Summer camp flew by in a flash! We can't believe it's the last day already. These kids have never attended any type of camp before, so our staff worked hard to create as much fun and learning as possible into the past five days. Our camp attendees have all had to live through heart complications and undergo surgery in the past few years. Now that they are out of the hospital and recovering, we hope to give them a chance to have fun and be a kid again. We started the day off with movies and a music lesson. The kids have now mastered 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' on the recorder. They were so amused by their progress and paid close attention to Dr. Gan's instructions. Music rang throughout the room for hours. The kids were very grateful and thanked Dr. Gan for teaching them how to play. For most of these kids, this is their first exposure to music lessons! Today, our volunteer Lauren and her mom led a new art activity. They brought fish and dragon shaped magic scratch paper. The kids were very curious. This paper is black in appearance, but once scratched with a rough surface, a beautiful rainbow is revealed. It felt like magic to many of the staff! Students of course, were ecstatic. This activity is particularly good for the kids because it allows them to explore with their imagination and utilize their creativity. Changing Young Lives Foundation, a Hong Kong registered charity strive to identify underprivileged children, youths and their families in Hong Kong and mainland China and change their lives for the better. Daotanghe Central Boarding School is a large primary school in a small town in Qinghai. Most of their students are Tibetan and struggle with language since classes are taught using Mandarin curriculum. Students and teachers are working hard to close this gap. The school for the most part is poor and do not have facilities to run properly. Right now, we are also working hard to improve the infrastructure of the campus. They desperately need a central heating system for their students.The heating supply project is crucial for the students in the winter. This is the old boiler in use, covering a large part of school. But it is just rented only and needs to be returned this year. They haven't had much warmth in their school with their old boiler, but after it is returned, the children will be in classrooms without any heating. Our project will be completed right on time to help the students before the coming winter. More than simply providing medical treatment, TFISH believes compassionate patient care is essential to a healthy recovery! Hospitals can be tough for young patients, and TFISH staff provide activities for our patients after their heart surgery. Read more stories of Summer Camp Day 1; Day 2; Day 3; Day 5 Today was an eventful day at Little Red Scarf Summer Camp. The kids have fully come out of their shells, and the day was filled with laughter and joy. We started again with morning English classes and surprisingly, most kids were able to recognize and read all the letters we had taught them the last few days. Then as a fun activity, Lauren asked everyone to choose their very own English name. They all thought having a new English name was amusing and were delighted to have a new name. Everyone was given colorful markers to decorate their little name tag as they pleased. The kids then had their first music lesson from Dr. Gan and Lauren. They learned the song, “Flower of the Field”. Though at first they struggled with the lyrics and the melody, they quickly caught on and sang beautifully. The most exciting part of today’s music lesson though was when Lauren opened her bag to reveal her violin. Many of these children have never heard music live outside of a television. For all of them it was their first time seeing a violin. They were intoxicated by the sweet music. Then, Dr. Gan had another surprise for them; she gave them each a recorder as a gift so that they can make their own music. The kids constantly asked the two volunteers to listen to them play. Dr. Gan and Lauren taught them a few simple songs, such as Mary Had a Little Lamb. Hemophilia Home is a nonprofit established to improve the quality of life for patients with hemophilia by collecting knowledge on hemophilia and assisting poor patients. Hemophilia Home is in Beijing, China.
Hemophilia is caused by congenital deficiency that creates abnormal blood clotting. In the most severe situation, patients may develop spontaneous joint bleeding. In the past, patients and their families thought it was better for them not to exercise. In fact, just the opposite, appropriate activities, muscle and joint exercise could actually help. Swimming is the best exercise for hemophilia. The joints carry much less body weight in the water, so all joints in the body can get proper exercise to increase musculoskeletal strength and reduce the probability of bleeding, as result. In 2014, Hemophilia Home once again launched series of activities for hemophilic children. After evaluating multiple swimming pools, Hemophilia Home organized an event at YMCA swimming pool on June 7 for hemophilia adults and children in Beijing. More than simply providing medical treatment, TFISH believes compassionate patient care is essential to a healthy recovery! Hospitals can be tough for young patients, and TFISH staff provide activities for our patients after their heart surgery. Read more stories of Summer Camp Day 1; Day 2; Day 4; Day 5 On the third day of the Little Red Scarf Summer Camp, the originally shy campers became a lot more comfortable and began playing with each other. Everyday after breakfast, our staff have our kids call their parents to tell them they are okay. We ask them to call in the mornings on purpose in order to prevent the children crying and being homesick. Today we planned a couple field trips for the kids. This is the first time we are going off-site since the beginning of the summer camp. Some of these kids have never been on a field trip before. All of the campers were extremely excited. Unfortunately, we also had some issues with our electricity and water that day. We were stressed out about how we would be able to shower and cook, but we were able to figure it out eventually. The lack of water and electricity did not dampen our spirits for our planned outing. We could not wait for this exciting event. Our first stop: Gansu Museum. We chose this place because we know that these children are all from rural areas and although they have had the opportunity to come to Lanzhou, they have not had a chance to visit an actual museum. They were so curious about everything. More than simply providing medical treatment, TFISH believes