Serving with a Heart

For the last 17 years my annual tours to Qinghai have been busy and exhausting. The mid-September tour this year included meetings, a philanthropic forum and several ceremonies. Despite the tight schedule, I was glad to catch up with one of our supporters, Clara, younger sister of our Board Member, Dr. Yue. Tender-hearted Clara has personally adopted two children. She has been supporting our Education Grant Programme for many years, and we have been truly blessed to have someone like her catch our vision. Following are extracts of an insightful letter she wrote about her recent experience at the Xining Children's Home:

There is so much to think about that I hardly know how to begin. I came away convinced that CA was setting higher standards of care at all the facilities it was covering. Its work directly benefited many children and youngsters. I believe that the higher standards were a form of “advocacy through action". They help raise quality of care at facilities nearby or even further afield.

The children at the Home had varying degrees of additional needs and some of them needed constant care. Care giving for these children could be very challenging. Some of them had little hope of leading independent lives. It was at some point quite overwhelming for us to meet many of them in one place.

I then learned of the Home's drive to not just care for the children but also give them dignity while nurturing their own drive to improve. A simple life skill such as using the toilet could take six months or a year's practice. While results could vary, it was just "business as usual" for the Home staff. The quiet persistence in this kind of training demonstrated a belief in the children and must have empowered them to take pride and joy in their learning. I began to understand how they could smile and laugh in spite of their difficulties. This was the real difference of the Home, made possible by the philosophy behind its care services.

I congratulate CA management and staff for their service "with a heart" in Qinghai and would like to send my personal thanks for them to have looked after me so well during the whole trip.

Clara's insights make the busy vision trips well worth the effort. I praise God for leading supporters like Clara to us, and pray that the beautiful children in Qinghai will continue to warm the hearts of others with their smiles!