LWB Community

Before the pandemic took off around the world, our supporters helped fund heart surgeries for six children in Uganda waiting for heart surgeries that were unavailable in their country. They were accepted for surgery in India, and the families were filled with gratitude and relief that their children would have a chance for healing. Just before the families went to the embassy to request medical visas to travel to India, the borders closed, and they have been stuck in limbo waiting ever since.

He sweeps, straightens, wipes down toys, and takes out the garbage. In a home full of babies, there is much to do, and his work is vital. Essential workers. Our focus on them is sharper right now, isn’t it? COVID-19 has renewed our gratitude for those who provide the basic services that our world needs. We have a stronger grasp on how life would slow to a stop without the services they provide. And for a home full of vulnerable children in Uganda, there are many essential workers. Victor is the custodian at the Mukono Baby Home, a healing home which is supported in part by Love Without Boundaries.

This week, LWB launched an Emergency Food Relief drive in response to the COVID-19 crisis around the world, as so many children in the locations where we work are going hungry. The situation has become critical for many severely impoverished families, who even before the pandemic were only just surviving as day laborers. Now under lock-down orders, these vulnerable families have no ability to purchase food for their children.

During the time of the coronavirus, many of us are just getting used to what it means to be sheltering in place. If you scroll through a Facebook feed, you’ll see lots of humorous memes from frazzled parents, adjusting to being home 24/7 with their kids. Well, our China Healing Home nannies are definitely pros by now, as they’ve been on complete lock-down since January 26th. That means they are now on Day 74 of watching over the orphaned children in our care – without getting a single break.

As schools throughout the United States shift to remote learning in the wake of COVID-19, teachers and parents have had to find creative ways to engage and educate school children who can no longer be in the classroom. It has been no different for the nannies and caregivers in the Huainan orphanage. Since the children could not return to school after the winter break, their caregivers have been working hard to provide different learning opportunities within the orphanage. In late February, we were asked if we could help purchase an assortment of activity books to help create more variety and stimulation. Of course, we said yes, and the children were so excited when the books arrived.

This winter, we were called by orphanages asking for help with two tiny boys, both of whom were orphaned at birth: Elgin and Ryder. Both Elgin and Ryder were hospitalized and have made great progress in their healing. Under normal circumstances, they would be ready to discharge to the specialized care of our China Healing Home. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus outbreak has caused both the PT center where our healing home is located and their home orphanages to be sealed and quarantined. No one has permission to leave or enter the facilities at the moment, so for now, the safest option for these two fragile babies is to stay right where they are — in the hospital.

If you’ve turned on your TV at all these last few weeks, you’ve seen it. We all have. The news of this new coronavirus and the numbers of those now sick growing higher every single day has filled all of our hearts and minds these last few weeks. China is home to so many we love: our Unity families, the doctors with whom we partner, our sweet healing home babies, and our friends. Our hearts go out to them all as they stand together to weather this storm.