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Orphans not forgotten
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THE jolly spirit of the Spring Festival paid a visit to the orphans at the Shenzhen Social Welfare Centre this year.
During the holiday, many citizens donated money and toys to the centre. During the first five days of the lunar New Year, the centre received over 50 donations.
Miss Lu paid a visit to the centre on Wednesday afternoon. After an hour's drive from Shekou, she and her family had to wait another hour, as it was nap time at the orphanage. Finally, they were able to hand out their gifts of candies and biscuits. Since 1995, Miss Lu has made regular visits to the centre on holidays. She said the time spent with those kids is her happiest time.
Of the home's 309 orphans, 95 per cent are healthy girls and five per cent physically handicapped boys. According to Qin Huaixin, chairwoman of the centre, 88 orphans found homes for their Spring Festival. Some were adopted by foreign families from the UK, Belgium and the US, while others spent the holidays with local families.
Yan Hongsha, a six-year-old girl who was abandoned at the age of one, spent her holiday with a family in Buji Township. She got a new dress and ate dumplings with the family. The little girl could not hide her excitement as she sang songs with her "borrowed" brother and sister.
The centre had originally turned her away because she had the hepatitis B virus. When a sanitary worker named Shen Fuqing heard about this, she decided to help the child. After a month of treatment with medicine from Taiwan and Hong Kong and folk prescriptions from Shen's hometown of Harbin, Baby Yan was miraculously cured.
She was then transferred to the welfare centre. Now Yan is getting a better education and frequently stays with Shen's family on holidays.(Richard Han)
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