Want to Make a Difference from the Comfort of Home?

Well, just in time for me to leave, I got an exciting email from Peace Corps that involves all of you lovely readers. :)  Before departing, I wanted to drop a quick note so that you all know this is going on and can, if you so wish to contribute, plan it into your budget in the next month or so.

 

As some of you know, for the past year + I have been doing a lot of volunteering with orphans here in Guiyang, going every week and working with the orphaned children, but specifically working with the orphans who have special needs.  In recent months, I've learned that, at the age of 16, the orphans "retire" from the orphanage (not enough space to hold everyone) and any child who has special needs, due to a lack of job opportunities created for anyone who is "special," are sent to a "Welfare Home," which is a retirement building for people who do not have family or are, essentially, the responsibility of the government.  I've since been occupying much of my time going to the Welfare Home, spending every Wednesday in the girls' ward.  My "girls" are ages 16-60ish and will be/have been in this ward their entire life.  Unfortunately, the girls spend every day of their lives in that ward, and have little to look forward to each day.  Many of them are not able to leave the ward, none of them have jobs or education, and so their days are spent sitting in a cement hallway, sleeping, or just staring at the walls, regardless of their severity (some of them simply have physical disabilities but are very intelligent).  They have very few things to occupy their time, and so, other than the few visits I (and, recently, my loving friend Melissa) provide each week, have nothing to do or see each day.  Furthermore, because the building is made of cement, there is no color on the walls (imagine cement basement walls) or anywhere else, for that matter. For Christmas, I got permission to give the girls a mural on their wall.  I was certain that this could happen, just not sure of how I would finance it (I was waiting to mention it until I got approval). 

 

After consulting with Peace Corps, I've discovered that I can do what is called a Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP), which means that Peace Corps would help me make this a legitimate, tax-friendly, government-approved, fund raised project.  Once all the paperwork goes through to DC, donors can go to the Peace Corps website and select my approved project and donate via credit card.   

 

As of yet, I'm not entirely sure how much money I'll need to finance this, but I imagine it will be a couple hundred US dollars.  As I finish up the paperwork/proposal, I will give a more detailed outline of actual expenses.

 

Where would your money go? Well, that's easy: paint, paint brushes, paint supplies. As far as I've figured it out thus far, I wouldn't need to purchase anything else.  The labor will be done entirely by volunteers.  In addition to a few of my talented foreign friends in the city, I will have, as per Peace Corps policy, at least 25% of the volunteers be Chinese citizens. I would like, however, for a higher percentage than that and have the majority of volunteers be Chinese (friends, students, etc) because it brings awareness to the community.  For foreigners, who are generally raised to believe that people with special needs are no different from anyone else, this isn't as big of a deal.  However, many Chinese people, due to a lack of exposure, do not see individuals with special needs as equal and generally cannot imagine going to school or living amongst people with special needs.  Most people do not even know this Welfare Home exists, even though it is very near to my university's campus.  The more kindhearted Chinese people I have come and help and see the great friendship and relationship that is possible to have with these girls, and who see the great talents and abilities each of these girls possess, the more hearts in the community we are able to change. With each Chinese heart that changes, as with the "Domino Effect," the better our likelihood of making the orphans' situations better in the long run. 

 

So, for now, that's all I have to report.  I leave tomorrow for Thailand, and have to finish writing up this proposal, but it sounds as if, once the paperwork is all in, this will be easy to get rolling.  I just want to make you all aware that this project will be starting and, hopefully, as soon as possible. Spread the word, tell your friends and family, and if you think it's worthwhile to help improve the lives and living situations of these many orphaned girls with special needs, please consider keeping a little money aside in the coming weeks until the proposal is finished and donations can be made online.  Any donation, prayer, positive thought, etc. will help and be greatly appreciated!

 

Peace and blessings to you all! :)

Questions? Advice? Input? Feel free to drop a (language-sensitive, please remember your emails are not private and should be considerate of Chinese culture and values) email to: valerieflynn@gmail.com