It was decided after breakfast that we would check out of this hotel and head out later today for the next city rather than leave at the crack of dawn the next morning. We all couldn't pack fast enough, leaving this hotel was the best decision. This hotel was what available after the government officials took over the entire hotel that we were originally scheduled to stay in. The Deputy Mayor of the city was very apologetic, thus the she treated us to the very elaborate dinner last night.
The first stop of the day was to visit a foster family. The little girl in this foster family has cerebral palsy and has delayed learning abilities. She was a very happy and engaging little girl. Her foster mother was 72 years old and so loving and welcoming. Our group gave gifts to both and watching the little girl's expression as she took the items out of the bag was priceless.
The foster mother was more than happy to share with us all the baby pictures of this precious girl. She had stated that this girl struggles in school due to her slow ability to learn and keeping up with everyone was tough due to the cerebral palsy. We asked what would make it easier for her to walk and she stated a walker. Our group decided on the spot to help pay for the walker.
When the foster mother was going thru pictures, she came across pictures of her former foster child. She began crying and saying how much she loved her and was so worried about her after she left to be adopted in the United States. Of course that made me cry. This is the little girl, she just wants to know that she is ok.
The foster mother then said to please do not take her current 'daughter' away from her because she loves her so much and since her husband passed away years ago, she's the only thing she has in her life. More tears...
The next family we visited, the foster mother was ill and was in the hospital so the foster father and family was taking care of this girl. This girl was beautiful and bright, was doing very well in school. We could all see that her foster father was very proud of her. She even sang us a song, beautiful voice. She loved all the gifts we had given her. We were told that this little girl goes to the hospital everyday to visit her foster mother and sometimes stays overnight to keep her company.
Our next visit was to a family taking care of a 12 year old boy with cerebral palsy and was blind. He looked more like he was 8 years old. He was very interested in our van we came in and liked touching the side of it. I was able to hold his hand for a little bit. His whole foster family was so loving towards him.
The final family visit was to an area that was truly heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. The 13 year old boy was being taken care of by his grandfather because the boy's father had been suffering from cancer for six years and passed away. The mother had left during this time so the grandfather had come from a different province to help take care of his son and grandson and was now currently taking care of him. The grandfather sold practically everything to be able to come take care of his son and grandson, tho he stills has his land in the other province. To make money, the grandfather takes this little cart and collects recyclable items to sell:
The entire size of the house they were both living in was smaller than my walk in closet. I've seen conditions like this before, but it's always shocking to see. Really puts life into perspective. It amazes me the love of this grandfather and the sacrifices he has endured to make sure his grandson has a chance at life. His grandson was a top student in his school. We were told that the grandfather was very proud and actually dressed up for us.
These families were all great examples of Holt's work with fostering children and family strengthening. I love seeing these programs.
After lunch, we went to a middle school where Holt sponsors 31 students. Elementary school in China is free, but once in high school, one must pay tuition. So why sponsor students in middle school if it's free? Because these students come from families that cannot afford the cost of supplies, books, pencils, uniform and/or lunches. This school is a top middle school and all students are excellent students. Here is the group of students:
A mother of one of the students spoke on behalf of the parents. Oh...my...word...I was crying so hard. She talked about how her family of five share a very small space and can't afford much let alone the cost of supplies for her son to attend school. She thanked us for sponsoring her son. Her son later stood up and thanked us too. He wakes up every morning at 4:30am to get ready to go to school. His mom would give him bus money, but he would rather give the money to his family and then walk 40 minutes to school.
One of the students spoke on behalf of the students. She talked about how her mother works as a cleaning lady to help support them. She thanked us for sponsoring her and how much it meant for her to see foreigners care for her and the other students. Guess these students had never seen foreigners before or heard English being spoken in person. Side note, we were in a small city near northern China called Meihekou.
During the Q&A session, some of the students stood up to ask us basic questions. One student thanked us for sponsoring him and said that because of us, he was determined and confident that he would be very successful and would not let us down. So heartwarming when we heard from another student that said before he was getting our support, he was ranked number 20 in his class and now because of our support, he was ranked number 1. Amazing students! We passed around our gifts we had for everyone and had individual time with the students before taking a group picture:
The plan now was to drive to the next city rather than wait until morning. Another long drive...but this hotel was worth it, The Shangri-La!
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