 ittle Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu and Yunnan provinces and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. After the 1st operation, Cheng Xian got a good start. He had been recovering well. Every item of test results seemed fine. According to the test results, his lung blood vessels were developing well. Doctor Liu said it was the best time for the 2nd operation. Cheng Xian’s mother said, the result of 1st operation was obvious. The child changed a lot. He ate well and had no cold in the recent month. Cheng Xian’s mother smiled. During the second time in hospital, Doctor Liu did detailed checks, caring the child’s changes. When he was in hospital, he made many friends. Many children came and visited him every day, caring his progress. Nurses and doctors were fond of him, too He accepted tests once he was admitted by hospital. The ward was cold and he got cold. His doctor coordinated pediatrician to treat him. Meanwhile, Cheng Xian and the doctor were waiting for the good news brought by Beijing expert. Beijing expert was invited for Cheng Xian’s operation. When the expert checked all testing results as well as his physical situation, he suggested the child should be treated in Beijing, for his situation was complicated. The process after the operation was very important. The conditions in Beijing were much better. The 1st operation in Lanzhou provided a good foundation for the recovery of Cheng Xian’s further operation. On August 21, Cheng Xian was discharged by Lanzhou Hospital and he was preparing for the further treatment in Beijing. Looking at his back, we hope everything will be fine for Cheng Xian and his family.
Original article written by Li Wang, translated by Maggie Li, edited by Yanyan Zhang
Got the end-of-summer blues? Then let these inspiring stories wash over you like waves on the seashore. As summer wraps up, the sunny beach days might be over….But in place of the sand and ocean, here are some touching stories from Little Red Scarf to still warm your heart. Ray of Hope: Cheng XiangCheng Xiang, an 18-month-old boy, had one of the most severe cases of congenital heart disease we had ever seen. Before his first surgery in May 2015, Cheng Xiang’s lips, cheeks, and hands were black. After a successful surgery, his complexion became normal and he could finally laugh! Thanks to our generous donors, he is now undergoing his second surgery. Read more about this little fighter.  Little Red Scarf, located in Lanzhou, Gansu and in Yunnan, provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. Editor's Note: Our staff wanted to help make Dayong's last days as meaningful as possible, so they asked him to write about his home province Gansu. Read the translated version of this young author's article called "Gansu: My Beloved Home Province."  Our Last CommunicationThe last time I spoke to Dayong was on July 1, 2015. Before then I had asked him to write an article about Gansu. So on the morning of July 1st he sent it to me, and I thanked him. Afterwards, I didn’t receive any messages from him. In the early part of July, I introduced Huzi (another LRS beneficiary) to Dayong on QQ so they could correspond, but Dayong still didn’t answer. I thought he had gone to Xi’an to get his usual medicine.
About half a month later, I sent another message to Dayong via QQ, but still didn’t receive any reply. I became worried and called his number. I thought he might have been hospitalized again, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Eventually, a low voice answered the phone. It was Dayong’s father. I asked him if everything was ok with Dayong. After a few seconds of silence, his father told me Dayong passed away on July 2nd. I knew that day would come, but I did not expect it would come so soon.  4 years ago, Xiaoting after surgery Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu and Yunnan province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. Xiaoting’s home is in the Longzhong area in Gansu Province, 95 kilometers south of Lanzhou. Xiaoting and Xihong live in the same village, which is easily accessible and relatively closer to the city. Xiaoting’s family is also very special. Her father moved in with her mother’s family after marriage, and her mother died 50 days after giving birth to Xiaoting. The family knows that Xiaoting’s mother has heart problems, but still does not know to this day whether her problems were congenital or rheumatic. Xiaoting’s grandfather also passed away early, so Xiaoting and her older brother were both raised by their grandmother because their father is often working away from home. Xiaoting’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother are also living with them. Little Red Scarf staff still recalls Xiaoting’s great-grandfather to this day. Xiaoting found out she had congenital heart disease when she was 3 years old because of catching a cold. Her great-grandpa insisted on giving Xiaoting surgery. When Xiaoting was 7 years old, her great-grandpa was nearly 80 and was asking all around, finding out about LRS being able to support impoverished CHD patients from the local women’s federation. When Xiaoting was hospitalized, it was also her great-grandfather who communicated with LRS and the medical personnel. The doctors at the hospital do not remember Xiaoting anymore, but when we brought up the 80-year-old great-grandfather bringing his great-granddaughter to the hospital for surgery, they recalled immediately and praised the great-grandfather.  Xiaoting grew up and stay healthy Four years have past, and LRS and Xiaoting’s great-grandfather are still in touch. The over 80-years-old great-grandfather is generally healthy except for his impaired hearing. We learned the changes of the child and of the family through each of our follow-up phone calls. The great-grandfather is also a dedicated Little Red Scarf volunteer, recommending another CHD patient from the same village, Xihong, to LRS. Xihong and Xiaoting underwent surgery the same year. Because of Xihong’s special family circumstances, we could not contact his family, so we learned about Xihong’s conditions through Xiaoting’s great-grandfather. He told us, “Xihong’s grandparents can’t understand what you are saying, and you can’t understand what they are saying. His father is often away from home and unreachable by phone. You guys can just contact me; I can tell you Xihong’s condition.” We would like to praise this lovable and respectable great-grandfather: his continued efforts gave Xiaoting and Xihong healthy bodies and happy lives, and his help made LRS’ job a lot easier!  Xiaoting with her great-grandpa  Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle.
