Life inside
Eagles' Wings II
(Ying De Chi Bang II)
COAT's third family home opened in July 2008. This new facility has the potential to become home to at least twenty children who we can take care of, nurture, educate and discipline, in and through a loving, caring, family environment.
Linda Shum (COAT’s Director and Founder) opened this new home during the month of July 2008 and it is now home to seventeen children. Some of the children who now live in EWII were transferred from Eagles’ Wings III in order for them to attend the local state-run schools. As we are no longer sending our children to the local boarding school, they need to be nearer to a state school, especially those who have minor disabilities that impede their walking ability.
A Team Members experience of life in EWII.
I stayed here for the last three weeks of the trip. It was a lot more comfortable, I even had my 'own' room. It was the office - so it was a shared area during the day - but all 'mine' at night.
My first impression was the number of babies there, seven are under three years old. The older ones of these are so disabled that they are not doing the usual three-year old things so still really 'babies'. Because the office is on the upper level, the noise of the children wasn't as obvious as in EW1.
Last year when I visited, this home was an empty shell that was in the process of being furbished. It was wonderful to see how it al looks now that it is up and running. Wen Fei and Wen Xuan were in EW1 last year, so it was good to see them again. Hong Wei had had a 'holiday' in EW1 last year so his was another familiar face.
Again, many of the children I knew from reports, but it was good to get to know them all much better and especially to put names to faces of the babies. I enjoyed sitting with them and playing with them during the day.
I had taken over a CD of computer-based jigsaw. This was a great hit with the kindy-aged children so I spent time with one or more of them on my lap guiding their use of the mouse to put the pieces together. No lost pieces this way!
The volunteer Mum (Donna) who had left just a couple of days before we arrived, had instituted a games night on a Saturday for the older four children who are school aged and attend the village school. It's amazing how easy it is to pick up Chinese words (colours and numbers) while playing card games with the children.
It is just lovely getting e-mails from these children now and having to think very hard to work out what they are saying and how to reply to them. Lou Huan is getting extra e-mails from me these days and always helps me. She's a treasure!
On weekends and holidays, the two kindy-aged boys (Xiao Gang and Tian Ming) would drag me out to the play area on the roof to push them on the swings and to put the two who can't walk (Wen Fei and Wen Xuan) to the top of the slippery slide.
I am amazed how 'normal' Tong Tong is. If you didn't know she is blind you wouldn't be able to tell easily. She is very confident as she toddles around her home.
Linda's grand-daughter (Ebonnie) also accompanied us on this trip. Ebonnie's family have sponsored Liu Er for many years, so she was able to spend a lot of time with her. Ebonnie had her ninth birthday while we were there, so we all helped her celebrate with a cake. Ebonnie didn't know a lot of Chinese and the children didn't know a lot of English but they seemed to have a lot of noisy fun together. You don't need to have a common language to play!
In both homes, the ayis made us feel most welcome. Communication with them is not always easy but it is fun trying!
We are really happy to see the children thriving in this homely environment. This means that we now have approximately sixty or more children in our care. Obviously this requires sponsorship for the children through our child sponsorship programRaising a Child in Eagles' Wings and for the Ayi’s wages, as well as the general everyday maintenance, food, transportation costs, clothes, the list is endless. So if this account of the day-to-day activities in EWII as well as relating to life in EWI and EW III touches you to give, please donate by clicking on the above links and then going to the appropriate sponsorship form to provide us with your details. Thank you for reading this article and please keep your eyes on this website for future updates.
Margaret Mason
COAT Secretary
07/09
AROUND EWII
House Parents Living Room
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