2014 Hangzhou Calendar

Red Thread Charities has received a surprise shipment of a box filled with copies of the Hangzhou CWI annual calendar!!!  We are thrilled and delighted!  It is packed with wonderful photos of the children who live at the orphanage!  The designer divided the months of the year in two pages per month so there are 26 pages.  It comes folded up in a neat box that measures 6"x12" and then folds out into desktop calendar.  It is rather bulky and a little pricey to mail but we would like to send some out to those who want them.  If you would like a calendar, just go to our website at www.redthreadcharities.org and click on the donate link.  Donate $10 (or more!) to help with shipping.  We will then ship you a really fun calendar!  We are hoping we might get a few extra dollars as donations to put towards supplies that the orphanage needs.  If you are interested, act quickly, as supplies are limited.

Thank You Donors!

As all parents know, it is one of the most beautiful milestones when a child takes his first steps. For us the experience was no less dramatic even if it happened 12 years later than average. We first met our young friend a year ago when we started working with another orphanage in China. Our friend has Cerebral Palsy, a neurologic disorder and that makes it extremely difficult to control her muscles and limbs. She is really smart, even though she has had no schooling. We just couldn't get her out of our minds remembering how she just sat in a chair all day trying to practice Chinese characters in a little paper book. We thought it might be good to show the therapists at the orphanage how a child like this might be helped using a specialized gait trainer. It's a little more involved that a standard reverse walker as there is adjustable supports in key areas in the frame.  Our PT, Susan from U of M has had great success with children here in the US. So we put out a plea for donations. We were so happy when we finally raised enough money to purchase the gait trainer. The Rifton company gave us a charitable discount as well! Vivian found out her favorite color so of course we ordered one in pink! We hauled that gigantic box to the airport and then the bus to Hanghou, and then the bus to Ningbo. As Susan wheeled the gait trainer in and told our little friend she was going to help her walk, her eyes got wide and she smiled from ear to ear. It was like getting a brand new bike for Christmas!  No, maybe a brand new convertible! And guess what. She walked immediately. All around the room. She intuitively steered her new ride wherever she wanted to go. Yeah, not a dry eye in the house. Plus it matches her shoes.

We are sure having fun with the kids in China. It was wonderful to see our little friends on our stopover in Hangzhou. I guess they are getting pretty used to a cameras because here is a budding photographer who also wanted to take a picture of one of his little friends.

This past May, I went with a small group of therapists to an orphanage that was referred to us for help by Hangzhou SWI.   We are frequently moved to tears by the plight of some of the children we see in these institutions, as we were this time.  Several children just radiated their extremely dire need for some simple things.

         The one I’m writing this about is a charming little 12 year old girl who has Cerebral Palsy. Unfortunately, she has received no treatment at all in all this time.  She gets around by scooting in a small plastic child’s chair.   While she is cognitively normal, she has not received ANY schooling because of her lack of mobility. She clearly wants to learn as she practices Chinese characters all day in a little paper book.  

         She desperately needs a gait trainer, a device that will allow her to learn to walk. Our therapist is sure that this little girl will be able to walk with one. A gait trainer costs $2700. We want to buy one to deliver on the medical trip this October, and train the staff on its use with this child. Then we will strongly encourage them to put her in school.  Just think of how her life will change! Right now she has only her plastic chair to scoot with, and no schooling. She basically does nothing new all day, every day.  Our hope is that when the staff learns how to use the gait trainer, they will be able to help other children with the same condition.

         We really hope you will help.  You may donate on our web site, www.redthreadcharities.org, or by check sent to Red Thread Charities, 6632 West Shore Drive, Edina, MN 55345.

         Thank you so very much for helping this child!

                                                      

The Fine Arts are Alive and Well in Chinese Orphanages

As we have said before…we have finished our commitment with one orphanage and have started work at an orphanage a couple hours away.   But it’s really hard to leave our good friends at HZ. They have requested that we keep coming back if only for a day or so to check in and see some kids.   Well, how can we resist?  We love staying at the orphanage dorms and waking up to the familiar sounds.  We love that they always have several adorable kids lined up waiting to be ‘interviewed’ by us.  The privilege of being greeted by the most charming children imaginable is irresistible.  Children that wish to be adopted and would fit in so well in families here in the US..  And they are artists!  Their creativity has been developed in amazing ways. 

The kids sing and dance in solos, duets and groups.. They confidently recite Chinese poetry… and they draw…Wow, do they draw!  One child we saw drew what he explained as a children’s outing, complete with the bus, the traffic jam, the lines of children with two adults and the happy tree that wore a smile because the children did not pick the origami flowers, which he carefully glued onto the tree.  Other children drew happy houses and suns in the sky. 

