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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
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Photo Essay
Returning to Her Homeland and Giving to Her Heritage |
BLOG OF THE MONTH:
PARENT-TO-PARENT:
KIDS CORNER:
* * Calling all
Young Artists * *
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Stick
figures to masterpieces - share your child's art with Children's
Hope. Scan the art and e-mail the digital file to
Jennifer
Newcomb. |
PROGRAM
UPDATES:
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China
A Surprise for 22 Children's Hope China Families, Referrals
Received "Early" |
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Colombia
Homecomings! |
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia's First Adoptions |
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Kazakhstan
How it Works: Adopting from Kazakhstan |
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Russia
Awaiting
Re-Accreditation |
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Vietnam
Healthy
and Special Needs Referrals |
Request a
copy of our Adoption
All Guide to see which program
is right for
your family.
Help the lives of
orphans
by sponsoring a child today!
Get your church
involved
with orphan ministry.
Our Accreditations
 |
AIDS has orphaned
more than 100,000 children in Henan province, China, since the
early 1990’s, when poor farming populations sold blood plasma
for cash in a system contaminated by the HIV virus. Most of
these children are teenagers now, coming of age in orphanages
after living their early years with a family, a home, and a
future. A generation of Henan’s youth is still in shock:
suffering bitter depression and hopelessness after childhoods
ending so much differently than they had begun.
In 2006, Children’s
Hope received a grant from a donor through the Geneva Global
Foundation to develop a counseling project to help these AIDS
Orphans. The project goal is to provide emotional support,
practical life skills, and socialization to help these children
overcome their grief while building the personal strength and
abilities they will need for a positive, independent future.
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Teachers and
volunteers of the Sunlight Garden in Henan after a completed
training session. |
In its first year,
this project trained 32 skilled volunteers who provided
counseling to 199 AIDS orphans and training to the staff and
teachers who work with them every day. Children’s Hope partnered
with the Muen Family Education Center in Beijing and the Social
Welfare Department of the Henan Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau
to build a counseling program that incorporated group therapy,
games, musical and artistic activities, and individual
consultations.
The children
participated enthusiastically in every aspect of the counseling
experience—they were quick to open up their hearts and minds to
the counselors because they were literally starving for the
positive interaction and individual attention that this program
offers. Orphanage teachers and staff benefited from training
that helped them better understand many of the children’s
behaviors and the underlying psychological issues that caused
them. The training curriculum was very effective at preparing
counselors to interact with and help the orphans, and the
priceless lessons they learned during this first year will
improve this and other such programs for many years to come.
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Sunlight
Garden’s counselor working
with the AIDS orphans |
Relaxing in fellowship after sharing their sorrows. |
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Orphans shown
they are “unique” with sign language. |
Children listening to a psychologist in a group session. |
For year two of this
project, Children’s Hope is seeking additional funding to reach
300 children, lengthen the amount of time involved in the
counseling experience, add follow up services, and continue
training for orphanage staff and teachers. Children’s Hope is
deeply grateful to the donor, the Geneva Global Foundation, and
additional contributors who have given us the chance to begin
this important work.
To find out
ways you can help an orphan in need, visit
http://orphan.childrenshope.net. |
2007 Children's Hope International.
All rights reserved.