Half the Sky Update
Happy Spring!
Half the Sky is humming with activity - even more than our usual bustle at this time of year.
When I last wrote I shared the good news that HTS is joining forces with China Care, and that we will soon be setting up a beautiful new infant care facility in Beijing, providing pre and post-operative nurturing care for babies who will come from all over China to have life-saving surgeries and medical treatments.
Well, I’m pleased to tell you that the China Care Program at Half the Sky
(TCCP) is just a month away from becoming a reality. We’ve recruited a terrific professional staff; you’ll be able to meet them on our website very soon. Right now, 80 nannies, medical foster moms, registered nurses and support staff are participating in a month-long training in HTS’
approach to infant nurture and foster care for babies with special needs, in neonatal and pre and post-op nursing care, in recuperative physical and occupational therapy, in embryology and common congenital disorders.
At the same time, we’re readying a beautiful home here in Beijing, including a 50-bed special care nursery and a medical foster home to allow an additional 25 babies who need longer term care to live in a family environment. Right around the first of May, 55 babies who are awaiting or recovering from life-saving surgeries will be settling into TCCP. We’ll share the whole story in our upcoming Spring Progress newsletter.
That newsletter will be the first, I hope, in which we attempt to save money by offering an electronic alternative. I know that many of you prize the paper version of HTS’ newsletters, so – at least for now – we’ll continue to offer that option for those who prefer it. These days we’re looking for every possible way to cut our costs so that the quality of our programs and our ability to expand outreach to more and more children does not suffer, no matter how tough the times.
As I write to you, all of China is observing the Qing Ming festival – a time to sweep family graves and remember those loved ones who have gone.
From Qing Ming through May 12, the first anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake through Children’s Day on June 1, the survivors of last year’s horrible earthquake will be confronted anew with memories and hurt.
Two weeks ago, we held our third post-quake training for caregivers in Sichuan. Once again, our friends from US National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement and from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs joined us in an effort to help children living in refugee camps take next steps in their journey towards healing from trauma. This training focused on two things:
first, preparation to commemorate the first anniversary of the disaster and second, to initiate a school intervention program for young children developed by Dr. Robin Gurwitch of NCSCB called HATS (Healing after Trauma Skills). We are introducing the wonderful HATS program in our children’s activity centers – the Big Tops.
And perhaps even more significant, this is the first time that we’ve been invited to work directly with quake-affected children while they are in school. During the field demonstration portion of the training at Dongqi and Tongwen Primary Schools in Mianyang, the teachers were thrilled and grateful to have some new, proven tools with which to help their children.
The principal at one school told us that the teachers had stopped talking about the earthquake at all because the children would grow agitated and even run away if it was mentioned. NCSCB doctors explained that this response was typical – more reason to help children express what they feel and carry inside. They demonstrated simple techniques like breathing in colors and “becoming a turtle” when you feel scared and sad. By the end of both demonstration sessions, children AND their teachers were clearly calmer, more relaxed.
There’s a long way to go, of course, but the mood is much more open and the community much more eager for hard-learned lessons from disaster trauma experts than they were only a few months ago. They do understand now that the after-effects of an event of this magnitude won’t simply dissipate over time.
This month, in addition to preparing for the launch of TCCP, Half the Sky is also readying two new children’s centers: a HTS Blue Sky Model Center in Zhengzhou, Henan and a HTS Children’s Center in Taiyuan, Shanxi.
Recruiting, training and creation of preschools, infant nurture centers and family villages goes on through the month of April with openings planned for May.
In Chongqing, in preparation for upgrading that site from a HTS Children’s Center to a Blue Sky Model Center to serve the entire Chongqing Municipality, our Family Village program is expanding from six families and 24 children to 26 families and almost 100 children, all of whom have severe special needs that preclude them from participating in the government’s adoption programs. Thankfully, there are only a few cities in China where a Family Village program of this size is necessary. In most places, given what we are told are the government’s new efforts to find homes for children with mild and moderate special needs, many children who were previously deemed “unadoptable” may now find families.
Our August build, where we’ll create new HTS Blue Sky Model Center in Urumqi, Xingjiang Province and one in Hohot, Inner Mongolia, is also our annual volunteer build. This should be a great opportunity to help the children and also to visit some interesting, less-traveled areas in China.
The build dates are August 3-15. If you are interested in joining us and have not yet sent in your application, please do so soon. If you have questions about the build beyond the information on the application, please contact us at chinacrew@halfthesky.org.
Speaking of volunteering, if you’d like to get more involved in supporting our work in a way that costs you nothing but your time, do contact our volunteer coordinator at volunteers@halfthesky.org and also check out volunteer jobs listings that we post on our website from time-to-time at http://www.halfthesky.org/about/careers.php. Wherever you are in the world, we can surely make good use of your energy to help the children, even during these times when making a financial contribution is tough. We well understand how tough things are right now. Our donations are down 40% from this time last year! And we are still looking for 1200 child sponsors.
Some good news for our donors in the UK and the Netherlands – Half the Sky is now registered in those countries. Your donations (when the economy picks up!) are now tax-deductible.
And no matter what the economic climate, if you find yourself in Hong Kong on the 3rd of June, we hope you might still be up for a great party. Our 2nd annual gala celebration of Children’s Day will be held at the Happy Valley Racecourse. Great food, good company, and exciting horse races.
Maybe you’ll even get lucky! If you and/or your company would like tickets or a table, please do let us know - just contact Julia@halfthesky.org. Not only could we REALLY use your support this year, we can almost guarantee that you’ll have a terrific time.
And always, thank you for hanging in there with us, during good times and not so good…
with love and gratitude,
Jenny
Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
