Chunky Monkeys!

Just look at these little darlings from one of our nutrition programs, they are SO cute!!!

In our nutrition programs we send three different levels of formula, as our fabulous models are here to demonstrate: Level 1 is for the newborns, Level 2 is for babies 6-12 months, and Level 3 is for toddlers one year and older. The babies will tell you it's delicious! We also like to send a good vitamin and iron-fortified cereal for the babies, and that is really what packs on the pounds!

The weather may be cold, but these kids are well-padded, inside and out!

Shunyi Foster Care Visit

Visiting the foster families was the highlight of my trip--aside from adopting my son! Each family we visited was so excited to show off their children. The foster families were so warm and welcoming. It was clear that they enjoyed having the children in their homes. It was so apparent that these kids brightened up each home and family that they were with. You could see the light and purpose shining in the eyes of the foster parents as they told of any new milestones the children had made that month. The joy and life that the children exuded was contagious!


One of the foster mom's had her kids scrubbed and pretty--they had bows in their hair and their best clothes on. The house was spotless and the foster mom had a huge smile on her face the whole time we visited. Her mother's heart shone through as she demonstrated to her children how to share the stickers that we had brought. She beamed with joy and pride as she told us what they liked to do, to eat...what they had learned that month.


Then there were the sweet children, some of whom cried when I came near. The older girls were more willing to play with me--especially when they saw that I had presents! One of them plastered herself with the stickers I had brought and then began covering her stuffed Pooh bear with them. There were several of the children who allowed me to hold them, much to my delight.







I sponsor one of the baby girls, and she cuddled with me until I had to reluctantly put her down to go visit the next family. My twelve year old son accompanied me and had a blast playing toy cars with several of the little boys we visited.












It is obvious that the children are benefiting so much from the opportunity to be in a family. After visiting the families, I'm not sure who is benefiting the most--the parents or the children! The parents have rays of sunshine dropped into their homes by way of these precious kids.

Shunyi Foster Care Visit by Karin Prunty – December 2006

Copyright (c) 2007 Love Without Boundaries

A Gift For Yi

Last summer, a friend of ours went to China to visit her daughters’ orphanages. During this visit, she was able to visit some foster homes. In one of these foster homes, she was struck by one little two year old girl – “the girl in pink”. She just couldn’t keep her mind off of this little girl who “just radiates intelligence and strength”. She knew that this little girl needed help, as she was sure that she wasn’t able to walk. Her eyes watched intently on everything that was going on.

For three months, she searched for this little girl’s name. A friend who lived in this city, tried to find out who this child was. A successful meeting with the orphanage director yielded the child’s name and an agreement that we could help this child. I will not forget the day we learned her name, Yi, and the fact that she was very smart, but that she had cerebral palsy.



We arranged for her to be sent for intensive PT, so that we might be able to improve her body’s strength. Our hope is that some day she will take a step and have her file submitted for adoption. She is currently learning to sit on her own and she can almost do it. She can also stretch her hands and reach and hold things. She also surprised everyone when she said “E” (hungry) and now she can also say “Ayi” (auntie). We are so excited that she has learned so much, but she still has a ways to go.







This last week, our friend who searched for this child, celebrated her birthday. She did this in two ways. She raised more money to help this child by asking all of her friends and family to donate in honor of her birthday for this child. And she sent a package to this little girl – a pink doll of her very own. The joy on this child’s face was the very best gift of all.

The Joy of Play

When I first started visiting the Shantou orphanage four years ago, it appeared to be a “city bound” institution, meaning that it was right in the middle of a very busy commercial area without a blade of grass in sight. The aunties didn’t want the children to play out in the front because there was a very busy road with lots of cars and trucks speeding by, so the orphanage had made a small concrete area downstairs where they put a metal swingset. Each day the kids would go down to this area and try to crowd onto the one airplane swing. I had seen up to three kids on the swing at one time! The one thing about swinging on concrete, however, is that it isn’t very forgiving when you slip. I have more than one photo of a beautiful child with an enormous goose egg after face planting to the ground. I knew the orphanage was trying their best to give the kids a place to play, but each time I would visit I would look out at the busy traffic and wonder how in the world we could do an outside play area that would be safe.

One day we were looking out from the third floor when we saw a nice patch of green grass behind the orphanage. When I asked who owned it, I was surprised to learn that the orphanage did, but that there was no way to get to it without walking all around the busy city block and coming up the rear. There was no way the aunties could do that with toddlers and so it had never been used for the kids. After talking with officials there, however, I learned that only one huge brick wall stood between the orphanage and that plot of grass. Working in partnership with Civil Affairs, we came up with a proposal to finally give the kids an outdoor place to play. The city government agreed to tear down the wall and fence the grassy area, and LWB agreed to provide a playground for the children. I always love when we can work together to do a great project for the kids.

