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.

Carly loves to practice walking with the aid of her walker. She is said to get around very well and is independent in many of her life skills. Since her legs are not very strong, Carly does require some help with potty time and getting dressed; however, she is very good at walking (with her walker) and eating independently.

Carly also loves the time she gets to spend at recess each day and especially enjoys the slides and swings! Can you imagine the fun she could have at a local park with her forever family? That opportunity can be hers and yours as she is on the shared list, waiting for her family to come forward to adopt her.

While reading Carly’s reports, we were excited to see that Carly has a sweet “best friend” in Tommy. Tommy knows something about waiting for his family as he has been on the shared list for awhile and is still waiting for his family to find him. Carly and Tommy love to play with toys and sing nursery rhymes together during their quiet time before bed. We can just picture the two of them sitting on the floor at the end of the day reciting nursery rhymes and helping each other with missed words and incorrect tones. So sweet!

Tommy is a handsome seven-year-old, who, like Carly, has cerebal palsy (CP). Tommy also has epilepsy, but we are told that both his CP and epilepsy appear to be mild. This cute young boy is said to be quite outgoing, lively, and active. When Tommy was five, he had a successful tendon release surgery which is very common for children with CP. Now Tommy has found a new love in morning exercises and is able to complete them all. He also discovered that, after many years of being unable, he now loves to RUN!

Handsome Tommy is a popular boy on our blog, having been featured in numerous posts, including “Fun in the Sun with Tommy”, “Tenacious Tommy,” and “Tommy Boy.” Several of Tommy’s friends have been adopted, and he understands that they now have forever families…something that he really wants too! Our China program manager told us that Tommy is working extra hard in school so he can be ready when his forever family comes to adopt him. He hopes to master his Chinese pinyin soon and excels at writing Chinese characters. He is also excited about learning some basic addition.

We hope that you will share the news about these two best friends waiting for families together. Hopefully they will both be with their forever families soon!

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

It wasn’t long before Joy was doing much more than coloring and crafts; this sweet girl was soaring in her school work… learning math and practicing writing! We are so proud of Joy’s success and how she has overcome so much in her young life. Without our Believe in Me schools, many of our children would never have the experiences or opportunities to attend any type of school. We are grateful for our teachers and China staff who work to change these children’s lives. Joy’s teachers never gave up on her but stuck by her side as she made “slow and steady” progress.

Joy is in need of sponsors for her schooling. You can help this lovely girl continue to progress with your sponsorship of $20 per month. Sponsors will receive quarterly updates and photos. We look forward to watching Joy continue to work toward her potential.

According to his recent school report, Tommy has been improving a great deal in the classroom. His favorite subject at this time is math, specifically the Montessori “spindle box” activity. Tommy is a willing participant in class discussion and exercises and plays very well with his classmates. His teachers describe him as lively and optimistic.

Seven-year-old Tommy has appeared on LWB Community in the past (“Tommy Boy” and “Tenacious Tommy”). This happy boy has been waiting for his family to find him for quite some time. Perhaps next summer might find him enjoying fun in the sun with a family of his own. Now those are some photos we all would love to see!

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Nearly every photo we have of seven-year-old Tommy seems to show him playing with a toy or working on a puzzle! He certainly seems to be happily concentrating on the game in front of him in the above photo. Several months ago, we featured Tommy in the blog “Tommy Boy”. Tommy is from our Believe In Me Jingzhou school in Hubei province and has been on the shared list waiting for a family since October 2010.

Tommy is truly a lovely little boy who smiles easily but is pretty serious about his school work. Although he is somewhat behind academically, he is working very hard to make progress.

Due to his cerebral palsy, Tommy especially needs to concentrate when using his left hand as it is somewhat weakened. Overall, however, he is active and pleasant and loves to play.

He occasionally gets a cramp in his foot when walking and has to take a short break to rest. Tommy recently went away to therapy with a few other children, and the teachers have reported that he is now walking and running so much better than before. The therapy really helped him to gain some much needed confidence.

Tommy’s teachers note that he plays well with all of the other children in the program but has one little girl he is especially close to; these two friends enjoy playing together during their breaks. Two of his other school friends have recently been adopted. Tommy is social and would most likely enjoy having siblings of his own and a family to help encourage him with his schoolwork. Will you please help us spread the word that Tommy is still waiting for a family of his own? We can only imagine the great strides he could make with the love of a family to encourage him!

