Half the Sky

Half the Sky
Volume VII, Issue 2
Summer-Fall 2006
www.halfthesky.org
A HOME FOR LIFE
HTS’ Foster Villages offer a new beginning for the children most often left behind
By Jenny Bowen
Executive Director, Half the Sky
The children who live in HTS Foster Villages have medical and developmental special needs that preclude the Chinese government from
allowing them to be adopted, either domestically in China or abroad.
We have restricted our foster programs to such children because these
families are meant to be permanent. These loving parents have made
a commitment to raise their small charges to adulthood. We have seen
that traditional foster care, while certainly better than institutional
care in almost every regard, may not offer the same sense of security
and permanence to a child. What might a child feel when her foster
sisters and brothers move on to a new adoptive family? Why not me?
What’s wrong with me? Will my parents give me away too? There
is nothing like a permanent and stable family to, over time, give the
orphaned child a sure sense of belonging.
We learned this lesson the hard way. When we established our first
foster village in Gaoyou, Jiangsu last year, the children came to us
from institutions all over the province. Although we reminded the
orphanage directors that the assignments would be permanent, that
they must not place children whose dossiers would go to CCAA for
international placement, not all understood how important this factor
would be to our program’s success.
In the past year four children, who met what was to be their “forever
family” in Gaoyou last April, were adopted internationally. For those
who left early on, the loss was not tremendously stressful. Every one
of these children has been through so much in her young life; one more
disruption could be almost taken in stride. But two children left the
Above: Children from the Shenzhen SWI on the first day in their new
foster family. It may feel strange and little scary at first for children
who’ve only known institutional care, but adjustment comes quickly.
INSIDE:
4 Baby Sisters News
5 Children with Special Needs
6 Little Sisters News
7 Teaching JiaJia How to Smile
7 Letters from the Sky
8 Volunteer News
9 Notes from the Fundraising Trail
10 Kids4Kids
12 Big Sisters News
13 Our Newest Program
village after a year of meaningful bonding
with parents and siblings. The families left
behind are still grieving.
Our Gaoyou supervisor wrote about one
of the girls, “This year, under her parents’
guidance, she had changed a lot, becoming
smart and lively, from the shy, introverted and
withdrawn girl in the past. They had established deep parent-child relationship. Before
she left, her elder brother asked for leave at
university and went home to send her off. On
the day she left all the members of her family
cried and cried sadly. They were so reluctant
to leave her. Her parents are still sad. They
cry when they see her clothes, shoes, socks
and the toys she touched. One day her father
cried suddenly when he saw her toothbrush,
and then he threw it away. He said, ‘I feel
broken-hearted when I see the things she used.
I don’t know if we can meet again.’ It is such
profound love.”
Later this year, we are opening permanent
foster villages in Guangzhou and Nanjing. In
Henan Province, we’ve begun to address the
terrible losses of children orphaned by AIDS.
In addition to a school curriculum project and
extraordinary fellowships for older children
to study in the field of their choice, Half the
Sky sponsors 28 families living in hard-hit
AIDS villages and just recently converted a
provincial orphanage for AIDS orphans into a
foster village much like those we’re creating
adjacent to institutions.
next step. For children who, for whatever
reason, might never leave government care
for a family of their own, Half the Sky offers
an alternative solution. There’s really no
place like home.
Building on the great progress we’ve made
in infant nurture, preschool education, and
individualized learning for older children, the
Half the Sky Foster Villages are the natural
When we opened our new foster villages in
Shenzhen and Nanning earlier this year, we
were adamant that the children should not be
those being considered for adoption. While
very often the children in HTS villages have
what many Western families would consider
to be manageable special needs – epilepsy,
hepatitis B, cerebral palsy, mild to moderate
Downs syndrome – and should, therefore
be placed on waiting child lists, in these
cases, the government has decided otherwise.
But life in a permanent foster home in China
is not a second-best option. The children grow
up cherished by their families. They have the
support services they need from the welfare
institution. After a great start at Half the Sky
preschool, they attend schools in their community. And they are not lost to China.
Above: The new Nanning Foster Village. HTS
Foster Villages are built on or near orphanage
grounds, enabling children with special needs
to get the services they need and also to
attend HTS Little Sisters Preschools.
Left and above: Life in a HTS foster home is
as normal as it can be. These children, who
would otherwise have grown up in institutions,
have lives not much different from that of
other children in their community.
Half the Sky
Volume VII, Issue 2 Fall 2006
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Vivian Wong Zaloom . Karin Evans . Steve Hoffmann
Dana Johnson, MD, PhD . Carolyn Pope Edwards, EdD . Kay Johnson, PhD
Richard Bowen . Carlos Cordeiro . Lou DeMattei . Robert Eisenberg . Linda Filardi .
Jim Gradoville . Scott Kronick . Emily Kwong . Yves Maurais . Nancy Spelman, PhD
Jenny Bowen, Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation establishes early childhood education, personalized learning and infant nurture
programs in China’s welfare institutions to provide the children stimulation, individual attention, and an
active learning environment. HTS was incorporated in California in 1998 as a nonprofit, tax-exempt
corporation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. HTS Foundation of Canada received
charitable registration status in 2004 and Half the Sky Foundation (Asia) Limited, in Hong Kong in 2006.
Donations to all three organizations are tax-deductible. This newsletter is distributed free to donors and
to supporters living in the United States. An international subscription for non-donors living outside the
United States is $15 USD per year.
Edited by Patricia King, Communications Director, Half the Sky
www.halfthesky.org
E-mail: [email protected]
USA:
Half the Sky Foundation
764 Gilman Street
Berkeley, CA 94710 USA
1/510-525-3377
FAX: 525-3611
HONG KONG:
Half the Sky Foundation (Asia) Ltd.