Another child drew a scary monster!  Lot’s of kids love to draw people... and umbrellas!  A little boy with Down syndrome quickly traced his hand so he could run to the front of the class and have me photograph him.  So cute!  The fine arts are a huge part of the Chinese culture and one that we hope adoptive parents will continue to embrace and encourage. We are so happy that the staff became inspired after visiting centers in the US in 2011 that they have fully embraced the concept of inclusion!  Children who were previously left behind are now being included in the classrooms and the arts programs.  And the staff have realized that the children accept each and every one unconditionally.  Well of course they do.  That is a pretty cool concept.  I’m so glad we are all on the same page. 

Our new kids...they need you

Red Thread Charities needs you to give to the max.  Your donation of $50 will help so many children.  Our group has started with a new orphanage 2 hours away from Hangzhou.  They really need us.  The children aren't smiling yet.  The staff doesn't think they are able to smile.  We proved them wrong on our initial trip when we were able to get the children who don't smile to laugh.  Belly laugh!  Please give.  And consider a trip with us if you are a pediatric therapist!  The children are waiting.  This is what your donation will be used for:  

• ·      Therapy balls
• ·      Reverse walkers
• ·      Cleft Lip and Palate nursers
• ·      Finger cots for oral motor use
• ·      Beautiful board books written in Mandarin
• ·      Cause/ Effect toys
• ·      Musical toys
• ·      Headphones for music therapy
• ·      Sensory brushes
• ·      Therapy putty
• ·      And the list goes on…

Give here at www.redthreadcharities.org/  I feel so strongly about this that I will send you a small Chinese prize if you donate and send me an email.  It might be a silk purse, a cute chinese notebook, a small porcelain tea set... wonderful little things that Cheryl and I went crazy shopping for!  Any amount is wonderful and I would be honored if you sent me an email telling me that you donated.  Let me, Jane Steinmetz,  know at bamboobaby5@mac.com and I would love to send you a sweet prize guaranteed to be made in China.  This little guy is a waiting child but he is happy and living the good life thanks to RTC.  If he is not adopted he will go to work somewhere in China.  He won't go to college but he will still be a happy guy thanks to RTC.  At some point we have to say goodbye.  He needs a family to help him be the little man he can be!  Is it you?   All of our adoptive families have never looked back.      

Beethoven's Minuet in G

Our 10 year old daughter Quin nearly always accompanies us when we go to work at the orphanages in China.  This morning back at home in Wisconsin, she had a very astute observation that I would like to share with you.
Quin takes piano lessons and her teacher has assigned her to learn Beethoven's Minuet in G.  She wanted her to familiarize herself with the music before the next lesson.  I googled a version on You Tube for her to listen to.  When she heard the music, she started to laugh and said, "I wonder why she wants me to learn a chinese children's song!"  I was confused and she explained...  "This is the song they play every morning for the children at Hangzhou!"  Of course!  This melody is so familiar to me that it went right over my head but Quin's only experience hearing it was when she watched the children being taken for walks every single morning at the orphanage in Hangzhou!  I told Quin what valuable information that is for parents who have just adopted a child from Hangzhou.  Playing this same music for a child is a way perhaps, to ease the transition during the adoption process, or comfort a child who has just had surgery.  I also explained to her that it might have the opposite affect and cause anxiety.  But I do know for sure that when those kids hear this song with their new families from the US, or Europe they won't be hearing a classical piece written by a famous german composer.  They'll be hearing this sweet chinese children's song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f00pkoMnYPc

Parting Shot from Hangzhou

Well, we are 'officially' finished with our work at Hangzhou.  Our closing meeting went well and Directors Zhang (in pink), Li,(in pink) and Song (in black) had tears in their eyes when they hugged us goodbye.  (Yes, people in China do hug. You can't work with Americans without learning that cultural skill.)  They made us promise to come back each year for two days to see the newcomers.

We are set to begin work at NingboChildren's Welfare Institute, two hours away by bus.  The director there has been to some of our training and we were approached last October requesting our services.  And the best part is we get to bring Wang Ming and Haiyan (lower left) with us!!!