Dayong would regularly go to Xi’an with his father to get the special medicine he needed, called Ventavis. It was quite an expense for a rural family like theirs. Dayong applied to get the medicine for free, and to his delight, he was approved! It was like winning the lottery for him! He could take Ventavis for free for 9 months. Here's that touching moment in his own words: I received a phone call one day and was informed that my application for free Ventavis had been approved. It’s great news for me. To apply for the medicine, I had to travel on worn-down buses, and I nearly thought of giving up. My father ate a lot of instant noodles. We were soaked by the heavy rain, stayed in wet hotels, and were bitten by mosquitoes. I am lucky to get the support. My parents could finally feel relieved a little bit. It means I can get the best targeted therapy. (Ventavis for 9 months is worth 50,000 RMB or about $8,000 USD.) I still have to face the difficult reality while I am enjoying the good news. I know there are a lot of people like me in China who need to be helped. I still have a long way to go. I feel guilty when I think of quarrels with my father. As a patient, I was fussy about my breakfast and gave my mother some trouble. I ate while avoiding some certain foods. I deeply regret it. I will be more cautious, peaceful, and cherishing. Thank you, Little Red Scarf! Original article written by Ying Guan, translated by Maggie Li, and edited by Yanyan Zhang  Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu and Yunnan province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. Xihong is from a town in Gansu province that lies about 95km south of Lanzhou, almost neighboring Sichuan. It is a convenient area with good access to transportation. His family consists of 4 people total: Xihong’s grandfather, grandmother, father and Xihong. Xihong’s grandparents are not very intellectual, and because they are so much older they have trouble communicating. Meanwhile, Xihong’s father suffers intermittently from mental illness that renders him unresponsive, yet he is the family’s mainstay. Since he is not educated and has no specialized skills, he can only work as an unskilled laborer and comes home just once a month. Thus, Xihong is under the care of his 70+ year-old grandparents for the majority of time. In Xihong’s village in 2011 there was another child, Xiao Ting, who received surgery for congenital heart disease with the help of Little Red Scarf. It was Xiao Ting’s great grandfather who told Xihong’s father about the successful surgery when Xihong was 8 years old, the same year that Xihong underwent his own surgery. Four years later, Xihong is 13, and except for his small size (which makes him look 8 or 9 years old), he rarely gets sick, is one of the best students in his fifth grade class, and is quite athletic.
 Dong Sheng after surgery on 2012 Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle. Dongsheng lives in a remote mountain village in Ping Liang, Jing Chuan. There was no sign of breathing when he was born and doctors rescued him out of this critical stage. As a baby, he was sick most of the time, either cold or pneumonia. Later on, he was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. His parents took him to hospital every few other days. To raise money to treat Dongsheng’s illness, his parents tried to borrow from all of their relatives, friends. Because of poverty, his sister 13 years senior to Dongsheng, dropped out of school when she was a 4-th grader in elementary. Back then, the only goal for the family is to use all the resources they have available for Dongsheng’s treatment. Until the middle of January 2012 when Dongsheng was one and half years old, he had a successful heart surgery for his congenital heart disease funded by Little Red Scarf. Remember it was one month prior to Chinese lunar new year. The whole family was so happy with tears and finally they can be together to have a peaceful Chinese new year. Three years went by. On the phone, we can hear Dongsheng calling us aunt with a very clear voice. Sounds like he had recovered quite well. His father told us Dongsheng is doing well and the wound from surgery is no longer noticeable. But he is quite picky in food and therefore, he is smaller than his peers.  Longwan Caring Home is located in Dahua County, which was listed as one of the poorest counties in Guangxi Province. Longwan Caring Home is a big family consisting of orphans, single parents, and abandoned children. The normal expense of the Home is sustained by plantation, breeding, and small business.
