Not Goodbye Yang!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 11:32PM | Share Article 
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.
Yang, whose full name means 'sun', has difficulty walking; his speech is unclear and he has a moderate intellectual disability, but he has the ability to light up the room with his happy disposition and willingness to help.
Every morning he helps take out the trash. It’s his very own chore and he tends to ‘own’ it! Later, he does his ‘paper route’, distributing the daily to various offices in the admin. department as he listens to his mp3 player. His jerky walk, a symptom of his condition, can easily be mistaken for street dancing!
Yang proved to be a good student in the Special Education class at Xining Children’s Rehabilition Centre, where he learnt to read and write to a reasonably proficient level. He has the habit of writing his favourite ‘thing’ on a piece of paper and then whips it out of his pocket to show to people he likes.
If you are privileged enough to be shown his current piece of paper, it will say ‘We will Rock You’. It’s the 1977 smash hit by Queen, and it’s the song Yang is learning to play on the Cajon, which is best described as a drum you can sit on while playing.
Because Yang turns 18 on August 29th, he is not able to remain at Xining Children’s Home, so he has moved to Xining Social Welfare Institute (SWI). He will now participate in Christian Action’s Bridging Programme until his case worker thinks that he is settled and happy in his new home. The programme aims to equip young adults to move on and also work in sheltered workshops.
It's not goodbye Yang – you will remain in our hearts!
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