I know from the adoption community, that there were many children adopted in the last year. I know of hundreds of kids we screened in 3 years' time that are now living in happy families here in the US, the Netherlands, Canada, and Spain. It's such a heartwarming thought being lulled into believing that the numbers are decreasing.  That's why I think it's ironic that on our last trip to Hangzhou CWI, where we were asked to screen only the newcomers it was our busiest day yet. We saw 49 children, mostly infants who, for various reasons, arrived this year on the orphanage doorstep. Mostly babies, but some toddlers as well. Most of the children we saw have special needs, such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, limb deficits, and cleft lip and palate to name a few. A few newborns had no apparent special needs or resolved needs such as neonatal jaundice. 
While walking to and from the exam building, it was touching to see the school age children we have gotten to know well in the last 3 years excitedly waving and saying "hello!" in their very best English. You can't walk by a morning preschooler parade without smiling and wiping a tear away.  Life goes on... 

Really not a bad flight at all.  All the volunteers reported a surprisingly good night's sleep after a nice low keyed dinner at a local noodle shop within a short walk from the orphanage. We awaken again to all the familiar sights and sounds that we have experienced over the years...the birds singing, the staff arriving via motor scooter, the clatter of the pre-dawn wagon full of steaming formula and rice congee pulled by ladies in blue smocks. The babies from the next building over from us are just starting to make it known that it is time to get up.  There is a quiet, intermittent fussiness as one by one each child's morning needs are being met. A nice way to wake up...sort of like waves on the ocean.  It happens each day and every day, 365 days a year whether we are here or in the twin cities.  It's a safe comforting routine. 

Goodbye Hangzhou and Hello Ningbo!

Our October 2012 volunteer trip is about to begin and our 3 year commitment with Hangzhou is coming to a close.  It leaves me feeling bittersweet.  Sad because we will be seeing the children one last time but happy over the staff's growth and independence.  Since our group is all about empowerment, we will be taking a more hands off approach as we watch the Chinese therapists screen the children and make their recommendations.  We are so proud of the work the staff at Hangzhou has accomplished.  Recently I revisited all the monthly reports that they have sent us over the years.  It is so gratifying to see the level of confidence they have gained and how much they have grown professionally.  We will have a formal dinner to celebrate our collaboration and then our group will head out to a new orphanage two hours away in Ningbo, a coastal city on the South China Sea.  We have requested that one of the therapists at Hangzhou accompany us to Ningbo and join our team.  It's part of our plan for Hangzhou to 'pay it forward'.  Well this morning we heard that they will be sending not one but two of the therapists to accompany us!  Welcome RTC volunteers, Wang Ming and Hai Yan!

We're sure going to miss those cute kids who live at Hangzhou CWI.

Foster Centers

Lots of the children who belong to the orphanage live in foster homes in the surrounding area.  There are several clusters of families in the same neighborhood.  Last year, Dongnan Li set up 3 different therapy centers where the families can come daily to meet, talk and help their children.  Red Thread Charities has provided therapy equipment like therapy balls, headphones for music therapy, mats and a variety of fun toys for each center.  We toured each of the facilities and it sure looks like a big hit with all of the proud families! It was really fun to interact with the kids!

Dumplings!

Well, yesterday was an amazing experience for our school age kids, Quin, Samantha, Eloise, Paige and Jack. They got to make homemade dumplings with kids who live at the orphanage. Seriously! This was as cute as it gets! It amazes me that some of these children from the orphanage still are not matched. They are typical kids with a variety of special needs. But today they got to work as a team to chop vegetables, mix up the pork, roll out dough, use chopsticks to add the filling and make pretty symmetrical little dumplings! But kids will be kids and a it did not end without digressing into a fun and naughty food fight. Everyone had a blast!

Face to Face: A Look at Autism

Autism is a relatively new diagnosis in China.  After the Hangzhou delegation was able to tour the therapy centers in the US, they told us they had around 6-7 children at the orphanage who they suspected had Autism.  Anne Harrington, autism specialist from Mpls is one of our volunteers.  We knew she would be able to diagnose and help some families in China.  Here is what Anne demonstrated:

 A foster mother told us that her child doesn’t talk much at all., nor does he interact with others and prefers to be by himself with a single toy.  Anne asked if he ever asks for something he wants such as food.  Foster mom said, “No.  He just brings my hand to the object he wants.” Children with autism have difficulty interacting socially and prefer to focus their attention on an object rather than a person.  Often they lack  verbal abilities.  If a child with autism, for instance, wants a sucker unwrapped, he will place the sucker in the caregiver’s hand and stare at the hand rather than interact face to face. The goal is to increase social skills by enticing the child to ask for what he wants by looking into the caregiver’s eyes and even asking for the object by name. 

