Day 5, May 19th

Hello from Zhanjiang!

This is Vickie writing today's journal, so if I repeat anything Val has already said, I apologize in advance.

This trip has been amazing on so many levels. The team of professionals we brought along are simply amazing. They each bring such a high level of expertise in their individual fields, but their hearts are all the same. Each of them have such a love for children and a deep desire to help those with special needs. At the end of each day we meet together as a team and they talk about each child and their individual needs. We've had the opportunity to meet with every child on the "little kids" floor of the orphanage and have started to learn not only about their special needs, but about their personalities and who they are as a person. On the first day we arrived, many of the children were very shy and withdrawn and like an onion, we've peeled away layer after layer to discover the little person that exists inside of each of them. Now when we arrive in the mornings the children come running down the hallway towards us and grab our hands, dragging us into the classroom ready to start their day with us.

This morning the team finished up with the last of the evaluations on the children. Each of the children was seen by our medical team for vision, hearing and a basic medical checkup. They also met with our therapist for a PT and OT evaluation, and of our intervention specialist for their education assessment. We now have a better understanding what the needs are that need to be met for these children and what we need to do in order to meet these needs.

After lunch we went back to the orphanage and set up organized group play stations. We had a station for Legos, one for fine motors skills (stringing beads and sewing boards), one for coloring and one for large muscle with games of hop scotch, and various other outdoor games. For me it was the highlight of the week so far. To watch the children play in a group setting--the giggles, the smiles, and especially watching the children learn how to share, take turns and just have the opportunity to play like normal children.

After we were finished we had fun making a game out of picking up the toys and cleaning the room. ZKO hosted the directors and the SWI office staff to dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner I thanked Director Su and Ms. Yi for welcoming us back to Zhanjiang and for allowing our team the opportunity to work with their children this week. I conveyed our thanks for not only their business relationship with ZKO, but also for the friendships which have been developed over the years. I expressed ZKO's continued commitment to work beside them in an effort to do everything we can to help the children in the Zhanjiang orphanage. I emphasized the wonderful care the Open Arms Aunties give to the babies in the program and how important this program has been to help the babies adjust to their families once they are adopted. Director Su then addressed our team with his thanks for our hard work this week and our continued efforts in the future. He then told us that we were "angels to the children." For those of you who have never had the privilege of meeting Director Su in person, I cannot say enough good things about him. He truly has a heart for the children in Zhanjiang's orphanage and works very hard to do everything he can to see they are provided for.

Our team is planning on taking the morning off from the orphanage and will spend time talking about each child and their file of assessments. We'll return to the orphanage tomorrow afternoon to spend more time with the children in organized group play. I can hardly wait to see all of them again!

I hope everyone has enjoyed following along this week. Many thanks to everyone who has dropped us a line. Your support and words of encouragement mean so much to us.

Photos from Day 5 may be viewed here.

Vickie