Posted on 05/26/2013 5:03:08 AM PDT by TexGrill
BEIJING: Ogallala, Nebraska USA has a population of just 3,000. It’s a town few Americans may have heard of, but nonetheless, one local resident has made huge difference for over 1,000 orphans born in China. Brent Johnson, vice president of United Family Healthcare, plays a leading role with the Beijing Chunmiao Children’s Aid Foundation, registered under the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau. The NGO focuses on “providing specialized care to abandoned infants and nurturing the growth and education of older disabled orphans.”
During an exclusive interview with the China Daily, Mr. Johnson said he arrived in China in 1990 on a University of South Carolina student exchange program with Shaanxi University to study Chinese history, and he’s lived in the country ever since.
“Shortly after graduating, my wife (Serena) and I were just starting to begin our lives together. On a whim, we visited an orphanage in Harbin in 1995,” Johnson said. “It was my first time to visit an orphanage and it had many mentally-impaired children, while many babies were dying since they couldn’t get specialized medical care.”
He added, “we went ahead and asked to foster and adopt a baby. We were happy to do it, but there were many other orphans who needed special love and care, so we convinced our friends in Harbin to foster children in the US and other countries and around China to adopt children. The project kept getting bigger; people were donating money and offering to volunteer.”
Eventually, Johnson and his volunteers launched the China Little Flowers Project with programs that included: intensive special care for infants; hospice care for dying children; group educational foster care; and long-term care for severely disabled children.
(Excerpt) Read more at chinadaily.com.cn ...
Great story.
wow great
Thanks for posting.
This gives pause; Brent Johnson puts me to shame.
"The love of Christ impels us."
I wish the world knew more about this guy than it does about Honey Boo Boo and the Kardashians.
God bless this man, what a great story, but don’t wish for another mother Teresa, there’s more to that than maybe you realize.
Yeah, this guy makes me feel like a piece of crap. I wish I had this guy’s dedication to the improvement of mankind.
That’s good news. This group plays a tremendous role in helping disabled orphans. Your donation will help Brent Johnson and may also help Catholic nuns running the Liming Orphanage in Central China. The orphans who can’t find jobs are employed to make and sell angel candels and other spiritual trinkets. Here’s the link: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/13/content_15278503.htm
people ask why not help our own
because even the worst of “our own” do not suffer like the disabled in other cultures
The Dying zrooms in Chinese orphanages
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/5073/The-Dying-Rooms
btw, have been in multiple orphanages in Russia and seen many special needs toddlers wasting away there (adopted 2), but the older ones with any physical or mental defect at all are sent to warehouse “imbecile asylums” that are medieval in condition and treatment
Before doing these stories or posting them on-line, I made it a point to visit these places and requested they show me everything. I can say with full confidence that these places were special. The caregivers showed special love for these orphans, which you normally don’t find at state-run orphanages in China. These places allow donors to visit the orphanages and let you volunteer, especially since any help is needed whether its money or giving hugs to these children.
bump
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