Anne enticed the child with a particularly visually interesting toy.  The child became fascinated with it but as soon as he put it down, Anne scooped up the toy! When the child went to look for it, she brought it up to her face with animated gestures and a huge smile.  As soon as he made eye contact, (success!) she handed the toy to him as a reward.  The next step was to up the ante.  This time when he put the toy down Anne picked it up again.  When the little guy looked for it a moment later Anne did the same gesture by bringing it up to her face… this time saying the Mandarin word for toy: “Wan ju!”  Our little guy really wanted that toy.  But Anne kept bringing it to her face saying “Wan ju!”   Finally after several rounds of this the child reached for the toy, made eye contact with Anne and said, “Wan ju.”  Huge success!!! The foster mother was amazed, but better yet, she now had a therapeutic intervention to help her child with autism.

Early Morning Sounds

This early morning I am in the orphanage "internet cafe" alone with wet hair and my computer.  I can hear the babies fussing for their formula and I'm watching the nannies going back and forth from building to building with pink and blue thermoses of formula. Birds are chirping... but it sounds different...like maybe they are chirping in Mandarin.   Every morning the routine is the same...a familiar sound day after day...year after year.  This year I am privileged to be sharing the nurse's room with my friend and colleague, Angie, an RN from River Falls.  We had a blast yesterday examining the babies and doing their measurements and vital signs.  Some of them loved us and a few really didn't like us one bit.  But of course we love them all.  -Jane Steinmetz

Volunteers Have Arrived

Our volunteer group has now arrived in Shanghai!  Some have been doing a little touring in Chengdu to see the Giant Pandas and some have just arrived. We will be seeing the sights in downtown Shanghai today in order to acclimate to the time change.  We're planning on the Shanghai Museum, the Bund and a little light shopping...and of course you can't go to Shanghai without eating dumplings.  Sunday afternoon we will head over to Hangzhou by bus and then it is a week of seeing the children and working with the staff. We can't wait to see everyone!  We are bringing 8 boxes of donations...pediatric walkers, bath chairs and positioning and seating devices!!!  Thank you to all the friends of Red Thread Charities who donated to this cause! 

Picnic in the park

 Red Thread Charities hosted a potluck picnic at a park in Mpls while our friends from China were here.  Volunteers from previous trips and new volunteers for this October's trip were here to meet and greet the ladies.  A very special surprise were the attendance of some children who had at one time lived in the care of these ladies, walking in and being immediately recognized by their former nannies.  It made more than one of us shed a tear.

Children learn through play

We sure enjoyed having our friends from Hangzhou come to MN and WI to visit therapy centers.  They got to tour Courage Center, Gillette Children's Hospital, U of M Adoption Clinic, The Therapy Place, Point of Stillness, Avanti Center and some wonderful schools.  In every facility we toured, two things were always stressed:
* Children learn through play.  
* Inclusion and mainstreaming children is best for everyone.
These are concepts that are new to China and by the end of the trip our friends really understood why we in the US incorporate these ideas into our education system.  

Question:  "Doesn't it make the child with a special need feel bad being included with typical children?"  Answer:  "I think you're mainstreaming in the orphanage without realizing it.  How do the children with no obvious special need, such as a repaired heart react to the child who who has a more visually obvious special need such as a missing limb?"  
The staff acknowledged that, "The children accept them very well." 
You see we are the same all over the world, and education is the key to helping adults realize what children instinctively know.  
Here is a photo of the ladies playing in the lycra climbing gym at Point of Stillness Therapy Center in Hudson WI.

Our friends

It has been a packed 2 weeks for our friends from Hangzhou Children's Welfare Institute.  We've just left them at the airport, boarding passes in hand after yesterday's flight cancellation because of the typhoon in Japan. Now they're on a different flight with a small stopover in Detroit and then non stop to Shanghai.  What a wonderful learning opportunity it was for all of us as we were priviledged to tour so many schools and therapy centers in our area.  I will attempt to summarize their whirlwind trip through Wisconsin and Minnesota with photos along the way.  

Thursday September 8th:

I found out recently that the UWRF and Hangzhou University have an exchange program.  Our delegation from China was able to tour the University Communicative Disorders/Regional Speech and Hearing Clinic as well as the Early Childhood Lab School.  It was great to be able to interact with the preschool children and see how creative the teachers are.  As we are always trying to find resources for the orphanage in Hangzhou it is very helpful to know that UWRF has a strong presence in China.  What a small world we live in...

Delegation from China

Our delegation from China has been here for 4 days now and the jet lag is subsiding.  Yesterday was a busy day touring Little Adventures Day Care Center in River Falls and Avanti Center in Hudson.  The team was able to observe a typical American daycare in action.  They were very intrigued with all the creative ideas and took lots of photos and lots of notes.  The afternoon was packed at Avanti Center in Hudson observing several therapy session of children with varying special needs.  The ladies are enjoying their experiences here in the US and hope to take ideas back with them to work with their children in the orphanage.