Ningdu Family Reunions

Word came this way of a Ningdu family reunion this past weekend on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Hope everyone had a great time. That's a beautiful part of the U.S. and it would be hard to not have a wonderful time on the Carolina coast!

Speaking of reunions, are there any others planned for the summer? If so, drop a post and tell us!

Mailing Label for Ningdu

Walking Down Memory Lane ...

Shown here is the road running in front of the gate that leads to the Ningdu Children's Welfare Institute. Beside the right entrance to this front gate is where our daughter was found, a day after being born. One can only imagine the heartbreak that has occurred by birth parents who have traveled this road to ponder and, in some cases, abandon their children at the orphanage gate.

This could well be called, The Road of Tears.

Photo credit: Asia Threads, www.asiathreads.com

Ning Surname To Possibly Change

March 27, 2007. China Rethinks Orphan Names.

Chinese officials have been following the practice of giving children living in orphanages made up surnames. These names have ranged from party political choices such as "Dang" meaning "party," and "Guo" meaning "state" or in some areas, taking a syllable from the district in which the child was found, such as "You" from Youxian County (Hunan) or "Ning" from Ningdu County (Jiangxi). For children adopted abroad, these choices had little practical ramification because they receive the surname of their adoptive parents. However, for children remaining in China, these unusual surnames mean a lifetime of being labeled as growing up in an orphanage. For that reason several areas in China are dropping this practice and returning to more traditional surnames.




(Source: www.adopting.com)

Finding Siblings

We are convinced, absolutely convinced, that our daughter has a sibling in China. There is no way to verify or validate that claim; it's just a feeling that grows stronger every day. With a one child policy that continues to challenge families throughout China, it would stand to reason that our daughter either has a sister, who may or may not be living under the China sky, or a brother, who most certainly enjoys the love and adoration of her parents.

If, we reasoned, she has a sister, then it is likely that little girl may have followed the same path. That sister could be younger, or she could be older. Our interest was persistent and eventually we learned of a small group of adoptive parents who received their children from orphanages throughout the Jiangxi Province. To some, even considering the possibility of a sibling for their child might be a bridge not worth crossing. For us, its a path we wish to travel, even if that journey results in uncertainty.

Ningdu parents who are interested in knowing more, can contact Jiangxi Sibling Find. "This group is for parents of children adopted from Jiangxi. It was created for the possibility of finding sibling matches for children adopted from Jiangxi Province, PRC."

Interested parents contact JiangxiSibFind@yahoo.com.

Bath Time in Ningdu

This is how it was and, perhaps how it still is, for youngsters who are bathed at the Ningdu SWI. Our daughter loves the water and began swimming before the age of 3 without the assist of flotation devices. Interestingly, when Yuqing sees this picture, she now talks about how much she enjoyed sitting in that old red tub!

Ningdu Adoptive Parents Make A Difference

New cribs for Ningdu...

We sent out an appeal after our last newsletter to many China adoption lists due to a situation we were alerted to in Ningdu. Babies being adopted had very high lead levels. Many children coming home have a lead level around 25 from Ningdu. Environmental intervention should begin at levels of 10. Many potential sources for the lead have been explored and we strongly believe is a contributing factor are the wooden cribs. Wooden cribs in areas like these with high humidity soak up pollution from the air. Developing countries most common source of lead is the industrial pollution. In addition, we know that many of the older wooden cribs in orphanages are painted, frequently with lead based paint. When this was brought to our attention our crib fund did not have enough money to purchase the 40 new cribs needed for Ningdu. Thanks to everyone who responded, we have raised the money to purchase all 40 cribs. During the course of this fund-raiser we were contacted by many people with reports of their children having lead levels of 50 and higher. We have compiled a list of the orphanages where these children lives and will work to help in any way we can. If replacing cribs in these orphanages is part of what needs to be done, we will need additional funds.

(Originally posted, May 2005, www.angelcovers.org and reprinted with permission)

Yuqing Steps Out With Caretakers

The journey for our daughter began in July 2003 and culminated on September 27, 2004 in Nanchang when we received 10 month old, Yuqing. We were extremely fortunate to have received the 2 disposable cameras that were sent months earlier to Ningdu as part of our daughter's care package. The cameras caught images of other children who were only months older or younger than Yuqing. Seeing her laying awake in her crib, with the referral picture (that we would later receive) tacked on the wall directly above, was a memory in time that we would cherish. So many pictures, so priceless, and I'll share some of these in future posts. Seen here, Yuqing is joined by her two primary caretakers in August 2004.