10 FACTS ABOUT ORPHANS IN CHINA

China, being home to over 1.4 billion people, currently faces an issue of housing for one of its most vulnerable and impressionable demographics: orphans. These 10 facts about orphans in China will show how many orphans are brought in to the adoption system in infancy with little to no knowledge of the journey to come.

10 Facts About Orphans in China

1. Being an orphan does not necessarily mean that the child is parentless. In fact, many of the children seeking new homes have parents that are either unable to take care of them or have abandoned them for various reasons.
2. According to a 2016 statistic, there are currently more than 460,000 orphans in China. The exact number of orphans is undetermined, as the statistic may only show state-operated orphanages.
3. The vast majority of abandoned children suffer from severe birth defects and serious health issues. However, parents are unable to provide them with proper care; likewise, the state does not provide medical assistance for abandoned children.
4. Many children, usually newborns, are usually given to baby hatches. A baby hatch is a small home where parents drop off children, where they hopefully will be taken to an orphanage.
5. The Ministry of Civil Affairs began the baby hatch program as a response to the increasing number of abandoned infants. Currently, there are 32 baby hatches across China, and each hatch only accepts children from within the same city.
6. Children with disabilities are usually unable to find homes that can provide specific medical attention, and after a certain age, some live within senior homes.
7. Chinese orphanages are highly lacking in the proper education and medical resources needed for disabled children. As a result, disabled children are often excluded from activities necessary for social development.
8. According to the Adoption Law of the People’s Republic of China, children over the age of 14 become ineligible for international adoption, at which point they are either transferred to a senior living center or have to find work.
9. The potential parent of an adoptive child can refuse to adopt the child before the age of 10 without consent from the child. Once the child reaches 10 years of age, they are given the right to consent an adoptive relationship.
10. It is also understood that if the relationship between the child and the adoptive parent begins to negatively impact the child’s life, the adoption can be terminated through a mutual agreement.

These 10 facts about orphans in China shed some light on a large and controversial issue. Although China is able to provide a multitude of opportunities for jobless adults, enact laws on senior care and ensure its citizens are not left behind, there is very little knowledge of or care for welfare-seeking children. In hopes of combating these issues, organizations such as Rainbow Kids work alongside orphanages and other nonprofits to provide the education and parental assistance needed to ensure the children’s safety and well-being, giving them hope and opportunities for the future.

– Adreena Carr

Photo: Flickr

August Moon Celebration

This review will better acquaint you with the origins of the festival, the traditional foods associated with it and the different ways it’s celebrated. This festival is one of many observed in China, which is home to a number of traditional celebrations.

Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese Moon Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. It’s one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese.

The Legend Behind the Fest

The Moon Festival is rooted in many different myths. Legend traces the story to a hero named Hou Yi, who lived during a time when there were 10 suns in the sky. This caused people to die, so Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and was given an elixir by the Queen of Heaven to make him immortal. But Hou Yi didn’t drink the elixir because he wanted to remain with his wife, Chang’e (pronounced Chung-err). So, he told her to watch over the potion.

One day a student of Hou Yi tried to steal the elixir from her, and Chang’e drank it to foil his plans. Afterward, ​she flew to the moon, and people have prayed to her for fortune ever since. She’s presented with a variety of food offerings during the Moon Fest, and festival-goers swear that they can spot Chang’e dancing on the moon during the festival. 

What Happens During the Celebration

The Moon Festival is also an occasion for family reunions When the full moon rises, families get together to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes and sing moon poems. Together, the full moon, the legend, the family gatherings and the poems recited during the event make the festival a great cultural observance. That is why the Chinese are so fond of the Moon Festival.

Although the Moon Festival is a place where families congregate, it is also considered a romantic occasion. The festival legend, after all, is about a couple, Hou Yi and Chang’e, who are madly in love and devoted to one another. Traditionally, lovers spent romantic nights at the event tasting delicious moon cake and drinking wine while watching the full moon.

The moon cake, however, isn’t just for couples. It is the ​traditional food consumed during the Moon Festival. The Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky. 

When circumstances prevent couples from getting together during the event, they pass the night by watching the moon at the same time so it seems as if they are together for the night. A great number of poems has been devoted to this romantic festival. 

As the Chinese have spread out across the globe, one needn’t be in China to partake in the Moon Festival. Celebrations are held in countries that are home to large Chinese populations.

Mooncake Recipe:

A few tips before starting your mooncakes

1. You need a kitchen scale to measure all the ingredients, accurate amount really matters to the final texture and taste.
2. Success mooncakes=well balanced taste+well wrapped fillings+well kept shape (including the clear pattern on surface)
3. If you are using homemade paste filling, make sure your paste is dry enough. Moist fillings might cause cracks on the skin.
4. Cover all the fillings and divided wrapper dough with plastic wrapper to prevent drying out.
5. Do not use too much flour to dust, otherwise it influences the pattern.
6. Mooncake assembling needs patience and skill.  I even spoil my first one during this batch(as it is my first batch this year). But wearing plastic glovescan make the process easier. But be gentle and slow down when pushing the wrapper up.

