More arrivals

Cris our first arrival is slowly settling in and getting used to the new routine. She is still very clingy, but improving every day.

Tonight we received 3 more children after 9pm, who had flown down from the North. There is 2 month old with bilateral clubfoot, a 3 year old girl with one clubfoot, and a little boy who doesn't have clubfoot but other issues with his feet, so we will get advice for treatment for him.

They settled in well, playing with toys, then having a nice bath and milk so they felt fresh and had full tummies, before crashing into bed after their long day of travel and changes.

Open!

Today we officially opened the doors for the Club Foot Unit. The staff were ready and keen to get started. Our first little girl arrived at 8am, after an all night train trip. She was upset and disorientated, but received ample amounts of love, care and attention!

We had been promised that our diapers which were on urgent order would arrive on the 22 June. To our amazement they did! We are really impressed with the quality of the diapers and more so by the price. The Chinese company gave us a special price, as they wanted to do something to help the children.

Ready to Open!

After weeks of cleaning, sorting, labelling, remodelling and lot's of sweat - it's very hot here - we are ready to open on Monday morning 22 June. Our first child will arrive early that morning, after travelling all night on the train and the others will arrive gradually over the next couple of weeks.

We have hired 10 staff as Carers and they underwent their training last Thursday and Friday, so they are ready to start their shifts on Monday morning. Their uniform is the same style of apron as the staff in the other units, but a different pattern to distinguish the units from each other.

We are really pleased with how the rooms have come together and we are grateful to all those who have donated funding or items to make this unit happen.

We really look forward to seeing the children's lives change as a result of this.

Children's Day

Today was International Children's Day, which is widely celebrated in China. The teachers had worked hard in preparation for this day. The children in the CPU who attend classes, prepared drawings for an exhibition in our main entrance. They did a great job and they were very proud of their work. Then they joined the children from the orphanage on the main courtyard, and participated as best they could in games, before being given treats to take home.

For a number of the weeks, the children have been practicing reading short stories and poems to read aloud. We all gathered in the Dayroom, for the children to perform their readings which were done very well, and concluded with a group song.

Each child received a book as a gift after the performance. Lunch and naptime came soon after, when most of the children took the opportunity to get into their books.

Jacob's Birthday

Jacob celebrated his 7th birthday last week. He was nearly jumping out of his wheelchair with excitement as he waited for his gifts and cake. Landon is quite experienced at birthdays now, so he tried to give him a hand in opening his gifts - he was quickly told to leave them alone by the other children! Jacob received a bike helmet, so he can start to learn to ride a bike, a toy car and a drink bottle which carries around with him tucked in the side of his wheelchair. He had to have a few tries to blow out the candles on his cake, before sharing it with everyone.

Progress on the Clubfoot Unit: Change Tables

The change tables are in the process of being upholstered. Plywood topped with foam and then covered in vinyl works really well. They should be completed next week.

Progess on the Clubfoot Unit: Kitchen Dayroom ready for paint

The walls were filled ready for painting which we hope will happen over the weekend, so the kitchen and the dayroom are finally coming together. The people who built the walls for us, also helped out by cleaning the windows, some of which were extremely marked with years of dirt. Then they bought fruit for all the children, they just wanted to do something extra to help.