Show Me A River

Gui laughs and smiles during story time, especially when the finger puppets are active!

Cerebral palsy is a complex illness: uncontrollable limbs; limited cognitive function, and the inability to sit up without pain, all contribute to the inability many of us may have to deal with children who were born with these awful disabilities.

The temptation is to simply leave them lying there and get on with doing things that produce visible results.  But for those who care enough to persist, the visible results can be enormously satisfying.

Gui left Xining Children's Home when he was 18, just like every other child who, by law, must move into an adult care facility. Unlike most other young adults, Gui was carried out on a stretcher.

Gui was born with severe cerebral palsy. At Xining Children’s Home, when he was strapped into a special chair as a child, Gui could look around and draw stimulation from the activities of other children and his carers.  But when sitting became too painful, people had to place themselves within his line of vision.  Many people who loved Gui in the Children's Home regularly stopped to gently caress him or speak some kind words.

But now, there is no time for workers in the Adult Welfare facility to do any more than feed, bathe and dress Gui. He lacked company and stimulation.  But thanks to our Bridging Programme, Gui’s visitors are now welcomed with open arms at the Welfare Centre.

Volunteers visit Gui weekly, read to him from children’s books, use finger puppets, and carefully describe things in the books which he has never seen. For example, Gui has never seen a river.  Surprisingly, he has clearly shown that he remembers stories read to him months earlier.  So a volunteer has made large colourful posters and placed them near Gui’s bed so that after she has left his imagination can continue to take him on a journey…perhaps down a river.

With your ongoing financial and prayer support, our Bridging Programme will grow in scope and service, revealing a wider world for children like Gui.