Let’s start making the beautiful mooncakes.

Attention: The following recipe is based on 7: 3 (filling vs wrapper) for 14 moon cakes around 50g. If you want to use ratio 8:2, adjust the ingredients accordingly.  And this is based on 50g moon cake shaping tool. If your egg yolk is too large, divide them into halves and wrap in two moon cakes. I am using New Moon cake decoration mold to shape my moon cakes.

Firstly all of the fillings should be prepared previously. I usually make them in the previous day. I combine lotus seed paste, mung bean paste, red bean paste, and black sesame paste this time. But it is ok if you choose only one filling.
Treat the egg yolk: If you can find fresh salted duck eggs crack the egg and then wash the egg yolk in clean water. Set aside to drain before using. If you are using packaged salted duck egg yolk, remember to sprinkle some white spirit on the surface to remove raw taste.
Measure the filling:  This recipe made 14 mooncakes and 8 of them are loaded with salted egg yolk (Measure: egg yolk+paste filling=35g) and 6 of them are pure filling (30g).

Wrap the egg yolk with bean paste firstly:carefully shape into round ball and set aside. It is quite important to cover all of the ready fillings with plastic wrapper to prevent drying out. 

1. When the crust dough is ready, use a kitchen scale to divide them into 14 balls (each 15g).Take one portion of the wrapper, press into a round wrapper (larger is better but do not break the wrapper) and then place one filling ball in center.
2. Push the wrapper from bottom to top little by little until the whole ball is completely wrapped.
3. Shape into a round ball. This step can help to make the skin as even as possible. Then slightly shape the ball into an oval so you can easily place it into the mould.
4. Dust your mould with flour and then shake several times to remove the extra amount of flour. Use mooncake mould to shape it.
5. When the assembling process is done, coat the ball with a layer of flour. Also coat your tool please. Place the ball on your board, then carefully cover with the shaping tool, press the rod and gently remove the cake from the tool.

Bake mooncakes
Preheat oven to 180 degree C  (356F). Spay a very very thin layer of water on the surface of the mooncake can help to avoid cracking surfaces. But too much water will spoil the pattern on the surface. Bake for 5 minutes to firm the shape.
In a small bowl, whisked one egg yolk with 1 tablespoons of egg whites.  Transfer the mooncakes out and brush a very very very thin layer of egg wash on the surface. Low the oven temperature to 170 degree C and put them back to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. I baked around 16 minutes.

When well-baked, transfer out cooling crack to cool down completely.

Keep and Serve
When the mooncakes are out of the oven, the skin is not oily like the ones on the market. We need the last step: place in an airtight container (I am using single package as I need to ship them to my family). Wait for around 1 or 2 days for the pasty to become soft (This process is named as”回油”, meaning the process of returning the oil to the surface).After this last step, mooncakes can be kept for around 2 weeks in fridge.

ENJOY!

It’s time to apply!

Who we are looking for?

We hope the families who we recruit will not only have love but also serve as advocates for our China Waiting Children. The families will have a chance to meet the children and spend time with them to learn about their special needs and personality characteristics. Families will be assigned/paired to our JOY children before the trip in order to learn more about our JOY kiddos.

About:

Our Journey for Orphaned Youth is an amazing experience and mission for advocates, potential adoptive families, and individuals with an open heart and open mind. Great Wall China Adoption is excited to offer this new opportunity for advocates and families to experience China first hand and to witness what life is like for children in the orphanages. We believe this knowledge will make strong voices for the children, which will create more forever families and fewer orphans. JOY is intended to serve a population of children commonly left behind. JOY targets younger children with significant needs and older children whose needs prevent them from travel. This group of children, in no less need of a family than any other child, is often over-looked on photo listings because their needs and/or age seem scary. JOY allows advocates and families to meet these children before they are adopted, see the wonder and the need in the children’s eyes, and share their stories first hand of the experience of China, its orphanages, and the children waiting.

During this 9 day trip we hope the families can record all aspects of the children through games and activities. Some of the games in which we interact with the kids can be tossing a ball, blowing bubbles, painting, eating together, and having FUN. During this quality time with your JOY children you will document your experiences and advocate for the kids by sending out their information daily via social media. We would specifically target well known, popular and successful media sites that adoptive families and potential adoptive families visit most often. 

Previous Success!

In 2016, we successfully held a similar program with Dongguan Social Welfare Institute in Guangdong Province. At that time, three families were in attendance. The Dongguan orphanage specifically wanted our families to pay attention to five children. After the program two children were adopted by GWCA families, one child with severe heart disease is now with God, and another child with complex heart disease was unable to travel long distances. Dongguan was very satisfied with the outcome of our program at the time and believed the program made a difference in the kid’s lives.