Just this past week, the playground officially “opened for business”. The aunties said when the children were first led out to the grass, many of them were shy and just stood staring. But it only took a few moments for them to watch the older kids having fun running and playing for them to join in. Now I have heard they are “true pros” at play! Finally the children have a safe place to slide, swing, and laugh together. Thanks to everyone who brought the joy of play to the kids in Shantou. Their smiles say it all!

The Prize Inside the Cereal: Qing!

This is Qing, a darling little girl who lives at an orphanage that we help support in Henan Province. She came to the orphanage with a very large spinal tumor, and a very small everything-else!


After having surgery, Qing was placed into foster care, but she was slow to gain weight and strength. Concerned about Qing's progress, our foster care monitor asked if we couldn't send a little extra rice cereal in addition to the formula Qing was already receiving.


As it turns out, Qing LOVES cereal! In just three months, she has already plumped up so much...she would be hard to recognize if it weren't for that sweet little smile and sparkling eyes!



With the continued love of her foster mama and a little luck, that beautiful face may be gracing somebody's family portrait some day. Wouldn't that be something?




Jan Champoux
Nutrition Director

A Home For Li

A Home for Li

We have been helping an adorable little boy for the last year. He had spina bifida as a baby, and had to have one leg amputated recently. We found a great temporary foster home for this beautiful little boy to recover in, but we knew that we would need to find a permanent place for him, where he could get some schooling and be fitted with a prosthetic leg. PHF offered to accept Li into their House of Love, and so then the question of how he would get from Guangxi to Beijing arose. He loved his foster grandma so much, but she was unable to travel with him, and we knew that this transition would be hard for him.

Thankfully, we were able to find a volunteer to help us transfer Li to Beijing. One of our friends living in China, Lisa, had gone to visit Li while he was in the hospital and has a real passion for Li’s orphanage. She has helped with nanny training, sending cards to the kids, and she will soon be sending a PT team to his orphanage. We knew that she would be the perfect person to help Li through the grief of leaving his foster grandma.

On Friday, Lisa flew down to Guangxi province and met Li and his foster grandma. His grandma had been talking to Li about going to Beijing for weeks, and she said that he was very excited to get to go to school and meet new friends, but of course he was nervous about leaving her. We love this picture of Li and his grandmother as they headed off to the airport. Li did very well with everything until it was time to say goodbye. As his foster grandma was leaving, he started to yell and cry out, “Grandma”. Lisa bent down on her knees on the floor with him. She talked quietly to him and he listened to her. She told him we all love him and want the best for him. She said that his Nainai (the foster grandma) would always love him. Li took Lisa’s hand and walked bravely through security and onto the next adventure of his first airplane ride. He enjoyed riding on the plane and eating the plane food. He drew pictures and was very sweet to everyone he met. This little boy was so very brave.

When they arrived in Beijing, they traveled to his new home and he met some of the Ayis. They immediately welcomed him and gave him some dinner after his long journey. The other kids in the house had just had bath time and were walking around on the way to bed. Li kept looking at them and he was interested in meeting all of the other kids. He was very tired, so Lisa said goodnight to him and told him that she would come back in the morning to see him. Already she could see that he liked the colors and lights and warmth of the place.

When Lisa went back on Saturday morning, he seemed to already feel right at home. He was enjoying playtime with the other kids. He already seemed very comfortable with the aunties and was very talkative. Li told Lisa that he had slept very well, that he loved his new home, and that he really liked the other kids there.

All of us at LWB are so thankful that Li will soon have a new leg, and we all hope that 2007 will be the year he is chosen by a family who will love him FOREVER.


Karen Maunu
Medical Director

Copyright (c) 2007 Love Without Boundaries

Heading Home

In China, hospital stays are longer than in the US. Many of the babies we send for medical treatment will stay in the hospital for 2-3 weeks. During this time, the nurses often become very attached to the children in their care.



So many families adopt waiting children who have received surgery or medical care in China. I know many of these people wonder about that time in their child's life and who was involved in their care.

Because of this, we thought you would enjoy seeing some snapshots of a child being discharged from the hospital before heading back to her orphanage. Each nurse on duty had to say her own special goodbye. After lots of hugs and even a few kisses, she is bundled up to head outside. After one more tearful goodbye, she and her caregiver finally board the bus to head home.

I loved these photos because they show that before our children become ours, there are so many people in China who play an essential role in their lives, people we may never meet in person, but who leave their own mark as part of a child's life story.

Yes, We Have Cheeks!!