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

Tommy is a wonderful six-year-old boy who always has a smile to give.   For the past three years, he has been an eager student at our Jingzhou “Believe in Me” School in Hubei and loves to learn.   Recently Tommy has been working on his writing and math skills.  He particularly enjoys writing, as you can see here, and is doing well with learning his characters.

Tommy has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, both of which appear to be mild. A year ago, Tommy had surgery to release tendons and has since been able to walk and run.  Now he absolutely loves to RUN!   Like so many boys, he also loves to play with blocks and cars and always has a smile ready to give.  Tommy appears to use both hands when doing activities such as writing and playing and is making great progress.

Several of Tommy’s friends have been adopted and he realizes what this means. When his last friend was adopted, he started putting even more effort into his school work.  He is a smart boy! Won’t you please help us spread the word about this young boy waiting for a family of his own?

Love Without Boundaries proudly advocates for adoption but is not an adoption agency. We invite you to contact adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com with questions about a child we have featured and encourage you to contact your local adoption agency for more information about China’s Waiting Child Program.

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!

Last week, the children at LWB’s Believe In Me — Jingzhou school had a wonderful time at the Wuhan Zoo! This trip had been postponed for almost 6 mothns because of the H1N1 flu virus, so we are thrilled to see the children outside and enjoying the beautiful day and seeing all the great animals and critters!

All of our students were healthy and were able to go. Our newest little gal Carly was in awe of all of the exhibits, and two other younger ones had a great time making faces and growling at the tigers! You can see the pure delight in on the faces of our older kids who had great fun walking across the wobbly bridge and eating fun foods.

Carin is our oldest student and has always disliked having her picture taken. Throughout the day at the zoo she kept asking Miss Huang, her teacher, to take a picture of her smiling!

What a great day!

Carol Randolph is the Coordinator for Believe In Me — Jingzhou.

The Believe In Me School in Jingzhou, Hubei Province is a tiny and mighty program for students. Each day is divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The mornings begin with exercises right after breakfast. Students wake up their bodies and then assemble for their morning meeting where they greet one and other and talk about what will be learned in school that day. For older students, mathematics and Chinese lessons are tackled first when they are fresh and ready for new ideas. Younger students enjoy playing with educational board books and developmentally appropriate toys while their older classmates work.

Working on math skills at Believe In Me — Jingzhou

In the afternoon, all children participate in art and music. Younger children clap out the rhythm of nursery rhymes and songs as the older kids memorize the words. Students also take time to draw and work with markers, crayons and pastels. Each month, students of all ages participate in a performance demonstrating mastery of what they have learned to their classmates. Some of our best photos of BIM — Jingzhou are of boys and girls proudly showing off new skills and knowledge.

Carly, the smiling girl in the above photo, is one of the newest students at BIM — Jingzhou. When she first started attending school she was too shy to interact with the other children. She would not talk to her teacher. After several weeks of developmental play and opportunities to learn songs and nursery rhymes with her classmates, Carly is now showing a whole new side of herself that loves learning. She has memorized some nursery rhymes and is showing an interest in learning more Chinese. We hope that her time at BIM — Jingzhou will help Carly be all that she can be in the next phase of her life. We are certainly enjoying her cuteness and desire to learn while she is with us.

Linda Mitchell is a wife and mom to four, blog contributor for Love Without Boundaries and volunteer at her kid’s school, student of School Library Media, K-1st Sunday School Teacher…..and creative writer when she can get a word in edgewise.

“I love the child I sponsor through Love Without Boundaries so much I want to know how I can send her or him a birthday present!”

One question that volunteers of Love Without Boundaries are asked frequently is how to send a birthday present to a sponsored child. Sponsors of children become quite attached to the child they receive quarterly reports of in a year. Sponsors pray for these children, hope for adoptive families for these children and above all desire that their sponsored child feel especially loved.

