Mental Health Matters

Today is United Nations International Youth Day 2014. The theme for this year 'Youth and Mental Health' and their slogan 'Mental Health Matters' couldn't be more appropriate for little Yan...
Today is United Nations International Youth Day 2014. The theme for this year 'Youth and Mental Health' and their slogan 'Mental Health Matters' couldn't be more appropriate for little Yan...
It's tough when a child is an orphan without any identification documents or history. Yang was six when he came to Xining Children's Home with ataxic cerebral palsy. The Xining Rehabilitation Centre only opened its doors five years later, so his parents would not have had any access to support services for families with disabled children, especially if they were poor.
Nobody knows why, or by whom, Yang was brought to us, or why they could no longer care for him. One thing was certain - he badly needed therapy.
The Bible says that God has given us a wide variety of gifts and talents and I know that we are happiest when we are able to use those gifts. Sometimes they are obvious and at other times we need to encourage hidden talents in others so that a man or woman feels fulfilled in their everyday lives.
In Christian Action it gives us great pleasure to see people freed to use their gifts and talents even though they must earn their living in monotonous jobs like those of a domestic helper...
There are orphanages and children's homes all over the world, but I doubt that there would be any with more challenges than the ones we anticipated when Guoluo Children's Home opened its doors in 2012. Its location and the very thin air brings a real risk of altitude sickness. The average summer temperature is 9°C or 48°F, so the extreme cold is an ongoing battle. On the plus side, the Tibetan sense of community is still extremely strong; they must rely on one another or risk their lives.
One of the lessons I've learned from the children who have been in Xining Children's Home is that there is no such thing as 'borrowed time'. I know now that there is only God's time for each of our lives, and I'm glad to see that the time we may set on a life-span is not necessarily his time!
Fifteen-year-old Mia France, is a thriving example of this...