Room 2301, 23/F Worldwide House
19 Des Voeux Road, Central, HONG KONG
852/2916-8810
FAX: 525-29168811
CHINA:
Half the Sky Foundation
Apartment 7-2-103
Jianguomenwai Diplomatic Compound
Chaoyang District, Beijing CHINA 100600
86/10-8532-3043
FAX: 8532-1920
CANADA
HTS Foundation of Canada/
Fondation HTS du Canada
1190 Place Nobel, Suite 100
Boucherville QC J4B SL2 CANADA,.
Call Emily at 1/717-642-9994
[email protected]
In June, the first six families of the HTS Nanning Foster Village Project moved into their new home. By
year-end there will be 12 families living in the village. The parents must have already raised one child. One
of the parents must be employed outside the home. One of the parents must be a stay-at-home parent
and willing to take ongoing training as well as providing written progress reports on family adjustment and
dynamics. Most important, the couple must commit to raise their new children to adulthood.
The Magic of Belonging
This spring, as workers renovated their apartments in Nanning, one of Half the Sky’s newest foster families celebrated the opening of our
new Infant Nurture Center and Preschool. Four children sat at low tables just painted by our volunteer Nanning crew as their foster mother
and father carefully fed the children snacks. When a visitor congratulated our newest foster father, he started to cry.
Clearly, even before our new foster parents in Nanning were able to occupy their renovated apartments, the emotional bonds of their new
family were being forged. This year, thanks to the expansion of our Foster Village program to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Nanning, 120 more
children will be forging lifetime emotional bonds.
And in Gaoyou, where our first Foster Village is flourishing, children living in permanent homes are continuing to learn what it means to be
part of a family as their parents stay up at night with them when they are sick and calm their fears with hugs. And as you’ll see from JiangMei’s
photo below, the children’s days are beginning to fill with smiles. Here are a few notes from their busy Gaoyou moms:
“Now JiangMei can sing.”
JiangMei is six years old. She
seldom talked when she joined
our family. Now JiangMei can sing.
Every morning when she wakes
up, she likes to sing. She also now
greets the teachers when she goes
to school.
“Now Ping is braver.”
Ping was very timid when she first
joined our family. I held her in my arms
every day. I slept with her every night.
When it was raining or storming outside, she often hugged me tightly. Now
Ping is becoming braver and she can
say “dad” and “mom.”
“During the night I held ShuangMing in my arms.”
ShuangMing always kept silent and pushed his head toward the wall when
he first joined our family. Gradually he changed with our care and love. He
can eat on his own. He can greet others. To protect him from chilblains, we
bought him cotton gloves and shoes and asked him to wear more clothes.
During the night I held ShuangMing in my arms. Once he had convulsions
and we were very afraid. We took some first-aid measures and the symptoms finally stopped.
Our nanny supervisors also exhibited a strong
desire to improve professionally. Questions
and ideas literally bubbled from them, Here
is a sampling:
BABY SISTERS NEWS
By Janice N. Cotton
Infant Nurture Program Director, Half the Sky
A 10-month-old child entered one HTS institution and was totally unresponsive. She did not
smile, cry or laugh. She rarely moved. When
her Half the Sky nanny tried to interact with
her, she turned away.
This did not stop the nanny. She talked to the
child often. She held her and played games
with her even though the child did not respond. She did not give up! In four weeks the
child was vocalizing and playing games with
her nanny. She now eagerly awaits the arrival
of her nanny each morning and smiles broadly
when she picks her up.
This is one of twenty-seven success stories
our nanny supervisors shared with each other
at our recent week-long workshop in Guangzhou. It was clear from these stories that, as
challenging as some of the issues our nannies
face are, this is not a group of women who let
rejection or short-term failure get in the way
of their job of providing unconditional love
to the babies in their charge.
It was also clear that our nanny supervisors
had matured in their jobs.
How can we best include children with
Hepatitis B into our program? How should
we assign special needs children to nannies?
What are the techniques for promoting the
development of cerebral palsy children?
What can we do with a two-year-old who is
always taking other children’s toys? What
is the best way to feed children who have a
cleft palate?
The workshop topics, chosen by the nanny supervisors during the last year, were designed
to help our nanny supervisors grapple with
those questions and more.
Workshop topics included: how to better
observe children and use these observations
in daily work and how to better promote
language development. One topic extended
beyond the Infant Nurture program to an issue
familiar to every parent whose child goes to
preschool: how can we ease the sometimes
difficult transition from baby to little girl/
boy? More specifically, how can we work
better with Half the Sky’s preschool teachers to ease the children’s transition from our
Infant Nurture Centers to our Little Sisters
Preschools?
As Half the Sky’s Infant Nurture Program
grows, we are refining our approach and our
training to help our nannies deal with such
issues. And our nannies and their supervisors
are more and more willing to reach out to others for solutions and to share their solutions
with others.
A little over a year ago, many of these same
women had gathered together for the first time
in Haikou. We had a very productive meeting,
but this second nanny supervisor workshop
was different. These were not the neophyte
supervisors of last year’s workshop; most
had held their position for over a year. Our
supervisors exhibited self assurance in their
mannerisms, their words, and in their ability
to verbalize the challenges they face.
Our nanny supervisors also exhibited their
strong belief--based on witnessing countless
tranformations of the children in their care-that Half the Sky’s Infant Nurture Program
can profoundly change the lives of the babies
in their care.
A nanny’s unconditional love and
nurture profoundly changes the lives of
institutionalized children.
The group also loved hearing stories about
how their peers in other institutions successfully dealt with challenges. I started my
column with one such success story and would
like to end it with two more:
The problem: Some institutions have large
numbers of nannies who work in different
rooms. Supervising multiple groups and
providing coaching to many nannies can be
challenging for the nanny supervisor.
