Anhui PT Camp a Huge Success
LWB just finished up another wonderful PT camp, this time held in Anhui province. We are so grateful to the wonderful PT and OT volunteers who traveled to China to work with the kids. Our team started in the city of Hefei, evaluating children before traveling on to Huainan. After seeing several children there, it was time to head to the city of Fuyang, for the start of the official camp.
The team met with the orphanage director and his staff and were impressed with their dedication to helping the children entrusted to their care. The staff noted that they had 100 children that they would like to be seen during the weeklong camp, and the team immediately started to work. They were first met by 20 babies and their nannies in the therapy room. Most of the children were between birth and three years of age, and the majority were diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). The team felt that many would benefit from ongoing therapy and showed excellent potential for improvement.
Throughout the week, our volunteer team provided education and training for the caregivers so that they could continue to do exercises with the children to help them improve. The days went by quickly as the team worked long hours to make sure every child was seen.
The last day of the camp was one of many smiles, even though our volunteers hated to say goodbye. One volunteer (EB) wrote the following:
“The orphanage staff and foster moms showered us with praise and gifts, which we tried to reciprocate. I was truly touched by their kindness and service to us during this week. Joyce and I both felt very welcomed and taken care of while we were here, not to mention that they fed us like queens the entire week. I believe we each touched each other’s lives and encouraged one another to keep working on the behalf of the children. We were also fortunate enough to visit several foster families in the afternoon. It was wonderful to see these kids with families and getting more one-on-one attention and TLC. “Precious” is the best description of the kids we interacted with this week. Joyce and I fought many times over which child we would like to take home with us. For those reading this who have adopted, I have to say you have been given a gift and a blessing from above. Thank you everyone who has thought of us during this week. We wish you could have been here with us to share in it. Goodbye from China and many blessings to you all!”
