(Continued) - Becky Miklos Goes Back...

Hengfeng SWI, October 24, 2002

The van picks us up for the two hour-long trip to Hengfeng, and we arrive at about 10:30am. The town of Hengfeng is quite rural, and the SWI is near the town. The grounds are lovely - green and lush and well cared for. There are two buildings that appeared to be in good repair. Laundry was hanging out to dry over a large part of the grounds. We met the orphanage director and her assistant in a conference room with a large, oval table. There are many refreshments for us - fruit, candy and tea.  Looking out the open windows we could see the lovely countryside and a small adjacent village.

The director gave us an overview of the orphanage and its history. They have 86 children: 40 in foster care and 46 residential. There are also 23 elderly people housed on the grounds.

Most of the residential children are housed in one old building. They have purchased a large plot of land on which to build a new orphanage; they are currently raising money for the building. The other building houses the old people and the older residential children, as well as the medical treatment rooms and other facilities.

International adoptions began here in 2000. Before that, some of the children here were placed for adoption through other orphanages. The director began here in 1999. She appeared quite organized and business-like in a friendly way.

There are 12 foster care children with special needs. The director feels they do better with a parent. They will be brought to the orphanage by van today.

The layout of the orphanage building consists of 8 “apartments” on 4 floors, 2 apartments per floor with a living area in the middle. There are 8 children per floor with 2 adult caregivers – “family style.”

The entire facility has 16 workers, including the director and 2 assistants (one for the old people and one for the children). Three people work in the kitchen; two of these also help with laundry and janitorial chores. They have a woman who is a retired physician and visits everyday. She is paid 700 Yuan per month. They also have a nurse who lives in one of the orphanage buildings and saves them a lot of money on hospital visits. She is also an orphan who grew up at the orphanage. Her sister is currently attending nursing school and has her tuition paid by Amity.

She is one of three orphans attending school via tuition provided by Amity. She lives in Shangrao, about two hours away, because that is the nearest nursing school. She plans to work in the orphanage with her sister after she graduates.  Another student receiving tuition lives in the orphanage and we met her during our stay. She seemed quite happy and saw the orphanage as her home. The third student lived in foster care (not Amity).

A van comes through the gates, and out pile many foster mothers holding foster children. 

They line up, and An An quickly interviews each as to how the child is doing, while I take pictures. 

We are told that CS, who was formerly tested positive for hepatitis B, is now testing negative and that the child’s papers have been submitted to CCAA for adoption. The children generally appear to be doing well in foster care.

Next we were given a tour of the medical facility rooms and An An spoke with the retired doctor who runs the facility. We also met the nurse who lives there and grew up in the orphanage. 

Then we walked across the grounds to the first floor of the orphanage building.  We were shown one of the apartments, which house the children and caregivers.  

There, we could see caregivers washing the children’s laundry by hand in large outdoor sinks and wringing it by hand before hanging it up on long clothes lines to dry outside.

At noon, we left for an enormous lunch at a local restaurant with the orphanage officials, before the harrowing ride back to Nanchang. The next day we said good-bye to Wu An An and flew to Beijing where I began the adoption phase of our trip. 

Reflections from Home... 

YP, now Eva, was placed in my arms at the Lake View Hotel In Nanchang on Sunday, October 27, 2002. She was healthy, smiling, and seemed bemused at the fuss being made over her. She remains a laid-back child who seems to trust that her needs will be met and that there’s no need for her to fret over things. I can only attribute this to the good care she received during her life in the Shangrao Orphanage. Amity’s involvement in the orphanage has clearly made it a better place for all of the children who live there.