The solution: One nanny supervisor dealt with
this by appointing exceptional nannies as team
leaders. A team leader motivates the nannies
in her team and when needed provides suggestions about how to promote development.
The problem: Nannies often care for children
who can walk and those who cannot walk.
Taking all their children outdoors can be a
difficult if not an impossible task.
The solution: Several institutions created
teams of nannies who support each other in
their work. For example, some of the nannies
in a team play with and supervise the nonwalking children inside and the other members of the team take the walking children
outdoors. Later they swap and nannies carry
the non-walkers outdoors to explore with their
eyes and other senses the outside world.
As you can tell, it was an exciting, uplifting
week where we all grew professionally.
Newly promoted HTS field supervisors, Liu Shan (l) and
Zhou Dan (r)challenge their colleagues at the workshop
The nanny supervisors left eager to apply
their knowledge and share all they had learned
with institution directors and the nannies they
manage. I left renewed and confident that
the Infant Nurture Programs are in capable
hands.
NURTURING CHILDREN
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
By Deborah Tong
Nanny Trainer, Half the Sky
From a report by JiuHao’s nanny:
I often massage Jiuhao according to the basic
knowledge about how to attend children suffering from cerebral palsy. Sometimes I will
help him relax his limbs by massage while I
talk to him. In the very beginning he did not
respond to me. Eventually I found that he
always becomes calm when I massage him
and talk to him and that I must speak loudly.
Jiuhao still can not sit independently and I
must support him to sit and put some pillows
around him. I also let him have a rest soon
after he sits for a moment. Though taking
care of Jiuhau is quite tiring, I know that
stimulating him is effective and that he will
respond to me. When I hold him he will laugh.
***
I teach Half the Sky’s nannies how to
take care of children with cerebral palsy
and I am gratified that JiuHau’s nanny in
Chengdu has learned her lessons so well.
Like any parent of a disabled child, JiuHau’s
nanny knows full well how tiring it is to
provide high-quality care. Yet she persists,
and she has learned to measure progress
in small increments--short stints sitting up
with the help of a pillow, calm during massages, and the welcome sound of laughter
from a child who was formerly silent.
At the orphanages where we have centers
we take care of every child we can--the
only exception is severely retarded children
who sadly cannot respond to the love and
care of our nannies and preschool teachers. Taking care of all the children means
taking care of many children with special
needs--children with cerebral palsy whose
brain was oxygen-deprived either before,
during, or shortly after birth, blind children, children born with spina bifida, etc.
For these children the research is as clear
as it is for able-bodied children: early nurturing and stimulation gives them the best
chance of developing to their full potential.
Massaging the stiff muscles of a child with
cerebral palsy can mean the difference
between a bed-ridden life and a life on
the move with a walker. Nurturing a blind
child when she is very young can mean the
difference between a life where adventures
are possible to a life of zealously avoiding
risks. Painstakingly helping a child learn
to hold up her head can mean the difference between a life that includes interactions with the world and a life of isolation.
As challenging as the work is, when I
ask for volunteers at our training sessions, there are always more than enough
nanny trainees who raise their hands to
work with children with special needs.
I stress to these recruits that their jobs can be
monotonous at times because change happens
very slowly. But I also stress that change is
possible and that they will be doing a very special job for very special children who, given
the chance, can laugh, smile and love and also
slowly meet some developmental milestones.
Above & below: HTS Nanny Supervisor, Debbie
Tong, a pediatric physical therapist, teaches new
HTS nannies simple techniques to aid them in
nurturing young children with special needs.
Like JiuHao’s nanny, our special needs nannies
are proving themselves up to the challenges
and the rewards of working with the children.
In Haikou, before Half the Sky opened its
Infant Nurture Center, six disabled children
were cared for by one ayi. Five of the children had moderate to severe cerebral palsy
and the sixth child was blind. The children’s
needs were so great that it was impossible
for the orphanage’s ayi to provide, in addition to basic care, the stimulation needed
for the children to make progress developmentally, which meant that most of the
children’s days were spent in cribs. Unfortunately, this sort of situation is not uncommon.
Progress Report: YiYi
In this instance, Half the Sky assigned
three nannies to work with these six children and with this extra care the children
came alive. The children with cerebral
palsy are all able to sit independently and
participate in games with their nannies.
The blind child at almost four years of age
had not learned to walk. After less than a
year of intervention this child can now walk
while holding her nanny’s hand. Her flat
expression has been replaced with a smile
and a laugh when she hears her nanny sing.
The progress reports on each child that
these special nannies submit quarterly are
always an inspiration. Just take a look
at the example at right. I think you will
agree that our special needs staffers are
dedicated to their difficult jobs, amazingly
patient, and, like the nanny described above,
haven’t forgotten to smile and to sing.
YiYi suffers from congenital malformation in
her legs. When I met her for the first time,
she smiled at me and sucked her fingers
when I called her name; she didn’t know how
to grasp toys with her hands or how to turn
herself over and couldn’t say a single word. I
often sang songs and talked to her. I gave her
toys to play to entice her to turn over by herself. I also massaged her often. Now YiYi can
turn herself over and sit for awhile by leaning
against the wall. She can reach out her hands
to grab toys. Sometimes she makes sounds
like “yi ya.” When I call her name she waves
her arms happily and kicks her legs as well.
story, many of the presentations at the work- Scenes from the Guangzhou Workshop
shop focused on how important it is for Half
the Sky’s staff to work as a team to help the
children/flowers. Without teamwork, our
presenters stressed over and over, the children
will not be able to blossom, to develop to their
maximum potential.
