Bengbu - A look back

A message of good fortune, written in water on a sidewalk in the morning in Bengbu.

The center of town in Bengbu.

The history of Packages of Hope and Bengbu SWI goes back to 2005, when an adoptive family was looking to find information on a finding location for their daughter. A kind volunteer made an initial phone call on our behalf to the orphanage to see what we could do to help out there. What followed next was nothing short of miraculuous, and entirely due to the people involved in this effort. The orphanage director and staff who were so very open and wiling to welcome us into the orphanage and provide transparency and photo access. The volunteers who skillfully coordinated our donations on behalf of Packages of Hope, and last but not least the donors who so generously gave so that that the chidlren of Bengbu SWI could have a better life.

It continues to be a brilliant combinaton of factors that makes for a deep and trusted connection betwen adoptive families and the orphange. Each year we've managed to provide something to the orphaange that is needed for the children there, and we've been happy to see each time that we've been there that owning to the vision of the staff and the dedication of the Chinese government that the quality of care for the children continues to increase, and is becoming premiere in China.

The orphanage SWI director Mr. Song is quick to maintain that our participation is key to the process illustrating to the Chinese government that foreign adoption not only provides loving homes for these children, but also represents the beginning of ties to the orphange that last through time and across borders of country and culture. Although some would like to argue that adoption abroad is a loss of face for China. However, this pales in comparison to our ability to transcend that issue, and remain connected in support of those wanting to help the children. It is clear that children thrive in a loving home and it is clear that people with great hearts can make great things happen.

Me and director Ms. Wan at the Bengbu trainstation, which is undergoing a massive facelift.

Construction around the Bengbu train station.