Update August 2005 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This month has been busy with many visitors and young volunteers as is always the case in the summer months. They have been mainly from the US, UK and Germany.  One volunteer, Monica H. is an artist and she painted a beautiful memorial wall at our Beijing Home to remember all the little ones who have died, so that they will not be forgotten.  Many of you may remember Jack Rivers, now 15 years old, who came last summer to volunteer. He had raised quite a bit of money for HFH. This year his younger sister Kara and her friend Sana Neuman have joined him in his efforts and together they raised even more. All 3 of them spent time with us here in Beijing getting to know the kids their fund-raising efforts are supporting. Their efforts are awesome for ones so young and we are grateful for their support. Travellers from Singapore to Beijing…. we need you desperately. The large donation of formula which sits in a Singapore ware house is trickling into Beijing too slowly. Please offer your services to carry a box or two with you when coming to Beijing.  Our attempts to donate a large portion of it to an orphanage in Dili, Indonesia appear to be too difficult to organize. We are trying to use as much as we can before it expires so please help us with transporting this gift to us if you can.

Foster Home Shunyi, Beijing

The babies : 1 baby Luke Fu Liu Liu  still remains in hospital in Beijing having neurosurgery. Dang Shan Qiang had surgery in Singapore and has returned well. Fu Xiao Tian, Fu Dong Yu and Fu Chun Yi have all retuned home after tough battles with post-surgical brain infections and we hope all will be well for them now. GraceMarie Fu Tian Hua had a bowel obstruction and had her anus re-constructed here in Beijing. She needs a second surgery in a few months time to close her colostomy, (opening on to her abdominal wall)  Adam (Caleb) Fu Ya Bo ( Henan province) and (John Robert) Dang Jian Xue (Shanxi province) have been adopted and have gone to the US with their new parents. We were privileged to meet these wonderful families who have chosen to love and care for our kids. We have brought in 2 new babies from our Palliative care unit, Jeannie Fu Zhi Xia (premature) and Fu Jin Jin. (neurological defects ). We also have, Jin Li Xin from Ji Lin province neurological defects.

Shunyi Outreach Foster Program.

William Fu Wen Xing, (mild brain damage), has been brought back to Beijing from our Unit in Henan province, where he was sent to make room for more urgent cases. He is now in foster care with a new family in this program. Andrea Ellen has gone back to the family who had her originally, but at one point the mother felt that she could not cope. The mother has pleaded to have her back as she missed her so much. We decided to give her another chance and so far she is doing well.

Dang Jian Fang who was in the Outreach program has been brought back to our Home as she has been losing weight over the past few months. She seems to have no major problems so we are observing. We now have 10 families with 12 children out in local homes.

Foster Home Sai Qi Fujian Province:

A visit was made this month to Sai Qi by our Project coordinator, Marsha, accompanied by the President of Harvard China Care, Aidan Madigan-Curtis. Harvard China Care is one of the major supporters of the Sai Qi Home and they are considering continued support and oversight of this home.  We are still committed to organizing surgery in Singapore, for one of the children Xu Xiao Bao (awaiting a passport) and have been asked to facilitate orthopaedic surgery for Xu Jian Wen who has cerebral palsy with contractures of his legs. Love without Boundaries has offered to cover the cost of his surgery. Everyone who has been sponsoring children in Sai Qi has been informed of our decision. Please contact Aidan madigan@fas.harvard.edu if you have any concerns about Sai Qi.  

HFH Special Care Unit , Henan Province: 4 more babies have been admitted to this unit Fu Wen Ha , a little preemie with septicaemia died soon after admission, Fu Zhi Wen ( postoperative bowel complication) and Fu Jin Tian (cerebral palsy) and  Fu Si Yu, a newborn little girl who arrived without a diagnosis is feeding well. Chance Fu Dong He was returned to the unit from Beijing for palliative care. He is 4 months old with severe brain damage and will not suck. Even after tube feeding him for 4 months his weight gain is insignificant. Since Jan 1^st 2005, 41 infants have been through the unit and 13 have died.

LWB Special Care Unit

Work has begun on the construction but this August has been one of the wettest as far as we can remember and the workers have been waiting for the rains to stop. We have a few months left this year before it becomes too cold to build so we will have to see how far they can get.

Our Thanks;

1)     We thank all those who responded to our need for funds for the children’s surgeries last month. It has all been covered.  

2)     Thank you to all those who have sent mores supplies from baby clothes, preemie diapers to medicines. A very special thanks to the wonderful ladies who send me quilting supplies. You have blessed me personally. The babies will benefit from the quilts that I will make from these supplies.

3)     Our gratitude also to those of you who have blessed us with personal support. Thank you for remembering that though the children’s needs always come before our own, we as a family, have financial needs to remain here to do what we do.

4)     Thank you to those who have pledged to sponsor rooms in the LWB Unit. Confirmations will be posted on the website soon.

Our Needs:

We need to share the abundant blessings that we have been given especially in the form of medical supplies and soy formula, with other foster homes in China who are caring for abandoned children. We also have an opportunity to send some to Africa.  Please email us with your needs, whatever it may be, and if we have it, we will send it on to you. Medicines need to be given to foreign run homes only, as these are all in English and will not be useful to Chinese –run establishments who will not be able to understand the instructions.

With gratitude

Joyce and Robin Hill

I used to ask God to help me.
Then I asked if I might help Him.
I ended up by asking Him
to do his work through me.

James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)

 

Dr. Joyce Hill MBBS, FRACGP
Director
Hope Foster Home
Beijing, China
www.hopefosterhome.com
Ph:86-10-61424156
fax: 86-10-61424196
Mobile:13801351244