LITTLE SISTERS NEWS
By Wen Zhao
Preschool Program Director, Half the Sky
Once there was a bee called LingLing who
worked with a butterfly called LanLan to
make sure the meadow was resplendent with
flowers. LingLing worked day and night
helping the flowers. LanLan, a free spirited
butterfly, flitted from task to task.
Soon LingLing began to resent LanLan’s
work habits and started criticizing LanLan
frequently. The more critical and negative
LingLing became, the more nervous and
fearful the butterfly became and the less work
she did. Distracted by their feud, neither LingLing nor LanLan gave the flowers enough
attention. The flowers suffered, living in this
anxiety-filled environment, from lack of care
and started to wilt.
Enter the Queen Bee, who gave LingLing
and LanLan a loving but stern lecture. The
Queen Bee explained the need to appreciate
others’ strengths rather than focus on their
differences.
The bee started to rethink her behavior toward
the butterfly. Finally she realized that by
nature she and the butterfly were so different
that she shouldn’t expect the butterfly work
like her. She also realized that LanLan offered
skills that she simply did not have.
Once LingLing stopped criticizing LanLan,
her energy was renewed. She started working again and she also realized that the busy
worker bee was essential for the smooth
operation of a flowering meadow.
After the feud between LanLan/Ling and
Ling feud ended, the flowers started blossoming again.
This bee/butterfly/flower parable was written
and acted out by Half the Sky’s preschool
teachers in Chenzhou at a recent workshop
in Guangzhou. Like the LanLan/LingLing
Two weeks after the workshop, one of our
teachers in Chongqing wrote the following
entry in her journal, an entry that convinces
me that the lessons of the LangLang/LingLing
story were important for our teachers:
When I was talking with one of the nannies
about how to best support a child moving from
our Infant Nurture Program to our Little Sisters
preschool, I had a disagreement with her. After
the disagreement, I realized that I may not have
communicated effectively with this nanny.
Later, we had a fun activity designed to promote
cooperation. I was put on a team with two nannies. The three of us supported and encouraged
each other throughout the game and our team
won! When I was asked how this activity made
me feel, I responded proudly that when we
worked as a team we felt the harmony and joy
of working together; it felt good to help and
to be helped. I think that was the number one
secret of winning this game.
At the Guangzhou workshop our staff also
learned more secrets about winning the game
of providing high-quality care to our children.
Under the tutelage of Hong Kong artist Hu
YongYi, who has created many of Half the
Sky’s holiday cards and the book Good Morning China, children and teachers made clay
mugs, using their handprints as their sides.
And Christina Shmigel, an art professor from
Webster University, taught teachers how to
make pop-up books.
Of course even before our Guangzhou workshop our teachers were working cooperatively
and using art to help children. On the next page
you’ll read how our teachers collaborated to
help 4-year-old JiaJia. And in Xinyang, our
teachers not only used art, they also came up
with a letter-writing activity when the children
were missing a teacher who moved away.
From all these stories and from our workshop,
I think you’ll see why I believe the final words
from the Chongqing teacher’s journal could be
the motto for the Little Sisters program: “Let
us work together as a team so that our children
will blossom to their full potential.”
Above: Kids and teachers alike were proud of
their hand-print clay creations.
Below: The teachers created paper pop-ups books
full of whimsy and imagination
Teaching JiaJia How To Smile...
JiaJia’s teachers hung puppets painted with a variety of
facial expressions around the room
Teacher showed JiaJia how to imitate his doll’s
smile
How do you teach a four-year-old
boy to smile?
That was the dilemma facing Half the
Sky’s preschool teachers in Chengdu
when four-year-old JiaJia arrived just
after surgery that repaired his cleft lip
and palate: “When he first arrived,
JiaJia displayed only two facial expressions. He would purse his lips when he
was angry and he would stare into space
for quite a while. If you asked JiaJia to
smile, he would narrow his mouth and
eyes and wrinkle his eyebrows to show
you. He truly believed in his heart of hearts
that that was the way to smile.”
JiaJia’s teachers devised an approach to help
Jiajia expand his range of facial expressions,
using handmade puppets, pictures, a doll,
patience, and encouragement.
The first step was to decorate the classroom
with hanging puppets that displayed a wide
variety of facial expressions. While JiaJia
and the other children made the puppets, the
teachers discussed the emotions the puppets
were showing. Then the teachers followed
up by decorating the walls every day with
a new photo of each child that showed their
changing moods.
The teachers realized that art therapy in the
form of puppets and photos was working
the day JiaJia tried to open the mouth of the
doll he was playing with. His teacher asked:
“What are you doing?” JiaJia looked up and
pointed to the smiling puppet. The teacher
responded immediately: “Oh, you want your
doll to smile like the one on the wall, right?”
JiaJia nodded. The teacher was thrilled that
By George - He’s got it!
JiaJia was trying to imitate a smiling face so
she stroked his tiny face and praised him.
“JiaJia is so clever.”
Then the teacher reiterated the smiling lesson, telling JiaJia: “When we are smiling,
our mouths should be upward,” while raising
her mouth in a smile and adding: “You want
your doll to be like this, right?” JiaJia nodded
again. So the teacher lifted the doll’s mouth
upward and said, “Look, the doll is smiling
at us!” JiaJia nodded happily.
Dear Half the Sky,
I am an Norwegian adoptive mother of 2 children from China. One of my daughters came from
Wuzhou social welfare institute in 2001.
I just returned from a 14-day trip to China and
was fortunate enough to visit the Wuzhou Social
Welfare Institute while on a bike trip through
Guangxi. I just want to tell you that your foundation has done wonderful work at this orphanage.
