LWB Community

A New Adventure: An Education Success Story

It’s time to enter the big world of learning: preschool. A new adventure for any preschooler, children will be given the opportunity to explore; participate in sing-alongs, crafts, and story time; and learn the age-appropriate fundamentals of socialization. Even when children are living together in an orphanage, the experience of entering an LWB Believe in Me classroom at the orphanage brings out the individual personalities of each child and exposes him or her to a new world. Like all preschoolers,  that first exposure to school can be overwhelming. Jamie wasn’t very happy to start school in September.

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Announcing The 2012 Teacher Training Team

The wait is over, and we are ready to announce that we have found our team for the 2012 teacher training! We are so thankful for the dozens of amazing educators who applied this year. We had a really challenging job narrowing down who would be on this year’s team as all of the applicants were so talented. How awesome that so many teachers and therapists across America wanted to give a week of their summer break to help orphaned children with special needs in China!

The team that has been chosen represents a diverse set of skills that we feel will be extremely beneficial for the training. Our team members include Amy H. from Florida, seen above with her family. Amy brings 11 years of teaching experience in Elementary Education with special education inclusion. Read more.

Isaac: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

Isaac is a gentle and kind-hearted four-year-old. He lives at the orphanage in Huainan and attends the Believe in Me School there. Isaac’s teachers say that he participates happily and follows directions well. He is a good helper and clearly very bright. His favorite activities at school are playing with playdough and doing puzzles. Although he is shy and quiet, Isaac is a good friend to his classmates. He especially likes spending time with his best friend, Maxie. They can often be seen walking hand-in-hand. Read more.

Kimmie: An Education Success Story

Kimmie, a seven-year-old girl in our Believe in Me Changde School, is a lovely young girl! We first met her in 2007 at a physical and occupational therapy camp held at the Changde orphanage. At that time the orphanage director was reluctant to let Kimmie join in class lessons, but a few determined LWB volunteers helped to change the director’s mind.

Not long after the camp, this precious young lady walked for the first time, with the use of a walker donated at the camp. As Kimmie does with most everything, she approached walking with tremendous determination and a gigantic smile. Read more.

Birch: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

LWB’s Education team is proud to introduce you to this handsome young man, Birch, a four-year-old boy in our Believe in Me Shantou school. This precious young boy has epilepsy, but he does not let that get him down. He has a great time at school every day!

In the classroom Birch likes to stay busy. His teachers have told us that he loves to build and that he will use nearly any toy they give him to try to build something. Perhaps this sweet child will grow up to be an architect! Read more.

Abby: LWB’s Featured Child of the Week

This is Abby (in the striped shirt), who attends LWB’s Believe in Me Huainan School. She will be eight this month and is in a kindergarten preparation class. She knows how to listen carefully in class and can write characters perfectly. She plays with the younger children and takes good care of them.

Our Huainan School Nutrition Project was started to help Abby and her classmates receive better nutrition. Our recent Red Envelope Campaign raised needed funds for this program. Read more.

Teacher Training in China

Having adopted two little girls from China, I was very aware of Love Without Boundaries and the special programs that it provides in China. The day I walked through my oldest daughter’s orphanage in March of 2002, I knew that I would return one day and “give back” to the kids left behind. I wasn’t exactly sure what I would do, but I knew I would return. Once you walk through an orphanage, it changes your perspective on life….at least it did for me.

Fast forward to the Fall of 2010. I saw a post on Facebook from Amy Eldridge asking for volunteers for a “Teacher Training” trip. I was interested in gaining more information and emailed Amy. I was chosen to be part of the “team” and was thrilled. Read more.

Carly & Tommy: Best Friends Waiting Together

Sweet Carly is a lovely five-year-old girl in the Believe in Me Jingzhou School. You may remember her from her introduction in March 2010 in the blog post “A Day in the Life at Believe in Me Jingzhou,” when Carly was the newest student in school. This precious young girl has cerebal palsy, but she doesn’t let that slow her down! She loves spending her days in school, where she plays with many fun, tactile educational tools such as the knobbed cylinders and triangle boxes. She spends lots of time reading picture story books and loves participating in arts and crafts. While Carly is shy around the teachers, she is a chatterbox with her friends. We have been told by our China manager that she is a smart little girl. Read more.

“Little Mother” Kathryn

Some children are naturally nurturing and attract younger children to them.  When she was a student in our Believe in Me Changde School, twelve-year-old Kathryn was one of these nurturing types. Missy, LWB’s former education director, was fortunate enough to meet Kathryn in November 2007  and was impressed by the way she cared for the younger children. Ever since, Missy has affectionately referred to Kathryn as “The Little Mother.” She recalls how Kathryn not only took care of these younger children but was almost always bouncing two little ones on her knee whenever she sat down. Each time Kathryn sat down, it seemed she had children crawling onto her lap with curiosity and love. Read more.

Jesse Is A Good Friend of Mine

In February 2011, I was provided with the amazing opportunity to go to Jinjiang and help train LWB Believe In Me teachers in speech and language skills.  One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Jesse. Jesse is a little guy with an infectious belly laugh (which you can see in the video below) and amazing smile. He also has both albinism and a cleft lip/palate.  Each condition on their own can be scary and together may seem daunting.  But don’t be afraid. If this is your little boy, know that neither of these conditions are related to each other and both are very manageable. Read more.