Okay, so this is not a photo that would warm most people right down to their toes, but I was absolutely DELIGHTED to see it! This is baby Yan, a child I have spent many nights worrying about. Having suffered a heart attack and open-heart surgery at just eight months of age, Yan was not doing well. She was SO tiny, and simply couldn’t put any weight on in spite of the loving care of her foster mother. But Yan was a fighter…she had made it so far already! If we could just get her to gain a little weight, she just might make it.


Beginning last summer we sent cereal and the very highest quality formula, and tiny Yan still could barely hold her own. But over the last few months, we began to see the first evidence of better color, then…were those actually cheeks we were beginning to see?


YES, we have CHEEKS! And somewhere…lurking beneath that pink snowsuit…there may be a little chubbiness on those arms and legs. I can’t WAIT until summer rolls around again!


And this reminds me of a second story I would love to share with you: After the usual hectic holiday flurry, I was feeling exhausted and a little flat, but sat down at my computer to check LWB emails on Christmas night. I found that we had received a $25 donation from a 10-yr-old boy named Sam. He wanted to donate for nutrition at the orphanage where his little sister Bridget had begun her life. That simple act of giving did so much to bring Christmas Spirit back into my heart!


Right away I thought of Yan, who is being fostered through that very orphanage, and remembered that her next cereal order was due. So I wrote back to Sam to let him know we would use his donation to buy cereal for this tiny girl. I included a photo of Yan and her foster mama, posing with boxes of cereal…I thought Sam would like to see who he had helped.


The next morning I received an email back from Sam’s father: “Thank you so much for this note - it brought tears of joy to Sam, and made real for him a ‘nice thing’ that was pretty abstract. He actually used his own birthday money to make the donation. The picture meant a lot to us as well - the little girl, of course, and the woman holding her was also Bridget’s primary caregiver (she was adopted in 12-2004 and today is her third birthday!)”


Don’t you love a good Christmas miracle?


Jan Champoux

Nutrition Director

New Foster Care Program

The Foster Team of Love Without Boundaries are pleased to announce the commencement of our 12th foster care program in China. The new program is located in Fuyang, Western Anhui and the children are due to be moved in late January 2007 to new foster care homes. We are currently seeking sponsors for these precious children.

Arlene Howard
Foster Care Program Director

Happy New Year

Dear Aunt,

How are you? I am an orphan, but I am sill a lucky girl. There are many people caring about me and supporting me. I feel very happy. You support me from a remote place and donate your love to me. You are the most loving person in the world.
.
I have started to live in a new school, as other boarders do. I eat in the cafeteria three meals every day. Recently, my grades fluctuated. I kind of always feel that even though I tried my best, my grades were still not good. I feel really upset about it. But I will keep on telling myself that I surely will study hard and have full confidence in myself. I believe that confidence is the number one guarantee to success.

Your love is not only material support, but also spiritual support. I believe I will achieve excellent grades with your spiritual support. I have lots and lots of words beyond my capability to express. Your devotion to me can not be measured by anything. All I want to say to you in one word is I love you.

Happy New Year!

Posted by Linda Mitchell
Education Program Director

Caring at Heartbridge

Baby Yang, Jia, Jiao (heart), Jiao (megacolon), Li, Cong, Hua, and Ying are our first residents at a very special place – the Heartbridge Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit. All of these children have serious medical conditions, many with very serious heart defects. Yang had her successful heart surgery last week and will join Li, Jia, Jiao, Li, Ying, and Cong as they all recover from their heart surgeries.

Children like Jia, who have very serious heart surgeries, take a lot of care as they are recovering. Jia has touched many people’s hearts with her very sweet personality. While at Heartbridge, she went in cardiac arrest, but received immediate treatment and has been getting excellent medical care. She will soon be having a cardiac assessment. Her heart defect is very serious and even thought she has received the first part of a heart surgery, her heart is still unstable. She is at the very best place, watched very closely and will get the help that she needs.

The name Heartbridge was the inspiration of our Heartbridge Coordinator, Shane Thompson. Shane thought the name was fitting as it "bridged" the partnership between LWB and HFH and it provided loving care thus the "Heart" part of the name.

Heartbridge has been in the minds of many of us as we discussed the medical care of the children we help. We knew that there was a need for a place to prepare children for surgeries and to provide a place that would allow them to recover after a serious surgery. As often happens at LWB, when we began to think about how to get those best outcomes, an opportunity quickly presented itself, and the Heartbridge Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit was begun.

Through a partnership with the HFH in Beijing, a 9 bed unit for pre- and postoperative children was opened in October to help kids build strength and foster healing. The loving and professional staff at Heartbridge provides care 24/7 for the kids with a variety of medical issues in a beautiful suite of beds inside HFH. As children prepare for or recover from surgery they are provided with high quality nutrition, medical interventions and therapy, just like a rehabilitation center here in the U.S.


