LWB Community

By LWB
On July 1st, 2018

Meet Liv from LWB Foster Care

Baby Liv is from the beautiful province of Guizhou, a mountainous part of China which is home to many Miao and Dong ethnic minority groups.

Born with the special need of albinism, an inherited condition which greatly reduces the amount of melanin produced in the skin, hair, and eyes, Liv was taken to live at a small local orphanage.  Soon after, she became part of LWB’s foster care program and immediately stole our hearts.

In many countries around the world, including China, albinism is often seen as a sign of bad luck, and children with this condition are often ostracized in their local communities. That certainly isn’t the case for little Liv, who quickly became the apple of her foster parents’ eyes.  Her mom would take her to the local markets and soon discovered Liv’s love of music, and her dad would read to her at night when he came home from work.

Liv’s foster parents are part of the Miao ethnic minority group, and over the last year we have loved seeing how the entire village accepted and embraced this beautiful little girl.

Liv rocking her traditional Miao shirt and sunglasses to protect her light eyes

This month was a very special one for Liv, as she celebrated her first birthday. Her foster family was determined to make it a day for their village to remember. Many friends were invited and brought their children to play and to celebrate the occasion.

Most of the women dressed in traditional Chinese dress and sang and danced to celebrate Liv turning one. There was cake and fruit, and many photos and videos were taken to remember the day.

We have heard the wonderful news that Liv may be adopted in the near future. We are just so grateful to everyone who supports our foster care program in China, as when that day comes we can tell her new family that their child didn’t spend her first year lying in an orphanage crib. Instead she was a cherished member of her Miao village, knowing community, music, and most importantly….love.

Considering adoption and want to learn more about the special need of albinism?  Here are several links to explore.

Adopting the Waiting Child Video – Albinism

Blog on Albinism by No Hands But Ours

RainbowKids webpage for Albinism

 

 

 

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  • LWB says:
    July 3, 2018 at 1:09 pm

    Ellisa, currently in China there is no national policy where a family can “foster to adopt.” While China is working to centralize its domestic adoption policy, in most areas it is still up to each town’s government offices to decide which families get precedence in adopting a child. In Liv’s case, it is not an option for the foster families to legally adopt a child in their care. We’ve been supporting foster care in China for 14 years now and only know of a handful of foster families who were successful. Rules certainly change all the time though, so perhaps someday we will see it become more of a possibility. There is actually one city we know of where as they hire new foster families they are encouraging domestic adoption of the children in their care.

  • Ellisa McEuen says:
    July 3, 2018 at 8:58 am

    We’re in the middle of an adoption from China, so I do see the need and am for it. I’m just curious as to why in situations like this can the children not stay in China…when they are in a family in China that cherishes them…and a village that cherishes them?? This is in no disrespect to the family adopting her. I’m just curious as to if there are rules that keep this from happening. Thanks.

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