I subscribe to your newsletter and support your
foundation from time to time and it was so rewarding to see how this money has been spent. If only
all the orphanages in China could be of this quality!! Your efforts are really making a difference in
the lives of so many orphans!!
Sincerely,
Kari Toverud, Oslo, Norway
JiaJia studied his doll’s smiling mouth
carefully
The teacher then said: “The doll is
smiling at you, so you’d better smile
back!” JiaJia smiled, but it was his old
way of smiling.
The teacher advised: “Look at the
doll--your mouth should be upward.
This way, look at me and show your
teeth.” The teacher guided JiaJia to
move his mouth until JiaJia burst into
a beautiful smile that prompted another round of praise from his teacher:
“JiaJia, you have gotten it. You know
how to smile! You are so clever.”
So clever that JiaJia kept practicing the
entire afternoon by smiling at his doll over
and over.
After JiaJia learned how to show his happiness, his verbal skills improved and he
became a “quite enthusiastic” participant in
group activities. So enthusiastic that singing in the school chorus, “He is the loudest
one.”
letters
from the
sky
The Toverud girls
Nina, 5 (Wuzhou)
& Siri, 9 (Changsha)
The Nunes family has arrived in Poulsbo,
Washington! For the past few months, we
have been following this intrepid family on
its 5,200 miles bicycle journey from Florida
to Washington for HTS. Thank you Ron,
Kate and Elizabeth Nunes for raising over
$15,000 to help the children in China during
your crosscountry trek!
Volunteer News
By Carla Seidel
USA Volunteer Coordinator, Half the Sky
We are happy to announce that Melissa
Manassee has joined us as our Children’s
Volunteer Coordinator. Melissa will be coordinating HTS’ efforts to create resources and
project ideas for children and teenagers. A
Chinese New Year Resource kit will be available in the fall. It will help children organize
a HTS fundraiser for any Chinese New Year’s
celebration: family gatherings, FCC events,
school, church, scouts, etc.
Just after the Nunes family finished its trek,
two 29-year-old men from the UK, Nathan
Taylor and Joe Ryan, started pedaling across
China for Half the Sky’s Sanya center. The
pair’s goal is to raise enough money to pay
all the operating costs for HTS’ programs in
Sanya for at least two years. Their motto is:
1 country, 1.2 billion people, 10 provinces,
23 cities, 2 friends, 2 bikes & 1 orphanage.
To donate and to follow Joe and Nathan’s
yearlong journey visit: http://www.chinabybicycle.co.uk/.
Mark your calendars for our annual eBay
auction October 17-24. If you have items to
contribute, please contact me at volunteer@
halfthesky.org. In addition to the generous
donations our supporters provide for the
auction, this year we would like to include
artwork from children of all ages. If you
would like to donate artwork or any item(s)
or would like more information about this
event, please send me an email.
A warm welcome our new volunteer coordinators, Mindy Carney, South Central region
and Lori Polly, North Central region! And
our sincere appreciation to former Volunteer
Coordinators Susana Beck and Brenda Mellon for all their wonderful work. And thank
you to Sue Matson for distributing HTS
literature at the Princeton Chinese School in
Princeton, New Jersey & Sybill Cohen who
helped me staff the HTS booth at FCC Camp
New Jersey.
More HTS fundraisers:
Annie Sanchez helped organize the 5th annual
Miami Walk for China’s Orphans;The First
Church in Belmont’s All-Benefit coffeehouse;
Humboldt County Chinese adoptive Families
raffled off two Chinese dolls.
State Street Corporation’s “Jeans Day” when
employees pay $5.00 to wear jeans to work.
FCC-Chicago’s Chinese New Year’s Party
raffle. And the Japan Karate Association of
Silicon Valley for its Kick-A-Thon.
Our heartfelt condolences to those who donated to Half the Sky in memory of...
John Arthur Garstang, father of Jade Ling;
Joseph M. Heschele, whose daughter Jade
became a Big Sisters sponsor; and Micah
Mei Israel, whose loving family and friends
contributed in memory of her too short life.
Nathan Taylor and Joe Ryan
Volunteer Connections
If you are interested in joining Half the Sky’s volunteer efforts, please contact the coordinator nearest you. If you
do not use e-mail, call or write HTS for contact information. Also check our Volunteer Resource Page at www.
halfthesky.org where you can learn more about ways to help. Click on “Volunteers” and then “At Home.”
Northeastern States
CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY,
PA, RI, VA, VT
Contact Anne Poliakoff
[email protected]
South Central States
AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, MS, NM, TX,
Contact Mindy Carney
[email protected]
Southeastern States
AL, FL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, WV
Contact Lynn Cobb
[email protected]
Western States
AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA,
WY
Contact Betsy Martell
[email protected]
North Central States
IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI
Contact Lori Polly
[email protected]
Children’s Volunteer Coordinator
Contact Melissa Manassee
[email protected]
Canada
Contact Rosemary Iacucci &
Chris Foroglou
[email protected]
Shanghai
Contact The Bund Fund
[email protected]
Outside U.S., Shanghai & Canada
Contact Emily Clarke
[email protected]
To join HTS’ volunteer listserves:
[email protected]
[email protected]
NOTES FROM THE FUNDRAISING TRAIL...
FROM HONG KONG
By Deanne Bevan
Director of Development, Half the Sky, Hong Kong
When I met Half the Sky for the first
time in April this year at the celebration
of the opening of the Shenzhen center,
I could not have imagined that a month
later I would be sitting in an office in the
central business district of Hong Kong as
the Director of Development for HTS in
this part of the world – yet that’s what
happened.
After Shenzhen I couldn’t shake the
memories of the children I had seen there
and the babies I had held. I was humbled
by the kindness of the HTS volunteers
and staff I had met (and shared a few
tears with!) and the generosity of my
friend, Norma Rosenhain, who through
her private company, Creata, had invested so much love and money into the
future of those kids.
