China - Foster Care

Xinlei is shy. I have encouraged her to greet people, but this is not easy for her. Xinlei had surgery to repair her cleft lip, but her cleft palate has not yet been repaired. Even with her lip surgery, her language has improved a lot. She can say simple sentences now. She wants to go to school.

Pinyan had surgery to repair a meningocele (type of spina bifida). She is very thin. She is also quiet and shy. Pinyan loves to sit on my lap and be cuddled. I find that I spend a lot of time holding her. I need to encourage her to move about and play. The activity is good for her.

Yuheng was born missing both of his legs. Although he cannot walk, he has learned how to crawl and get around the house by himself. He even flips himself over, doing somersaults. He is on the go; I need to keep my eye on him.
--Foster Mother

Bethany Christian Services began working in the People’s Republic of China in the early 1990s. Our intercountry adoption program has grown to connect more than 2,200 Chinese children with their adoptive families, and in 1997, we expanded our involvement in the child welfare system to include foster care.

In 2007, Bethany received approval from the Chinese government to develop foster care programs with orphanages. In 2008, the project began at the Luohe City Orphanage, which is located in Luohe City, Henan Province, in east-central China.

The Luohe Orphanage is home to approximately 150 children who have physical and psychological disabilities. Our foster care program helps to identify and train foster parents who want to take these special children into their homes, care for them, love them, and help them learn to love. The primary objective of the foster care program is to provide each child with a family of his/her own until such time as permanency, preferably in an adoptive home, can be achieved.

While children are in their care, foster families have access to physicians, physical therapists, education, and other community resources to meet the needs of the children. Foster parents may care for three to four children at a time. The foster mother’s report above illustrates the positive changes that can occur when children enter Luohe Orphanage’s Foster Care program.

By early 2009, there were five foster homes with children who are waiting for adoptive placements. Bethany hopes to expand the program so that 60 additional children may leave the orphanage and be placed with foster parents who are trained and supported by Bethany.

Annual Support Needed for Total Project: $60,000

Bethany Sponsorship

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