Our China Project: Clean Water for Orphans, has taken us into some of the the poorest and hardest to reach cities of China while, at other times, provides glimpses into the wealthiest and most economically advanced cities in the country. No two orphanages are alike, yet every orphanage has similarities that enable us to work at the speed and scale that we do.
An illustrative example: The Kaiyuan orphanage, situated in Yunnan Province near the border between China and Vietnam, currently provides care for nearly 100 orphaned children. Ranging in ages from one month to 16 years, the majority of the children at the orphanage are classified as special needs, or children with a physical or mental disability.
Most of the children without special needs have either been adopted or shifted in to foster family settings. This puts a new burden on Chinese orphanages and their staff as increased awareness of significant medical issues, greater education of caregivers and better levels of general care are critical for the children’s success. In the spectrum of urgent needs for the orphanages certainly comes the requirement of a safe water supply.
Many orphanages are forced to allocate great sums for enhanced baby formula and expensive medications for the children under their care, yet continue to distribute both with potentially unsafe water. Fortunately our solution is both an immediate and long-term one. Watching staff fill all the baby bottles and children’s cups, dispense all medications, and wash and prepare foods with purified water is always an incredible sight.
An added benefit of our work at this site is the elderly care facility adjacent to the orphanage. 150 elderly residents reside there and all have access to our water via water dispensers placed on every floor of the facility as well as the kitchen.
Our work at the Kaiyuan orphanage marked the completion of our Yunnan project - providing every orphanage in the province clean and safe water. We have several provinces still to go to reach completion of our overall goal. Yet every time we complete a new province we celebrate with a nod, a short hurrah, and mutual encouragement to move on to the next one.
An illustrative example: The Kaiyuan orphanage, situated in Yunnan Province near the border between China and Vietnam, currently provides care for nearly 100 orphaned children. Ranging in ages from one month to 16 years, the majority of the children at the orphanage are classified as special needs, or children with a physical or mental disability.
Most of the children without special needs have either been adopted or shifted in to foster family settings. This puts a new burden on Chinese orphanages and their staff as increased awareness of significant medical issues, greater education of caregivers and better levels of general care are critical for the children’s success. In the spectrum of urgent needs for the orphanages certainly comes the requirement of a safe water supply.
Many orphanages are forced to allocate great sums for enhanced baby formula and expensive medications for the children under their care, yet continue to distribute both with potentially unsafe water. Fortunately our solution is both an immediate and long-term one. Watching staff fill all the baby bottles and children’s cups, dispense all medications, and wash and prepare foods with purified water is always an incredible sight.
An added benefit of our work at this site is the elderly care facility adjacent to the orphanage. 150 elderly residents reside there and all have access to our water via water dispensers placed on every floor of the facility as well as the kitchen.
Our work at the Kaiyuan orphanage marked the completion of our Yunnan project - providing every orphanage in the province clean and safe water. We have several provinces still to go to reach completion of our overall goal. Yet every time we complete a new province we celebrate with a nod, a short hurrah, and mutual encouragement to move on to the next one.