compassionate patient care is essential to a healthy recovery! Hospitals can be tough for young patients, and TFISH staff provide activities for our patients after their heart surgery. Xinyue underwent heart surgery more than three years ago on June 22nd 2011. Her family has since then moved to Yunnan Province, but they would come back to Little Red Scarf hospital each year for a check-up. Unfortunately her scans recently revealed complications. The doctor found Xinyue’s belly swollen with liquid, to the point where she had trouble walking properly. It was difficult finding a cure and her parents proceeded to take her to four hospitals. Each hospital saying the same. TFISH staff put the family in touch with Director Dong Yifei of the Little Red Scarf hospital and he found that her pulmonary artery was not growing. We tried to get further help for XinYue and her family, but cannot find a hospital to conduct this procedure. I called Xinyue’s parents twice but was unable to reach them. When I called again on August 26th, Xinyue’s father told me that they decided not to visit anymore hospitals. They are already back in Yunnan and Xinyue has been taking diuretic, potassium, and cardiac drugs ever since getting back and her edema is a little better. Now all she can do is to continue taking drugs. I will keep you all updated Xinyue’s condition, and TFISH staff will stay in touch with her family. We hope that all the Little Red Scarf recipients can lead healthy lives, but complications do happen. We hope to create a community of support for Xinyue and her family so they can find the medical care she needs. Please send positive vibes out to Xinyue!! More than simply providing medical treatment, TFISH believes compassionate patient care is essential to a healthy recovery! Hospitals can be tough for young patients, and TFISH staff provide activities for our patients after their heart surgery. Read more stories of Summer Camp Day 1; Day 3; Day 4; Day 5 We started the second day of the summer camp early in the morning at 8am with our daily English class. We gave the kids a short quiz on four basic everyday words that they had learned the day before, eight color words and ten number words. Even though English courses are mandatory in Chinese schools, some of these kids have never been exposed to the language before. For some of the children, it is considered a review, others a preview to English. When learning about colors, the teachers gave the kids colored bowls as props to help the students understand and remember the concepts better. The kids loved the different colored bowls and had fun engaging with that activity. After English, we had a short break for ages (their favorite part)! We try to mix fun with learning so that we can keep camp interesting. Some of the boys arm wrestled. Others played group games. We all made name tags with our favorite colors so we can get to know each other better. According to their motto - “Love, truth, and service to community” - Xingyang Volunteer Federation works to enhance people’s sense of social responsibility through providing them various volunteer opportunities.The office is in Xingyang, Henan province.
May was a busy time here at Xingyang Volunteer Federation. Over the course of the month, we logged a total of 249 hours with 106 volunteers participating. The weather was scorching hot but our spirits were high and were able to achieve a lot in a few weeks. The third Sunday of May is National Disabled Day and we had our volunteers visit several people in need.We had three of our volunteers bring $2400 in donations from our supporters at Transparent Fish Fund to two patients Mou-Fen Wang and Mou-Li Wang with serious mental illness. They also visited poor households in Huai Lin village, and brought gifts, wheelchairs and other supplies to those in hardship. We sat and talked and laughed and tried to help them out with any problems they have in their life. Many disabled people live in isolation and we believe providing a community of support is as important as supplies and medicine. Hemophilia Home is a nonprofit established to improve the quality of life for patients with hemophilia by collecting knowledge on hemophilia and assisting poor patients. Hemophilia Home is in Beijing, China.
Han Yu’s “Early Springs” describe the beauty of early spring, and we have indeed, had a wonderful April. There is nothing more blessed than staying away from the hustle and bustle of big city and going back to nature with relaxing mood. For those with Hemophilia, these moments are important. Many hemophilic children avoid going outside for fear of risks from bleeding. Just one cut and they could end up in bed for several days. In 2014, Hemophilia Home once again launched series of activities for hemophilia social integration. Prior to the event, we planned for scenic routes, coordinated volunteers, logistics and checked out the site first. On April 27, we held our first event in Beijing, called: “Spring Outing, Hemophilia back to Nature”. Both adults and children with hemophilia in Beijing, and those who come to Beijing for hemophilia treatment joined together to visit Riverfront park Vista Boulevard in ShiJingShan District. Activities include fishing, kite flying and picnics, etc. More than simply providing medical treatment, TFISH believes compassionate patient care is essential to a healthy recovery! Hospitals can be tough for young patients, and TFISH staff provide activities for our patients after their heart surgery. Read more stories of Summer Camp Day 2; Day 3; Day 4; Day 5 August 11th was the first day of the Little Red Scarf Summer Camp. This camp aims to monitor the wellbeing of kids who’ve benefitted from Little Red Scarf and develop strong bonds with them through a natural summer camp setting. The most inspiring and moving part of this camp was how much gratitude and trust we received from the families. We tell the parents that the kids need to stay at Little Red Scarf’s office in Lanzhou from August 11th until August 15th and that their safety and welfare will be taken care of by the teachers at camp. We receive the same general response from the families: they were all at ease and trusted us completely with their children. After talking with their parents for just a bit, we were completely touched by their stories. From the kids attending the camp, Haoyang recovered from heart surgery three years ago and Xiao Zhen, Caiman, and Fangyan recovered only two years ago. Even though the children received their surgeries a long time ago, it still warms our hearts to see how grateful their families are for the help Little Red Scarf has given them. |
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