Even older girls love a field trip to the zoo! This photo of 15-year old Jo was taken during the Believe in Me — Jingzhou field trip to the zoo in March. Despite her epilepsy and severe seizures that sometimes disrupt her life, Jo is a very good student who works extremely hard. About a year ago, she had a medical setback and as a result has had to work extra hard to catch up academically. Her character writing is truly lovely. We really admire her perseverance and work ethic!

Jo is one of the children featured in our first annual “Sponsor a Child, Change a Life” program in honor of International Children’s Day. Just $20 a month would cover her school fees for Believe In Me so she can continue in this excellent education program. Please visit our website to learn more about her and other children just waiting for sponsors!

Joy.  Glee.  Fun!  It seems like every time we see photos like this one from our Believe In Me school in Jinjiang, someone is laughing, playing and having a ball.  What a pleasure it must be for the Education volunteers to be a part of this!  We’d like you to meet two of these Education volunteers as part of our continuing series, “A Day in the Life”.  While these two volunteers work with very different types of educational programs, they both have the opportunity to help individuals learn and reach for potential they never even knew they had.

Marilee Gilmore, Believe In Me –Jinjiang Coordinator: I found LWB on the Internet when searching for a foster child to sponsor in 2005. I had been so blessed by the adoption of my daughter from South Korea in 1984 and wanted to give back a little to another international child. I had researched different foundations and was amazed that this all-volunteer organization could do so much with the money contributed. A year later I joined the Education Team as a volunteer and have been with them ever since. I have been fortunate to be the Coordinator of Believe In Me-Jinjiang since we established the school in 2007.

Being retired, I have the opportunity to work at odd times during the day and evening. I love the freedom of working from my computer and as I wish.  There is so much pleasure in being a LWB volunteer. Knowing that we are making a difference in the lives of these children every single day keeps me motivated to continue the work. I really enjoy seeing how much the children blossom in Education and how well we work as a team to improve their lives. My kids in school need the great start that the Nutrition program gives them, and many have Medical needs that need addressing. It is so great that we can all work together for them. I enjoy playing a small part in the work that we do.

Alyssa Ericksen, Associate Director of Mama’s Wish: I learned about LWB on a Yahoo group and immediately went and sponsored a little girl with the same special need as my son. I then did some research on LWB and was surprised and impressed when I read the annual report and discovered how low the administration costs are compared to the amount of work being done! The model of running a charity with volunteers intrigued me, and I decided that I would like to be one of them in some small capacity. I completed the application and was “hired” to be a coordinator for the Mama’s Wish program. We promptly chose a young student in the program to sponsor, and I look forward to my reports on her. LWB has continued to surpass my expectations, and I am amazed every day by the dedication of the volunteers and the scope of the work that we do in China.

I had just agreed to become the associate director when an earthquake hit the province where our program is based.   I worried constantly about the kids until we were able to confirm that they were all safe.   A typical day for me might involve answering emails, sending out reports to new sponsors, reviewing the month’s financial reports or emailing with my coordinators about their assignments.  As a new director, I am definitely still “learning the ropes!”

Wangchu Tsering attends Xuri Poor Aid High School, thanks to sponsors of Mama’s Wish, and will graduate in 2011 from high school with vocational training in medicine.

I am privileged to be part of a program that allows girls, boys and young women and men to complete an education in a region of China where opportunities for them are scarce. We are truly changing many lives as we support these dedicated students.  Another aspect that I value in volunteering for LWB is getting to see the work of the other programs at a deeper level.   I avidly read the emails about little babies arriving at the healing homes, about field trips taken in our Believe in Me schools and about successful and life saving heart surgeries.   I look forward every day to all of the good news posted about the children in our program.   I am truly grateful to be a small part of this wonderful organization.

Are you an educator or a special educator, or someone who has connections to a school?  Are you a professional who works with children who have special needs?   If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be able to help us with an important project for our LWB Education program!

Most of the students in our Believe In Me Schools have mild to moderate special needs.  As the population attending our schools grows and changes, we continue to provide our teachers with the essential ongoing support and training that they need.  As part of this training, we are hoping to put together videos of various special education lessons or activities, as well as some general education activities in the areas of art and music, to provide to the teachers at our Believe In Me Schools.

Would you be able to help us by getting permission from your school to film music or art classroom activities, or special education lessons?  These videos can be anywhere from 10-30 minutes long, and can be carried out one-on-one or as a classroom, by therapists OR teachers.   They should be lessons that can be easily used within a classroom setting (i.e. no fancy equipment required).  We will then have the films translated/dubbed for our teachers in China.

If you are interested in helping us with this project, please contact our Director of Education, Kate Dlugozima at kate.dlugozima@lwbmail.com.  Any assistance you can provide will be much appreciated.   Thank you for your continued support of the LWB Education program!

When Sara first became a student at our Shantou Believe in Me School in 2007, the teachers described her as shy and quiet. She never smiled for pictures, and the teachers were very excited when they finally “caught” her participating in dance class. A few months later she smiled for a photograph displaying her artwork.

The teachers now describe nine-year old Sara as a good helper and always willing to share and eager to learn. She now LOVES to pose for pictures (as you can see!)

Despite her difficulties with verbal language issues, Sarah completes all of her school work, can recognize and also write basic Chinese characters, and interacts well with the teachers and other students. In fact, she has improved so much in her person-to-person communication that she was even able to help this wiggly little toddler get his shoes on when everyone else thought that to be a nearly impossible task.

I think we can all agree she has an absolutely beautiful smile and very expressive eyes. I have always felt I could “read” her eyes, and in this photograph I think she may be saying “Please tell my family to come and bring me home.”

Please help us help Sarah get word to her family that she is waiting for them! She is on the shared list with a need of verbal language issues. If you’d like more information about her or the shared list, please contact us at info@lwbmail.com.

Karen McGinty is the BIM Shantou Coordinator for Love Without Boundaries. She lives in Edmond, OK, with her husband, Keith, and four children: Mason, age 12; Molly, age 10, adopted from Hubei Province; Mia, age 6, adopted from Chongqing; and Matthew, age 5.