ABC News Article on the Zhengzhou Orphanage

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This is a relatively recent article on the orphanage in which Sam lives. It's not an easy read.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2014/11/21/4133488.htm
ABC News - Queensland
21 November, 2014 12:18PM

By Ross Kay

Volunteering to bring hope to China's orphans

In a 10-storey building in Zhengzhou, in the Henan province in central China, hundreds of orphaned children go to school at the Social Welfare Institute. The rooms are cramped, and most of the children have physical and mental disabilities. It was into these challenging conditions Bundaberg's Michelle Baumgartner took her entire family.
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Michelle's son Josef poses for a photo with Oliver, one of the children who attend the Xi Wang Le Yuan School

Michelle is a member of COAT - the Chinese Orphans Assistance Team - a charity based in Gympie.

"We basically take children from an orphanage and house them in group homes," Michelle said.

"We now have a school as well which is our biggest focus at the moment. We saw a real need for education for these kids.

"Most of the children in the orphanage are disabled children and they don't have a real hope for the future. Disabled people in China don't get employed as a rule, so we felt that the only way forward for these kids was to give them an education which they didn't have access to."

Michelle visited China in 2009 with her mother and 12-year-old daughter Jessica to work with the children in the school, the orphanage, and train the locally employed staff.

In April 2014 Michelle returned, taking her entire immediate family; her husband, mother and her three children.

Keeping it together

The Xi Wang Le Yuan School translates to 'a place of hope and happiness'. It is here where workers like Michelle and her family volunteer, in a effort to give the disabled children hope for the future.

The children's living conditions are such a stark contrast to Australian expectations it can overwhelming, but Michelle says the motivation is seeing the change in the children when they have access to education.

"The orphanage which is fairly horrific in terms of conditions; kids are still tied , bare boards on the beds, limited clothing, it's fairly gut-wrenching to see," Michelle said.

"It was difficult for my children, I had warned them about what they would see.

"My husband in particular found it difficult to see children very much like he teaches in his class every day, tied to beds and belting their heads on the cement floor because there is no stimulation for them whatsoever.

"But we have to hold it together."

Michelle says they have to focus on the children and not the conditions; becoming overwhelmed and emotional could offend the director of the orphanage, and he has the power to shut them down.

"My instructions were touch as many as you can, hold as many as you can. Some of these kids have not had human contact for years in some cases," she said.

"These kids will take sometimes as long as five minutes to even acknowledge there is somebody there in front of them, before their eyes will focus on you.

"Then sometimes they're scared because we look very different, with our pale skin and our round eyes.

"The situation can be overwhelming if you look at the situation as a whole, but if you think about the fact that you can save one child at a time, you're doing something."

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Comments

[Robyn]

Orphanage
I know too well the gut wrenching feeling of seeing these types of conditions. You will feel much better when you have Sam in your care, doing your own thing. Cultural norms and differences are always difficult to get ones head around. The human or should I say inhumane aspect is probably the most difficult to process as this is a human condition or weakness rather than cultural. Very sad. Happy you are going soon to get him. R

[Kym]

Sam's life is about to have a miraculous change - his future in Zhengzhou is likely a beggar at best. Can't wait to meet him in ...a few short weeks....when hopefully the sun is shining a little warmer in China (although yesterday was the first day of sun and the bus charged 1 rmb instead of 2 rmb because of the 'warmth' cough cough cough....).

[Gail]

Heart wrenching
Just makes you want to cry and go hug your own children

[naomi gordon]

kol hakavod Caroline!
How wonderful that you will be saving Sam from a lifetime of these conditions. He's indeed a lucky boy. But how hard it will be for you that you can' save more...