The reason why the Chinese Welfare Institute wishes to organize such activities with adoption agencies is because they hope the kids who are older or severely disabled get more attention and eventually get adopted. The majority of waiting children have been treated and are in post-recovery or post-operative stages. Most of these children’s files have been prepared for a long time. However, due to the lack of resources or interest from prospective adoptive families the orphanages rarely update the kid’s files. The children’s information on China’s database ls relatively old/out dated and these kids need an advocate who will share current information about these kids who are desperately waiting for families. The JOY participants will be able to give potential adoptive families current information, present conditions/capabilities and describe the personalities and uniqueness of these children. It is our job to show the world just how special our JOY kids are.    

Please fill out our Hosting Application if you are interested!

Contact Information:

morgan@childrenofallnations.com

512-323-9595 ext. 3033

Be a part of something more!

Adoptee Cultural Exchange in Spain!

In our years processing adoptions and running heritage tours, we have often been asked what it is like for Chinese adoptees in other areas around the world. So we created our Adoptee Cultural Exchange Program, A.C.E.

This exchange program provides Chinese adoptees a chance to explore their heritage and meet other children who have the same life experiences as they do all within the safe confines of a host family who also adopted a child from China.

All the American girls are very well integrated in their families and they get along really well with the Spanish girls. They are becoming very good friends.

Each family is doing different things in different parts of Spain: they are going to the beach, to the swimming pool, to the mountains, doing cultural visits… They really want the girls to have fun and enjoy their stay in our country.

Our Program Coordinator in Spain

This is one of the most unique cultural exchange and heritage tour opportunities available for a Chinese adoptee, and we are the only U.S. agency currently offering this opportunity.

Spread The Love

Did you know there are over 600,000 orphans in China?
That number is staggering. Many of these children are labeled “Special Needs”. This means they likely have a health or medical diagnosis, whether it be minor or more severe. These children are the ones who are eligible for international adoption, and they are all deserving of loving homes.
We are overjoyed about helping match so many families with these children, and now we get to see them thrive in families who give them the love and support they need. We want to see more children experience this!
If you would like more information on China adoption please contact us at info@gwca.org or call 512-323-9595 to speak with a counselor.

3 New Kids On The Block!

We have three new children who are in need of forever families!

Meet Ben! Ben is a sweet 10-year old boy who was born with very mild clubbed feet, but he has not needed any physical therapy or surgery to walk and run without assistance. He is very sociable and loves to say hello and thank you in English. He is on target developmentally and is a bright, intelligent kiddo.   Ben is in regular school and is doing well.  He was hosted for one month in the United States and bonded well with his family!

Meet Vivienne!  Vivienne is an incredible girl from China that is 11 years old! She was born with a congenital heart defect and one clubbed foot that does not impact her mobility in any way. Vivienne is talkative, polite and loves being around other people.  She is extremely intelligent and appears to be meeting all developmental milestones! Her caregivers describe her as very active and engaged, saying that “she has the prettiest smile every day.”

Meet Cody! Cody is an adorable 5 year old boy who was born with a need related to his eyes, but it does not appear to have a huge impact on his daily life. Cody’s cognitive development is on track for his age and his caretakers say that he’s very smart! He can count, read various poems, and he quickly masters an activities. Cody has been described as a gentle boy who is open minded and super adorable!

To Learn More About Any Of The Children Above, You Can Request A File Today!

Please note you may request a file of a child even if you have not begun the adoption process, so please contact us to learn more.

Resources

• Visit the China Waiting Child photo listing
• Contact a China adoption specialist
• Learn more about China adoption

Jett’s Journey Home

For the past year, our team here at GWCA has been working hard to bring sweet Jett back to his family here in Texas. Jett was hosted in Summer of 2016. During that time, his host mom brought him into our office so that we could all say hi!

We rarely get a chance to meet the children that we place with families, so it is always an amazing opportunity to be able to meet a kiddo and be a part of their experience here in America. Once Jett returned to China, we all knew that we would have to work as hard as possible to bring him back as soon as we could.

This week, our hard work finally paid off. Jett and his mom were finally able to come back to our office, but this time he wasn’t a host kiddo— he was a son. It was an amazing experience to see the child that has been in our hearts for the past year finally be back home with his family. This past year brought new challenges and obstacles for him, but throughout all of that he waited patiently, knowing that his family would be there soon.

Although hosting is no longer an option for the China program, our Latvia Hosting program can provide this incredible opportunity for families like Jett’s. His family calls him the missing piece to their puzzle, and we are so grateful we had the opportunity to help him find his home.

-Meredith Chambers, China Adoption Counselor

Read more about Jett’s story to find his family

Contact our adoption specialists today to learn how you can begin your adoption journey!

Resources:

– Learn more about China adoption
– Learn more about Latvia hosting
– Visit the Waiting Child Photo Listing
– Contact a China adoption specialist