All these children dream of a family and home of their own
I was fortunate to meet a group of incredible children on my last trip to China and Taiwan. They are all just waiting for a family to call their own.
Miao Miao, age 5, is a sweet girl who is wearing an orange sweater. She had a small mark on her forehead at birth which has faded. She is a little shy and quiet. She enjoys running games and really likes to play in a ride on toy car that moves forward as you twist. She has been living in foster care for three years. She is in kindergarten and enjoys school.
Da Da, age 8, was a sweet, confident, handsome boy who has been living in foster care for almost 5 years. He has a slightly wet sound to his speech and a shortened uvula. He is in his second year of school and achieves high grades, especially in English. He was a funny boy with a good sense of humor. He told me he likes chasing games and transformers. He did not like Asian poems he has to recite and memorize in school and then he recited one shook his head and said see. He was looking for my agreement about how terrible the poem was.
Pin Pin, age 7, is a sweet boy who came right from school to meet with me. He wore his green school uniform and was very handsome with a big smile. He had surgery for gastrochesis as a child but has no trouble with his stomach now. He is in first grade and told me that English and math were his least favorite subjects. I asked him to draw a picture and he drew a police car and described it to me as he drew.
You You, age 7, came from school in a bright yellow uniform. He has a deformity of his (R) hand and thumb. He spoke confidently and described what he could and could not do with his hand. He could use this hand to assist and pinch objects between his middle and ring finger to hold them. He was able to string beads and play with blocks. He gets top scores in his classes at school. He drew me a picture of a tower and then drew fruit in the tower. He asked me what it looked like to see if I could guess correctly. A smart, sweet, confident boy.
Xun Xun, age 4, lives in the orphanage and has a spinal deformity. When he speaks, he uses simple, two word sentences. He can also count 1 – 10. There has been a question of possible strabismus as well. When given a crayon he was able to scribble on paper. He was also able to put on his shoes and preferred to keep his shoes on when not leave the playing on a mat. He was able to throw the ball but did not catch.
Qing Qing, age 4, is a pretty girl who has congenital hip dislocation and bilateral club feet. She has had surgery for both. She walked stiffly with a little waddle and had trouble sitting down on the play mat. She takes care of all her own self care activities and attends preschool in the orphanage. She likes to look pretty, likes having her hair done and is attached to her caregivers. Her caregivers told me she was a good observer and liked new things. She sang a song for me.
And I met these two remarkable boys in Taiwan:
Hong Hong, age 10, is a sweet boy who had on a red checked shirt. He had just come back from School when I met him. He is very well coordinated and his favorite thing in School is Gymnastics. He drew a beautiful picture for me with animee- like characters. He wrote some English words for me. His caregiver says he dislikes cleaning up and likes to play pillow fights with the three other boys in his room. He is a sweet boy whose eyes just sparkled.
Fan Fan is a sweet 8 year old boy who followed all my directions. When I asked him to draw a picture he had trouble getting started. When he spoke he used a very soft voice but caregiver told me he speaks more loudly with his friends. He is in a room with three other boys. He makes friends easily. His favorite color is blue and he loves to watch cartoons. He is a handsome boy who loves to play.
