The Home of Hope Family Grows
On July 3rd, a man showed up with two little boys. He told us how only last month these two lost both mother and father to a head on collision. The family in general is not able to care for these two children since on the Paternal side of the family there is no one left. According to the custom in China, only the paternal side of the family has an obligation to help remaining family members and only if the maternal side of the family is willing to care for orphaned children, do they do so. In this case the maternal family was not so they heard about the Home of Hope and turned to us for help and we started our normal investigation into the true facts of the children’s situation. The little boys are (left) Li Hai Di and (right) Li Meng Di.
After our investigation was over and the boys had completed their medical check-ups, we signed agreements with their remaining relatives and the village where they came from regarding transferring guardianship over to the Home of Hope.
Some of you not so familiar with our situation here may wonder why we do such an extensive investigation. The reason is, unlike the abandoned babies, many times when people bring children to us with a sad story regarding the child the facts are simply not true. There are many people living in the mountains around us who feel the Home of Hope can offer their children a better life than they can themselves so they want to place their child in the Home of Hope. Over time, word of mouth has made it common knowledge regarding our requirements for children entering the Home of Hope, i.e., truly orphaned or abandoned so often they come with a story tailored to fit our requirements. Consequently we thoroughly investigate each case before the child is accepted.
We gave Li Hai Di the English name “Bruce“.
As is typical in situations like this, he has been in fights with other boys in his dorm every day. It seems they always need to establish their position in the group but he is quickly learning that fighting is not tolerated at the Home of Hope. Bruce is a little hard to pronounce for him so he says it frequently.
Li Meng Di has the English name “Wayne”
People often write and ask us why we give our children English names. Primarily it is because they want them. Almost every Chinese student when reaching High School and especially college takes on an English name. In reality, both boys are settling in nicely.
Of course, the arrival of each new child adds to the operational cost of the Home of Hope. If any of our readers would like to participate in the lives and future of the Home of Hope children you can make donations either by check or credit card. Instructions on how to do this can be found at the bottom of each page of the Home of Hope website. Whether you help financially or not we ask you to pray for the Home of Hope and our children.
Posted: July 4th, 2007 under Uncategorized.