The answer to the above question of sending a gift is yes and no. First, LWB has been asked by officials in China to not give out the specific birthdays of children that we work with to the general public, as sometimes this information is used to pre-identify a child for adoption. Also, it’s wise to understand that birthdays are viewed differently in China than they are in the west. The Chinese celebrate birthdays considered special such as the first birthday, sixtieth and birthdays every ten years after the sixtieth that a person lives. Except for the first birthday, the effort of putting on a birthday celebration typically falls upon adult children bestowing honor and respect on their parents with special foods such as long life noodles and eggs.   Asking orphanage or LWB staff members who are already busy with taking care of the needs of many children to celebrate one child’s birthday isn’t a custom that they are familiar with. It’s one of those differences of the west that probably makes them scratch their heads and wonder why.

Furthermore, when a child enters an orphanage, everything about the child’s life, out of necessity and limited resources, becomes group oriented. Children wear orphanage clothing—not their own set of clothes from their own closet. Children eat meals served by the orphanage in group settings. Toys are for all of the children of the orphanage. To send one present for one child in an orphanage doesn’t fit the style of life an orphanage provides. Imagine sending a very special gift to just one child in any day care that you’ve ever experienced (and children in day care in the west are accustomed to going home where things are theirs and belong to only them in space that is theirs). A special toy sent to one child in a group in an orphanage would at the very least cause tension and frustration for the recipient of the gift as well as the adult care givers. Imagine also being a child who never receives an individual special present while others do. It would be easy for that child to think he or she isn’t as important or well liked. We want all of the children in our programs to feel equally valued and loved.

LWB does encourage celebrations and extra gifts for sponsored children in the form of a group gift for either a child’s class at school, foster family or group within the orphanage that a child lives with. Gifts can be inexpensive. A donation of $25 would purchase a number of items to benefit a child in any LWB program such as:

• · A healthy snack of fruit, nuts and a drink for the child and their school or orphanage mates
• · Antibiotics for children in medical care or for one of LWB’s healing homes
• · Developmental toys for a foster home or a group of children in an orphanage
• · Formula for all infants of the orphanage
• · Paper and pencils for an entire class of Mama’s Wish students

Larger donations are gladly accepted for children as well. LWB has a wish list of group gifts that can be purchased for a sponsored child’s orphanage, foster home or classroom. Gift cards can be purchased in honor of a child’s birthday and the donation sent to any program so that the funds can be directed at the most pressing need. Furthermore, Chinese New Year and Children’s Day on June 1st are commonly accepted gift giving occasions for children in China. Donations toward group gifts on those special days would bring joy to many children.

Students at Believe In Me — Jingzhou enjoy a donation of developmental toys

Love Without Boundaries was founded and lives upon the belief that every child counts on their birthday and every day of the year. With you, we celebrate a child’s maturing and growing in healthy ways. We also work hard to remember to celebrate in a way that respects the culture they live in as well as the specific home environment in which they are being raised.

Linda Mitchell is a wife and mom to four, blog contributor for Love Without Boundaries and volunteer at her kid’s school, student of School Library Media, K-1st Sunday School Teacher…..and creative writer when she can get a word in edgewise.

As the 2008-2009 academic year draws to a close, remember to thank a teacher or teachers who’ve made a positive impact on your life.

Favorites of Believe In Me: Jingzhou
Teacher Huang (pictured above)

Color: Blue
Luckiest number: 11, 18
Food: Pepper
Flower: Blue Enchantress
Scent: Mint
Season: Summer
School Memory: Students playing outside happily

13 year old JZ, student

Color: Red
Luckiest number: 28
Food: Kentucky Fried Chicken*
Flower: Chrysanthemum
Scent: Pears
Season: Summer
School Memory: Greeting my teacher every day and learning Chinese characters.

JZ, from Believe In Me: Jinzhou is thankful for the teacher and school that LWB sponsors and donors have made possible for him to attend every day. Love Without Boundaries Education gift cards are available at: http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/lwbshop/Detail?no=92
And for high school and college students: http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/lwbshop/Detail?no=106

*JZ’s favorite food is thanks to a generous sponsor that provided the opportunity for his class to enjoy a field trip outside of the walls of his orphanage where he learned about life in the society that he is growing up and into. Thanks again and again, LWB supporters!

Linda Mitchell is a wife and mom to four, Associate Director of Education for Love Without Boundaries, volunteer at her kid’s school, student of School Library Media, K-1st Sunday School Teacher…..and creative writer when she can get a word in edgewise.