school year started, Cai, Duo and Liang shared some of their thoughts about school with me. They attend a local school called Century Experimental School.

Cai, as the second oldest boy in the group, took charge of our little chat. After giving his answers, he made sure that both of his friends also had a chance to speak. Cai joined group home #3 in 2012. He is in grade 5 this year and his favorite part of school is seeing his friends!  He enjoys Chinese calligraphy, music and reading class.

Duo is in grade 4. He joined group home #1 in 2009. Duo is a super curious boy. He loves learning and he asks a lot of questions! He is looking forward to meeting his new teachers once his school starts. His favorite subjects are painting and reading. He dreams of going to college one day.

Liang is also in grade 4 but in a different class to Duo. Liang joined group home #4 in 2011. This will be his second year at this primary school. He enjoys art class and loves building things. He also enjoys doing his homework after school. He is a very sweet boy.

These three boys enjoy being in the same school together and plan to keep up their tradition of meeting up each break time to chat.  They are very confident that this will be another great year for them at school.  And most of all, Cai, Duo and Liang are glad to share a glimpse into their lives with you.

September 2015 Featured Child: Ying

This month we are featuring beautiful Ying. Ying arrived at the Infant Care Home in December of last year as a 2 month old baby. Ying came to us with one eye being bigger than the other, and so, we suspected that she had retinoblastoma. Due to the severity of retinoblastoma, we rushed her to see an ophthalmologist and to do further diagnostic testing for an official diagnosis. The doctors confirmed the diagnosis of retinoblastoma.

In January, Ying was admitted to the hospital to start chemotherapy and underwent an enucleation surgery  on her right eye, which meant that they would remove her eye. The surgery was successful and after her second dose of chemotherapy, she returned back home.

Over the next months, Ying continued to receive chemotherapy. Each month, she was admitted to the hospital for about a week and then would return home for 3 weeks.  She also got fitted with a prosthetic eye. Little Ying is a sweet girl. She soon started to roll over and crawl.

In August, Ying completed the final of her 6 sessions of chemo! Look at how happy she is! At her retinal checkup, the doctors confirmed that the cancer had not spread to her brain or the other eye. She will continue to have regular checkups to make sure that the cancer does not come back and spread. This little girl has gone through so much already in her short life. We hope she finds her 'forever family' soon.