LWB Community Blog

It is with great excitement that we announce the opening of our newest foster care program in Datong, China. Located in northern Shanxi province, Datong borders Inner Mongolia and is very cold in these winter months. The Datong orphanage has one of the oldest foster care programs in China. So why is LWB now getting involved?  Under their current model, children are often moved multiple times as babies, frequently returning to orphanage care around age 2.  Under the agreement that we have signed, the babies placed in LWB foster care will remain with their foster families until adoption. The importance of infant bonding with a primary caregiver cannot be overstated, and we are excited to work with the Datong orphanage on a program to encourage uninterrupted family care.

LWB has been providing foster care to orphaned children in Changzhi, Shanxi since 2011.

Over the years we have celebrated the developmental progress the children have made when placed into home care, and we’d love to introduce you to some of the children currently being served in this program, thanks to your support. Read more.

This past weekend, four adorable kids from the Datong orphanage in Shanxi province began a long journey to finally receive life-changing cleft surgery. First came a five-hour bus ride to Beijing, followed by a five-hour train ride to Shanghai.  Because we want every child to get the best repair possible, we arranged for them to be seen by a wonderful surgeon at Fudan University.  We thought the children and their caregivers would be exhausted, but they were pretty happy when our China manager met up with them. We would like you to meet these brave travelers:

Libby

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During our Cleft Medical Exchange in April, we were honored to be able to help Charlie, a little boy from an orphanage in Shanxi province. Charlie was the first child that this orphanage had ever entrusted to our care, and we of course were thrilled to be able to provide him with surgery to repair his unilateral cleft lip. What a difference it made for him!

Charlie returned to his orphanage following his time in the hospital in Henan. His orphanage was very pleased with his repair and recently asked us if we could help seven other children also receive cleft repair surgeries. Read more.

Mikel is a handsome eight-year-old boy who attends LWB’s Believe in Me school inside his orphanage in Shanxi Province. Our teachers absolutely love him and say he is a very well behaved little boy who listens well in class and always wants to finish his projects. Read more.

While we wish we could post the photo of every child we helped in 2012, we hope you will enjoy this much shorter snapshot of some of the joys of this last year!

In January, we celebrated our Unity Fund, which works to heal poor, rural children so that families can stay together.  HeQing’s father had no financial means to heal his precious daughter’s heart, and we are so grateful to our donors who gave her this second chance at a healthy life.  As you can see, her smile absolutely lit up the hospital ward! Read more.

When some people enter a room, their positive energy can transform it into a happier place.  Seven-year-old Victoria seems to have this energy in spades!  As a student in LWB’s Believe in Me school in Shanxi Province, she shines. Read more.

Have you ever seen such a proud face?

Francesco is eight years old and participates in LWB’s Education Program in Shanxi. This summer he had a memorable time going to Bayi Square and performing on stage with his classmates for the first time. Read more.

In April all six of the babies in the Henan Healing Home had successful cleft lip repair surgery during LWB’s 2012 Cleft Exchange trip held at the Kaifeng Children’s Hospital. These babies have all healed and graduated to foster care programs. With the discharge of these babies, new babies have entered the home to receive the devoted care of the nannies and nutritious formula in special bottles designed for babies with cleft. This cycle of nurture and healing continues to help more babies born with cleft lip and palate gain health and healing.
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When people come together to help, wonderful things happen!

We have always loved this sentence as we have witnessed it many times. A few years ago, four friends formed Love Without Boundaries Spain. Our task was then relatively easy as we translated the wonderful work our friends in the USA were doing and then tried to reach more Spanish-speaking people in the world who were connected with Chinese orphans. Spain adopts more Chinese orphans than any other country in the world after the United States, so it seemed logical to spread the word about our favorite organization. Read more.