A week or so after the opening, Jenny
sent me some photos of my husband
Guy and me in the new infant nurture
center, surrounded by smiling nannies
and their babies. Whether she realized it
This year Half the Sky Foundation (Asia) Limited became the registered arm
of our organization in Hong Kong. While our official launch party won’t be
held until September 27 (let us know if you’ll be in town) our new director
of development for HK, Deanne Bevan, is already hard at work. We’re so
pleased to welcome her to the family!
or not at the time, she had recruited me
right then and there!
In Hong Kong I am now working with
some of our terrific local supporters
(thank-you Esther Ma, Jane Pasin, Ken
& Rosemary Willman and Tom Gorman in particular), to officially launch
Half the Sky Foundation – Asia, and
introduce ourselves to the philanthropic
community here. We will hold a Half
the Sky/Hong Kong launch cocktail
party on Wednesday September 27th
at the spectacular, new IFC2 tower.
Special thanks to Michael McCarthy
for providing State Street Bank and
Trust Company’s reception area with
its high ceilings and great views for this
celebratory event.
If you are in the neighborhood you must
join the party and if you have any friends here
you would like to introduce to Half the Sky,
please e-mail me at [email protected].
And drop in for a pot of tea anytime you are in
Hong Kong!
HTS’ new director of development for Hong Kong,
Deanne Bevan, with friend
mentorship, is funded by a generous grant from
the Chia Family Foundation, led by the shared
vision of Pei-Yuan Chia, his wife Kitty Shen,
and their family. We hope the project in will
help the Chia Fellows believe in their potential,
despite the losses they have sustained, and that
there are people who care deeply about their
futures.
We have been extremely fortunate to receive
critical funding from the Ford Foundation,
which has enabled us to develop and initiate
this new area of work. Through the generosity
of the Ford Foundation, Half the Sky now supports several special foster family projects and is
launching a unique summer camp and ongoing
school curriculum, all based on proven HTS
methods, that will benefit children orphaned
by and affected by AIDS throughout Henan
Province.
...AND AROUND THE GLOBE
By Emily Clarke
Director of Development, Half the Sky
In Henan Province, applications are
pouring in. Nearly 200 children, all of
whom share the terrible bond of being
orphaned by AIDS, are hoping to earn
one of 50 spots in the first pilot year of
our Chia Family Fellows project. Our
new local project coordinator in Henan,
Jia ZhiHua, is working to identify those
we can best help as we launch this special
endeavor.
This new pilot, which will offer educational guidance, tuition support, and
The family has pioneered another innovative
program: the Chia Family Fellowships in Human Health through the Yale China Assoc.,
which brings women health professionals from
Hunan Province to New Haven for research
and training, then supports them in their return
to their home province where they work to
improve health conditions in their community.
Likewise, the Chia Fellows at HTS will receive
encouragement and opportunity to give back,
so that our project benefits not only orphaned
children as individuals but helps strengthen
their communities. The Chia Fellows project is
a critical component of our multifaceted efforts
to help children orphaned by AIDS in Henan.
We are grateful for additional project funding
from AmCham-China, the Schregardus Family
Foundation and Carney’s Kids Foundation. All
funding for our work with AIDS orphans is
distinct from general contributions to Half the
Sky that are directed to our Baby Sisters, Little
Sisters, Big Sisters & Foster Village programs
for the orphan population inside government
institutions. For information about supporting
this growing new area of our work, contact me
at [email protected].
s
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i
k
4
s
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With this issue of the newsletter, Half the Sky begins a special
page for and about the growing number of kids who care about
China’s orphans and are doing all sorts of creative things in
order to help make their lives better. Every month more and
more kids join the effort. Our thanks and salute to the kids!!
Shanghai’s
Stellar Fundraisers!
Carlee Foote, Helen Marshal & Lis Khulman’s 3rd grade classes at the Shanghai
Community International School (SCIS)/Changning held a “Fact-A-Thon.” The
children learned 100 facts about countries in Asia and collected sponsorship promises for each fact they learned. At the Hong Qiao campus of SCIS, Kathy Moore &
Caroline Scott’s preschool classes held a Bike-A-Thon; they collected pledges per
lap, then brought their bikes to school and rode around the gym for twenty minutes.
The classes were able to sponsor 2 nannies & 3 children. The children are very
proud and so are we!
At left, SCIS preschoolers and, below left, 3rd graders
The theme of the Nunes family bike
trip was “You can do anything!” With
the help of her parents, Ron and
Kate, and friends along the way,
Elizabeth Nunes proved that a 6
year-old could bike 5,200 miles, all
the while helping children in China
by raising over $15,000 for Half the
Sky - and still have time to enjoy a
sleeping turtle along the way.
Happy Birthday to the Generous Kids Who Collected
HTS Donations Instead of Gifts!
Halle Zinck, 9; Julia Dexter, 10; Dana Zappone,
9; Claire Jie Harding Roberts, 5; Meagan Lianna
Shao Feng Dashcund, 10; Julia Rose Yuqin Houpe,
10; Genna DeNardo, 7; Samantha Lovett, 8; Grace
Jicha, 7; Becky Dubner, 10; Jenna Lemelin, 9;
Jameson Hammond, 8; Haven Rose Bauerle, 4;
Francie (7) & Gussie (10) Bailey; Gwen Dingju
Baker, 8; Chloe Gangnath, 5 (photo at left)
10
Dear Half the Sky
The grade two class of International School of Singapore had a Fun Faire
and raised money for Half the Sky. We want this money to go to the
Yiyang orphanage to help the babies. At the fair we did tattoo and hair
spray coloring. Thank you for letting us help.
