Getting to Know You

Cindy Wu, our nutrition director in China, has been getting to know a LOT of children in the past few months! Right now she is on the road in Anhui, visiting our programs there. Just a few weeks ago she visited the Jinjiang orphanage in Fujian, where we provide supplemental formula to around 70 infants and toddlers. Even with all those children to meet, photograph, weigh and measure, Cindy and local manager, Daphne, were also able to share stories about their precious personalities.


Regarding the little girl in red and white, Cindy writes, “She is a curious girl. They were having dinner when we walked into the room. She stared at us even when she turned around to take food from the nanny. She looked at Daphne and me with eyes widely opened and her mouth still full with rice. When we were ready to leave, she waved bye-bye and even came over to the door to see us off.” It is wonderful to see this little angel looking so healthy!


This angelic-looking child is "a naughty girl with strong personality. Min was crying when I walked into the room. I held her up and asked her what make her cry so loud. The nanny told me that Min is very naughty, she likes to wear nanny’s shoes and walk around. The nanny told her not to do it because she didn’t want Min to fell down with the big shoes. That made her upset and she started to cry. You can see Min was happy again because she got the big shoes anyway!"


"Ya is a little beauty. She was a premature baby when she was sent to the orphanage. The nanny said actually she is very healthy now. She has very good personality and she always has a sweet smile on her face. She is the little princess of the nannies. They all love her!"

It is a great treat for our nutrition team to receive these reports. As we read about the children in our programs, we begin to feel a special connection to them. You should hear the cheering when we learn that one of "our babies" has come home to a family of their own!

(Note: The names of the children have been changed to protect their privacy.)

Believe in Me V!

Believe In Me V is soon to celebrate its opening! The government of Jinjiang, Fujian is building a beautiful new orphanage to replace the older one which has a history of 160 years. The older orphanage is in the city, with no space for the kids to run and play, and we are so excited to be able to partner with this city to open up our fifth Believe in Me School. Our BIM V will have two bright classrooms in which to hold classes for twenty-four children. Photos of the children in need of sponsorship are now posted on our website under Education. These children can be found by the E-JJ (Jinjiang, of course!) We can’t wait to hear the sound of children learning and playing in their wonderful new surroundings. Stay tuned for more news on this school and the wonderful children who will be attending.


Marilee Gilmore

Coordinator of Believe In Me V, Jinjiang, Fujian Province
Love Without Boundaries
"Every Child Counts"

A visit to JinJiang

Fujian province:

Following the special needs manual training, we were able to visit the main orphanage in Jinjiang. It has a history of 160 years. It was explained to us that most people don't even know that the orphanage is there as there is just a simple door in the middle of a busy street that leads up the steps to the orphanage floors.

As we entered the orphanage, we were met by over a dozen beautiful children with medical needs, who eagerly called out "hello!" and who held out their arms to be held. We had time to offer them a quick snack of little cakes and to play peek-a-boo, and then we began checking on all the children LWB has sponsored for medical children here.

The list was long, and it was so great to be able to see the beautiful children who once had heart disease or cleft now looking so much more healthy. One darling little girl that we helped with cataract surgery had on her new glasses, and the babies who had come to our cleft mission in Anhui last year were looking oh so cute.

We also got to meet the children who will be attending our new Believe in Me school, which is just in its beginning stages. These great kids have never attended school before, and they are so excited by the idea of finally getting a chance to go. We learned that one of the older boys is a great singer, and it was so wonderful to think of him getting a chance to have music class in the future. We were all so excited thinking about coming back on a return trip one day and hearing the stories of what they have learned.

Following our visit, we went to the construction site of the new orphanage. It was absolutely amazing...with so many great details which will improve the lives of the children. The baby rooms have wonderful picture windows and a balcony so that the babies will be able to sit outside for fresh air. The rooms we are being given for our school are large and bright, with a big bathroom and nice rooms for bunkbeds. It was easy to picture them in the future, with colorful murals and school tables and chairs. Our one concern was that people might look at the fancy building and think the children don't need any additional outside help. While the building itself is wonderful and is so very needed, support will still be required for the actual programs inside. The orphanage is so grateful for our upcoming help with setting up a school, as they have never done anything like that before. They are in the process of hiring teachers whom we will send to Beijing for Montessori training, and they asked for any and all advice on ways to improve the lives of the older kids with medical needs. Stay tuned for much more news on this important new educational program. We all know it is going to bring so much joy to some very special kids.

Making Friends in Fujian

This is the final post for the the most recent travelers to China on behalf of LWB:

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Our trip from Lian Cheng to Zhangzhou took about 4-1/2 hours, and was really a beautiful drive along a river with views of the mountains. When we arrived in Zhangzhou we took a quick lunch break at McDonald’s. Our driver really likes McDonalds! The staff from Zhangzhou met us there and led us to the SWI. Zhangzhou is an orphanage with about 38 children living onsite, and another 19 in Foster Care. They took us up the stairs to the baby/toddler room where we were greeted by about a dozen chubby-faced babies. The babies were for the most part seated in little wicker chairs, one strolled about in a walker, and another toddler roamed about playing with a few toys. The director was quick to engage the children and play with them, and the children all responded. But the babies were a little more frightened of the strangers that had entered the room! It took a little while, but they finally warmed up to us!

We received a brief tour of the sleeping rooms – nice wooden floors with about 8 cribs per room, and a bed for the auntie to sleep on. We were told the older children were at school, but when they return at the end of the day they like to come and play with the younger kids.

They have one really large room where they do most of the caring for the children, and all of us who visited could envision a nice little toddler play area where the children could get out of the chairs and crawl and play. Wouldn't an indoor play area be perfect here?The director also expressed a desire for an incubator, where they could keep new babies warm. They currently use hot water bottles to keep the small new arrivals comfortable in the chilly temperatures.

From this city, we had to move on quickly as Tracie was catching a flight out of Xiamen that evening. Xiamen was about another hour away, and is an absolutely beautiful island of a city right on the coastline. Again, as we drove into the city we could see fireworks going off in different parts of the city. The traffic across the bridge to get to Xiamen was definitely a big groan from our driver, however!

The next morning we headed off to Jinjiang where we had almost 20 medical kids to check on and take photos of for their sponsors. It was another hour and a half from Xiamen – did anyone mention that we did a lot of driving on this trip?

This orphanage is in the middle of a busy city street, and you don’t really even see it when you drive up. The van dropped us off at this little doorway, kind of like an alley, and we went through the walkway and up several flights of stairs. The next thing we knew we were in a nice conference room where we briefly met with Fujian Civil Affairs, the local Civil Affairs official, and the orphanage director. Tingting explained we needed to get medical updates, so off we went to the baby rooms. We unfortunately arrived in the middle of naptime, so we quietly tiptoed in and out of baby rooms where we were able to photograph the children, some sleeping, some lying very quietly still. All of the children had chubby cheeks and were warmly bundled against the chilly air that seemed to follow us all over Fujian. When we found babies that were awake, we quietly talked to them and told them how special they are!

Our visit to Fujian Province was so wonderful. Our experienced driver took such great care of us and kept us laughing most of the way. We were warmly welcomed by everyone we met, and we will never forget the beautiful babies and children we met while we were there!

Nancy Delpha
Assoc. Director of Operations