China, the sleeping dragon, is now awake, and every day
here in Beijing, I live with the busy-ness and constant improvements
in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Exciting as it is to be
where this dynamic economy is heading, it also brings disturbing
sadness when we look at the other side of the picture - particularly
the social welfare system.
The Beijing International Committee for Chinese Orphans (BICCO)
tries to do what can be done to make life better for orphaned
children, most of whom have medical problems ranging from cleft
palates to severe cerebral palsy. Volunteer doctors come in on
missions to do surgery and homes are maintained for those severely
disabled but continuous care for these children is nowhere to
be found.
Because there is no training available for caregivers here, the
children don't get any physical care or therapy. Because there
are no trained caregivers, the children don't get any mental stimulation.
Yet I am sitting on a resource that is badly needed here in China
-our Caregiver training program which we use in our schools in
the Philippines. But our curriculum is only brought to life by
trainers who can model and teach the principles of caregiving.
For this to happen, we need financial assistance to mobilize
our trainers to come to China. The goal is to train a group of
caregivers who will not only care for children but will also train
other caregivers here with our donated curriculum. The financial
help are for two groups: a) for 4 Filipino trainers - meager wage,
airfare, housing, and meals for 6 months and b) for 60 caregiver-trainees
-housing, meals and small allowance. We have donors who will donate
classroom facilities but we will still need some equipment to
use for training. Translators will be local volunteers who will
also ensure the continuity of the training after our foreign trainers
leave thus guaranteeing the continuity of quality caregiving to
disabled orphaned children in China.
For more information,
please contact Roxanne Ang, President & CEO of Global Education
in Tourism Ltd and currently based in Beijing. Email: rang@ahla-ei-nchina.com,
office 8610-8511-8578, 6512-1860.