Love,
Kate Samuel, 8 (in photo above with her friend Valentine Camas)
Singapore
Disney Honors HTS Fundraiser
Extraordinaire Garrett Neiman
The Disneyland Resort awarded Half the Sky’s most accomplished high
school fundraiser Garrett Neiman a $5,000 education scholarship for his
leadership, academic excellence and volunteer work. Our Western Volunteer Coordinator Betsy Martell (left in photo) was on hand with Mickey
Mouse and Disney executives to applaud Garrett, whose sister Gracie,
(from Shenzhen SWI) inspired his already stellar fundraising career.
Indianapolis Brownie Scout Troop #42
The members of Brownie Troop #42, who were all born in China and
adopted by families living in the Indianapolis area, raised money for
Half the Sky’s Big Sisters program*. The fundraising effort was part
of the Troop’s study of sign language and deaf culture for its “Special
Languages” patch. The Troop invited a deaf woman to speak and learned
about some of the deaf children in Half the Sky’s Big Sisters program.
Dear Half the Sky,
Last July, when I was seven years old, I traveled back to China along
with my mom, my friend Kate, and her mom. We spent two weeks in
Shanghai with the Hua Xia Institute of Cultural Exchange. It was fun
to meet Chinese children and attend summer school with them.
Then we flew to Hunan and visited the Yueyang SWI (where I lived
when I was a baby). I got to see babies and some older kids. I saw signs
on the walls that HTS worked there and made the rooms look bright
and happy. The orphanage director talked about all the good things
that HTS had done for the orphanage.
When we returned home to Michigan, my family went on an outing
to pick blueberries. It was so much fun and we took home so many
blueberries we didn’t know what to do with them all. I suggested to my
mom that we make blueberry muffins and bread and sell them during
our neighborhood block sale and give any money I made to Half the
Sky.
I sat at my booth for two days even though sometimes I didn’t sell anything for hours. Anyway, I made $20 (not a lot), but I hope Half the
Sky can use even this small amount.
April Hill, 8 - Belmont, Michigan
KIDS SEND US YOUR LETTERS FOR THIS PAGE!
HALF THE SKY
764 GILMAN ST.
BERKELEY, CA
94710 USA
*YOU can do this too! Turn the page and learn all about HTS’
new KIDS4KIDS Big Sisters Sponsorships.
More kudos to great kids....
The 21st Century Kid Roundtable at PS 60 Q in Woodhaven, New
York collected pennies for the Common Cents Penny Harvest
used some of them to sponsor a child.
A Fifth Grade After School Program in Temple City, California
collected cans to raise money and sent drawings and cards for
children living in institutions.
9-year-old Lily Reid asked the teachers at her school to include
HTS in their 50/50 Raffle for Charity.
Jodi & Maya Stehle & Nicole Amstutz raised money at their church’s flea
mar ket. (Photo at left)
10-year-old Eliza Schmidt
created earrings that she sells
on her mom’s website,www.
veganjewelry.com. The earrings are snow quartz and light blue frosted glass beads with
sterling silver findings. “They are like clouds in a beautiful sky.
This reminds me of Half the Sky,” says Eliza, who donates $5 to
HTS every time she sells a pair.
New - KIDS4KIDS Big Sisters Sponsorships! Turn the page....
11
Big Sisters News
New at HTS - Kids4Kids Big Sisters Sponsorship
HTS is happy to announce a new Kids4Kids Big Sisters sponsorship, designed for younger supporters who want to help. Young people 18
and under can become Big Sisters sponsors for $40 a month or $480 a year, the cost of providing music lessons for one Big Sister for a year
(see the order form on page 15.)
Thanks to our grownup and Kids4Kids sponsors, 170 older children and young adults in Chinese institutions are receiving instruction in
everything from electronic keyboard, to English, to calligraphy. 21 of our Big Sisters are pursuing their dreams of attending college and are
determined to finish their studies so they can become productive members of society. You can learn more about the dreams and accomplishments of our Big Sisters by signing up as a sponsor. You will receive a quarterly newsletter with letters from our Big Sisters like the one from
ChuanZhi whose letter appears below.
Dear Half the Sky,
There is an old saying in China, “You should repay with the sea even if you
only receive a drop.” Today your care and support is helping me to fulfill
my dream; tomorrow my success will make a good contribution to the whole
society.
I have been studying at the Sichuan Luzhou Medical School for two and
half years. As a medical student, I have to study for five years before
graduation and then pass a professional certification exam.
I am now adapted to the environment and get on quite well with others.
The University is just like a small society and I believe that “Knowledge is
the ladder for a human being’s improvement.” I love reading books. I have
read a lot of books and sometimes I write essays, which makes me feel quite
relaxed. Sometimes I am as calm as a lamb, but sometimes I am as quick as
a rabbit.* In the evening I do some exercise before I sleep so that I sleep quite
well.
I am sending you a photo of the city where I live. The background is an
ancient tower and clock. Sichuan is a very beautiful place with famous
mountains and rivers. Please come to have a look if you have time. You can
enjoy the beautiful scenery here and give a warm hug to nature.
ChuanZhi
*Note from the translator: An old Chinese saying that means ChuanZhi is not
only vivacious, but also quiet and serene.
Where is Half the Sky Right Now?
Anhui Province
Chuzhou
Hefei
Chongqing Municipality
Chongqing
Guangdong Province
Guangzhou
Shenzhen
Guangxi Province
Beihai
Guilin
Nanning
Wuzhou
Hainan Province
Haikou
Sanya
Henan Province
Luoyang
Xinyang
12
Hunan Province
Chenzhou
Shaoyang
Xiangtan
Yiyang (2 centers)
Yueyang
Jiangsu Province
Changzhou
Gaoyou
Lianyungang
Nanjing
Jiangxi Province
Fuzhou
Jiujiang
Nanchang
Shanghai Municipality
Shanghai
Sichuan Province
Chengdu
Yibin
Thank You!!