Our children are all from the Dayao mountains and are very lacking in material comforts. They could not interact with the outside world. After coming to our home, there are often people of different areas, fields, and status who come and visit them. Each new person they meet and each new activity will give them a new perspective on life. This time, our visitors are under a similar circumstance as the children. They are older children from Huaen Children’s Village in Duan County. Some of the children asked, “Are they also orphans? Are their parents away working?”
Students and teachers from Duan Huaen Children’s Village. The village was built in 2008. The students from Huaen Children’s Village split the children up into two groups, pre-school and elementary school, to play games. While the children played in the fields, we chatted with Director Gong and Teacher Liu of Huaen in our office. At the end of games, everyone gathered to sing and tell stories. Time passed by very fast. An afternoon of activities ended before everyone was satisfied. We welcome our friends from the children’s village to drop by again! Original article written by Aihua Ban, translated and edited by Allison Zhang Grounded on core values of respect, love, and service to the elderly, the Xin Yue Senior Citizen Service Center of Chongqing, China, promotes social work services for senior citizens and builds harmonious living environment for them. On June 28th, our center, in association with Chongqing Sunshine Philanthropy Foundation and Mierdi International Culture Club, hosted a group birthday party for seniors with June birthdays. In the morning, we went to the Mierdi International Culture Club to go through volunteer training and international philanthropic culture exchange. In the afternoon, the volunteers led a happy birthday party with children and seniors, celebrating birthdays for the elderly. 40 seniors came that day. The average was over 80. The hot weather could not dampen their cheerful mood. They sat together long before the birthday party started. The volunteers were running up and down the venue, busy with setting up, helping seniors enter, holding umbrellas for them, and sending fruits to them. Everyone’s hearts were filled with love. There were caring volunteers by each senior’s side. There were over 30 volunteers on site. The volunteers provided the seniors with five gifts: their care, kind wishes, cake, company, and physical presents. Seeing the busy volunteers working at the birthday party, one grandpa commented, “I haven’t celebrated my birthday in several years. Today there are so many people celebrating with us. Thank you so much!” The entire event lasted two hours. Performances included Peking opera by the elderly, songs and dances by the volunteers, poetry readings, and foreign culture programs. The most memorable act was blowing the candles on the cakes with the seniors and sharing happiness. Many volunteers told us that although they gave up rest time during the weekend, they feel like bring their family and children to serve the community is very worthwhile. Original article written by Ling Feng, translated and edited by Allison Zhang
Mingda School is in Xiji County, Ningxia province and pays attention to rural education in northwest of China, in particular English education. The School provides a relaxing and healthy education environment for the left-behind children living in rural areas.
To elementary school students, an important reason for studying English is their interest. They are still young and cannot understand information very well. So, we cannot simply teach them what is in the textbooks; we must also organize different English-related activities. We need to allow them better learn English in a relaxed and comfortable environment.
This week, we went with college volunteers to Zhenbeibao Yilong Elementary School, hosting an English Story Meeting in the afternoon. In fact, in mountain area schools, the children’s understanding of English is limited to the textbook, since there are no supplementary books for them to better their understanding. So when we mentioned having an English Story Meeting, the students were very excited and could not wait to begin. They all ran to the podium to ask the teacher questions about the meeting, showing their interest for the English Story Meeting. When the meeting just started, the students could not wait to speak and were afraid there is not enough time for them to talk. Because of the chaos this created, we had to split them into groups. The entire class was split into ten four-person groups. First, stories were told within groups, with each story around 3 minutes. After 15 minutes have passed, we split the ten groups into two larger groups for a story-telling competition. The guidelines were: good body language and proficient spoken English. Our meeting was about to end without us realizing it. We could tell from the satisfaction in the children’s eyes that this meeting was very successful. In the future, we should try to have more activities, so the students can learn and play at the same time, better grasping new knowledge. Original article written by Ruiping Zhang, translated and edited by Allison Zhang |
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