Monday, June 4, 2012 at 11:24PM | Share Article 
I recently received a letter from a Mom who had adopted one of our children from Xining Children's Home. She had read my recent post about Jiang Xiang and she thought she recognized his face from some of the baby pictures of her daughter, Rosemary. She wanted to know if Jiang Xiang could possibly be Rosemary's foster brother from their shared home in Xining.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 01:06AM | Share Article 
Sam has stabilised a lot since coming to Xining Children's Rehabilitation centre. His epilepsy is also under control
We once said 'handicapped', and today we may say 'disabled', but to be more sensitive we now give recognition to the person first and so we say, 'a person with a disability'. But neither the dictionary nor the correct etiquette books tell us how we should describe a whole family that is disabled one way or another. The Zhao family is a typical example of this.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 01:54AM | Share Article 
The counselling rooms are busier now than ever before
When refugees and asylum seekers come to us they are often traumatised by the experiences that forced them to flee their homes. If left untreated these people may develop ways of dealing with their trauma which become a huge handicap in the future. At Chung King Mansions Service Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, our new psycho-social programme aims to help these people in a professional way.
I am so grateful for the two volunteer counsellors who’ve worked with our adult clients over the past three years. Their contribution has led to this expansion, and I am sure they’re as pleased as I am that the new programme includes counselling for children and teenagers.
Thirteen mental health professionals are providing pro bono services to help meet the needs of our clients. These professionals include counsellors, clinical psychologists, an art therapist, and a life coach. Because these counsellors speak a variety of languages, many of our clients can be counselled in their mother tongue, so it’s less of a struggle as they share their pain and fear.
Christian Action now offers the refugee and asylum seeker community a wide-range of resources to deal with and manage psychological, spiritual, emotional and behavioural issues. For me this is a major breakthrough in our service provision!
I am also optimistic about this programme’s continued growth. The Centre for Behavioural Health (CBH) at Hong Kong University are partnering with us to advise, assist, and promote the development of a holistic psycho-social service. We have also entered into a partnership with City University, Alliant University (US), California School of Professional Psychology, and the Hong Kong Institute of Christian Counsellors. Their PhD and Masters’ students volunteer at our centre.
A solid Advisory Board is the foundation on which we’re building. Members come from a diverse range of ethnic, cultural, educational and vocational backgrounds and specialise in the mental health field. Their experience will be invaluable in understanding the needs of our clients.
There are currently 32 adults and seven children in this programme. Although we’re helping more people than ever before, we only have the capacity to serve a small percentage of those who need counselling. We also welcome referrals from partner NGOs. Please pray that funding is forth coming to make this service available to many more suffering people.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 04:43AM | Share Article 
There's so much in life that we take for granted! This post is about a little boy who has made me very grateful that I am able to do the simplest thing - say 'Hello'.
When Jiang Xiang, now eleven, came to live at Xining Children's Home four years ago he had congenital heart disease and cognitive disability. We had a big challenge before us, so I'm also very grateful that our special education consultant at Xining Rehabilitation Centre was there to tackle this challenge.
Jiang Xiang was once an outgoing little boy, but because of his cognitive disabilities he was only able to make strange sounds. Other children laughed at him, so he was ashamed and became socially withdrawn.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 12:34AM | Share Article 
I have just returned from England, where I spent two weeks meeting with Christian Action's supporters and also with others who did not know about the opportunities open to us in Qinghai. Their positive response and earnest desire to help the orphans and abandoned children was truly gratifying. I was particularly humbled and inspired to continue this work by two people.