With your help, children whose special needs keep them from being
adopted will not have to grow up inside welfare institutions.
Once again Half the Sky’s growing global family has responded to a call for help. Several
worthy projects, including our Foster Villages,
were in the running for a $5,000 gift from
Global Giving. We sent out alerts asking you
to cast your vote online and when the votes
were counted, Half the Sky landed solidly in
first place! Global Giving said the number of
Half the Sky votes “far exceeded” its expectations, but they did not exceed ours. Over
and over you have demonstrated that helping orphaned children in China is a priority.
Thank you for again rising to a challenge, this
time to help special needs children learn the
meaning of family.
A Summer Camp Like No Other
Half the Sky’s first summer camp for children
orphaned by AIDS was inspired by the same
curriculum we use to help institutionalized children
develop a sense of themselves and their stories as
well as an understanding that they are not alone.
Using art, music, games, performance and just
plain fun, the children came away with new friends,
family and community and the beginnings of new
strength in themselves. This fall the curriculum will
be offered in the local primary school to begin to
help the many hundreds of children whose lives
have been impacted by the disease.
Created at HTS camp, one child’s 100 Treasures Box below says “My
Precious” at the top, And in the heart: “My future is a dream”
13
ONLINE STORE
Every purchase supports HTS programs. Visit www.halfthesky.org
$300 – A One-Year Child Sponsorship supports education and enrichment for a Baby Sister (infant) or Little Sister (preschooler) for a year. The sponsor
receives a certificate with a child’s photo, name, and date of birth in the mail.
Sponsors also receive quarterly reports about the progress of their sponsored
child via e-mail unless they request that the updates be mailed. Sponsors can
request that the child be from a specific orphanage.
$600 – A One-Year Nanny Sponsorship supports a nanny’s loving care for 3-5 infants in our
Baby Sisters Infant Nurture Program. Sponsors receive a certificate and a short nanny biography in the
mail and quarterly reports on all of the infants in the nanny’s care via e-mail unless they request that the
reports be mailed. Sponsors can request that the nanny be from a specific orphanage.
$900 – A One-Year Big Sister Sponsorship supports programs for older children in orphanages all over China based on their individual needs. $480 A One-Year Kids4Kids Big Sisters
Sponsorship for donors who are 18 or younger. Sponsors receive a quarterly newsletter with artwork
and letters produced by our Big Sisters. Donations can be targeted to the General Fund
or the University Fund for college tuition support.
$3,000 - A One-Year Foster Family Sponsorship that covers the costs
of our foster parent’s stipend (one of the couple must be a full-time parent), home
maintenance, and a special activities fund. Sponsors receive updates on the children in
their sponsored family and can donate in a lump sum or in $250 monthly installments.
$3,000-Half the Sky Guardians support our endowment fund, which is invested
for long-term growth to help secure the future of our programs. A small percentage of
the fund’s value is available each year to help cover the annual costs of operating our
programs.
$5,000 or more-Half the Sky Angels provide leadership support for our most pressing needs. Donors help launch new centers
and sustain current programs. Future Gifts of Any Amount through estate planning and long-term financial planning. Please
contact our director of development, Emily Clarke at [email protected] or at 1-717-642-9994.
14
Donation Form for Mail and Fax
$50
$100
$300
$600
$900 Other $____________
I want to be a HTS Child Sponsor. I pledge
$25 per month or
$300 per year.
I want to be a HTS Nanny Sponsor. I pledge
$50 per month or
$600 per year.
I prefer that the Baby Sister/Little Sister/Nanny I sponsor be from (orphanage) ________________________________________
I want to be a Big Sisters sponsor. I commit to a pledge of
$75 per month or
I want to be a Kids4Kids Big Sisters sponsor. I commit to a pledge of
I want my Big Sisters sponsorship donation to be used for the
$900 per year
$40 per month or
Big Sisters General Fund
$480 per year
Big Sisters University Fund
I want to be a HTS Guardian to support an endowment fund for ongoing support for all HTS programs. I commit $3,000 with a monthly
pledge of
$83 per month, or
$1,000 per year for 3 years.
I want to be a HTS Angel. My unrestricted gift of $5,000 or more is
enclosed.
Please contact me about including HTS in my estate plan or current financial planning.
I want my donation of any amount to help support (orphanage) _____________________________________________________
I have special instructions for my donation that I am giving as a gift or giving in honor of a friend/family member. Please Specify:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
To double/triple the amount of my donation, I have enclosed my company’s matching gift application.
Name ____________________________________________
E-Mail Address ______________________________________
Address _ _________________________________________
Total Amount of Your US$ Donation ______________________
_______________________________________________
Payment Method: Check
City ______________________________________________
Credit Cards Accepted:
State/Prov. _ _______________________________________
Visa/MC or AMEX # __________________________________
Zip/PC ___________
Country ____________________
Expiration Date______________________________________
Phone ____________________________________________
Signature _ _________________________________________
Visa
MC
AMEX
Please Mail or Fax this form to:
Half the Sky Foundation*
764 Gilman Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 USA
FAX: 1-510/525-3611
*For information about Can$ and HK$ sponsorship fees and for addresses where your Canadian or Hong Kong
donations should be sent, please visit www.halfthesky.org.
Helping her hold up half the sky.....
Half the Sky Foundation
764 Gilman Street
Berkeley, CA 94710 USA
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
16
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 2508
OAKLAND, CA