International Children's Day - "Bo Yuan - One of Many Thousands"

June 1, 2013

I know it is rare that you see a post from me on a Saturday morning, but I have an important story and message I would like to share.
Many of you know that I have supported Half the Sky since I have returned home with Reagan from China.
She was in a Half The Sky sponsored orphanage and it really made a difference.
For the first 10 months of her life, while she did not have a Mommy or Daddy to hold and love for her each day, she did have an amazing staff of caregivers who nurtured her and cared for her in a very loving way. For that our family will be forever grateful, so when one of my contacts at Half the Sky asked if I would be willing to share the story of Bo Yuan to help spread the word and the importance of their program, I immediately said yes.

"This International Children’s Day, we’d like to share the story of one special child whose life has been transformed through Half the Sky. BoYuan was born with anal atresia, which requires surgery as soon as possible after birth. He had surgery at a local hospital when he was several days old, but the surgery wasn’t done well and post-op care was extremely difficult. His wounds became infected. Luckily, the institution had somewhere to turn. The China Care Home.

When BoYuan arrived at the China Care Home, he received surgery right away. Since then, he’s had to have four more surgeries. Each time, he’s had a loving China Care nanny to help him through experiences that would be scary, painful, and confusing for any child. She’s stayed with him at the hospital and cared for him during his recuperations at the home.
BoYuan's nanny has made sure he knows he’s not alone.

While BoYuan may still need further medical treatment, he is also a thriving, mischievous little boy. He can walk quickly and well. He is quite a smart boy and is learning to talk. He’s sweet too, and fetches toys and gives them to younger children who are crying. He recognizes all the nannies who take care of him and calls them “Qi, Jin, and Zhang Mama.”
We know that this adorable child has a bright future despite his difficult beginnings.

We’re changing life stories for the 250 children like BoYuan who receive care each year at our China Care Home and the thousands of children in other Half the Sky programs across China. Their stories are being rewritten right now. And it’s happening because of the work of Half the Sky and the help of our international family of supporters."


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We'd love to spread BoYuan's story today to help give more children their chance before it’s too late.
And you can help! If you have a blog, please consider re-posting his story. If you don’t have a blog, you can still help by sharing the story on Facebook and re-tweeting our Tweet.
Please join us so, together, we can make a difference this Children’s Day!
To learn more about Half the Sky and the work they do, visit www.halfthesky.org

2 comments:

Ciara Molloy said...

He's a cutie! Love what Half the Sky are doing in China for all the precious orphans! They do incredible work!!

Ciara
http://yougivemehope1.blogspot.com/

Hunan Mommy said...

My daughter is also from Chenzhou, and I think this sweet woman in the pictures is the same woman in one of the photos Half the Sky sent me:-)
If I have made this awesome connection, it explains so much about why our daughter was able to trust and let us in. Thanks for sharing!