LWB's goal is to help Heartbridge kids have their surgeries with the results they deserve so that they can prepare for healthy lives, hopefully with adoptive families. Since its opening in October, 2006, we've already seen the success that Heartbridge can provide. Beds are now available for sponsorship on our special Heartbridge webpage. Children like Jia can now be given the best care that we can give them.





**** P.S. Baby Yang's heart surgery was a success and she will soon be returning to Heartbridge to continue her recovery. We are so happy that her first heart surgery has gone so well!!

Karen Maunu
Medical Director

Chinese New Year Theme Auction

There is a Chinese New Year/Chinese theme auction going on at the Love Without Boundaries eBay store.

There is a link to all Chinese theme items to the left on the store homepage. Many pieces of jewelry, clothing, and decorations.

It is also time to shop for spring clothing and there are some cute items on auction as well. Please keep checking back as well because other items will be added.

Don't miss out on the Love's Journey book! The amount available is very limited. It is a wonderful keepsake and gift.

LWB eBay Store

Thank you for you support,

Laura Sundvall
eBay Store Listing Volunteer


Send Chinese New Year Greetings and benefit Love Without Boundaries at the same time with our colorful folk-art cards. Created for us by two young girls wishing to help fundraise, these festive cards are blank on the inside so you can personalize with your own message.

Printed in vibrant color on quality 80lb card stock.

"Coming Together" set of 12 cards and envelopes is only $18 including shipping*

Chinese New Year Cards

January Newsletter

Our January Newsletter is now available for your reading pleasure!

Click Here

Straight From The Hearts of Our Donors!

We recently received this photo from the Qujiang orphanage in Guangdong Province. Qujiang is one of our older nutrition programs (started in early 2005), and it is the model of what I would love to see for every orphanage. We send the very best formula there, and the director was so impressed with the results that he now buys the same brand as well. The results have been so gratifying, with healthy babies and the most positive reports from parents who adopt "our" kids!

I always love to see the brand new babies, and it is so wonderful to watch their progress over the the months that follow. I got a little sentimental the other day, and thought about how this baby's first bottle came straight from the hearts of our donors, mostly other parents who have previously adopted from Qujiang. Hey little baby, welcome to the family!

Jan Champoux
Nutrition Director

Sweet Baby Yang

When little Yang first arrived to her home orphanage, she was very weak and sick. The orphanage had her examined and it was quickly discovered that she was suffering from severe heart disease. We sent her down to Hangzhou Children's Hospital right away for surgery, but the surgeons there told us that she was just too sick to survive open heart surgery. We then made the decision to send baby Yang to our Heartbridge Unit at the Hope Foster Home in Beijing. This unit has two purposes. Some of the children here are too weak currently for surgery, and so they are getting intensive nurturing to get them to the weights they need to be for their operations. It also serves as a "step down" unit post surgery for babies who have more serious issues and who need one on one care.

When Yang first arrived at Heartbridge, Dr. Hill wrote us and told us that she was very weak indeed. But slowly she began to get stronger. However, Yang had another serious setback in December when she spiked a very high fever and was rushed to the hospital. It was then that we learned that she had a vegatative growth on her heart valves. She was put on a course of the strongest IV antibiotics possible, and for weeks her body tried to clear the infection. Finally Dr. Hill told us that she felt we had to make a decision about Yang's surgery, so last week we sent this beautiful baby to Hangzhou, with the hopes that she is now well enough for her operation. We all know we have a very small window of opportunity for her to be healed, as her heart condition is just so serious.

Tonight, (Thursday morning China time), baby Yang will be taken into surgery. This will be her one chance to be healed and live a normal life. All of us at LWB are thinking of Yang and praying that she does well. Her fighting spirit has been so amazing, and when I saw her in person in December she gripped my finger tightly in her hand as if to say "believe in me".

Thank you all for lifting up Yang and thinking of her tonight. She is a very special little girl and we all want to see her grow up and find a family of her own to love her.

Beautiful Faces

LWB is often contacted by orphanage groups who wish to start programs in their children's hometowns. We are only able to do this when we can guarantee that regional monitors are in place to have good accountability, in order to follow the children and make sure that progress is being made. Before we begin any program, we send our facilitators to make site visits.













Before the visits, these new cities to LWB are just place names, but after the visits....everything changes. No longer is it just an orphanage name on paper or in an email. It all becomes "real" as we study faces, memorize names, and begin to learn the stories of the beautiful children living there.






Recently one of our facilitators made a visit to the Sichuan province, as we consider beginning a new nutrition program there. We know you will enjoy seeing the faces of some of the children as much as we did.