Orphans into loving foster families in China

We’re pleased to report that 2017 was an extremely successful year for the project. As you know, we deliver training in family placement to orphanages across Asia, enabling them to set up or expand local family placement programmes. This means that children can be moved out of the orphanages and placed with local, loving foster families.

China is too large for Care for Children’s team to train all state-run orphanages, so a more innovative and strategic approach is required. Our focus in 2017 was to build the capacity of five more experienced orphanages that are strategically located across the country. Our hope is for them to become regional training hubs and examples of best practice in family placement, with the capacity to train and influence other orphanages within their respective provinces.

Over the year, we delivered training to 249 orphanage staff from these five orphanages, as well as a number of other smaller orphanages. We were delighted that several staff members from the five orphanages joined our team to co-deliver some of the training workshops.

Furthermore, each of the five orphanages delivered at least one training workshop independently of Care for Children. These workshops were attended by foster carers, their own staff and, in some cases, staff from other orphanages. This is an extremely exciting development as it goes a long way to ensuring that this work is sustainable in the long-term.

Once again, thank you for your support and staying connected with our work.

We’re pleased to say that the Thai project has progressed with much the same momentum with which it left off in 2016. With the aim of rolling-out our family placement training across the country, the team completed core level training of all 20 government-run orphanages – a major achievement seeing as we only started our work in Thailand just five years ago!

Over the course of the year, the training team delivered 59 workshops for five orphanages, the last group to be trained: one located in the south of Thailand, one in the north-east and three in the central region, in total caring for over 1,300 children. A decision was made to hold the training sessions at each of the five project sites so that the maximum number of participants could attend, rather than at our training centre in the north. As four of the five institutions are homes for babies and are often quite short staffed, it is difficult for the caregivers to be gone for much longer than a day, therefore it is better if the training is on-site, even though some may have just completed a night’s shift beforehand.

Here are a few quotes from people involved in our programme:

“I am totally in favour of placing children from government orphanages into foster families, because I see the impact that living in an institution has on the children’s development and well-being. I want the children to be part of a family and receive all the quality care and warmth that a family can give. It would make such a difference to the caregivers in the orphanages if there were less children because as it is now, each of the buildings are so full and the caregivers are tired and stressed. My dream is to be able to move a whole building of children into foster families. Then we would be able to use that building as a child development centre.” Social Worker, Khan Tong Babies Home

“Living in an orphanage is like living in a box – there are so many rules. In a family, there are rules too, but there is also a sense of being free.  I’ve learnt so much from my foster family.  They have taught me the skills I’ll need for life.” Foster child

“I have worked with child welfare institutions for a long time and I understand their failings and weaknesses. I think the route we are on now [with foster care] is the right way to go. I have watched the development of the children in foster care over a long period of time; seeing the special love and bond that the children have with their families. Now I’ve seen how Care for Children has been imparting their skills and knowledge to the government orphanages and I think it is amazing and I want to thank you. Today as we visited the foster families, you could see something in the children’s eyes, the warmth and the happiness they have. The children’s development is so different from the children who live in the orphanages.  I think staff in these institutions agree that children need to be in families. I want to thank you for showing us the way for children to grow in a family environment and receive real warmth and real happiness.” Government official

Once again, thank you for your support and staying connected with our work.

As you know, Care for Children supports care institutions (orphanages) across Asia to develop local foster care programmes.  This means moving children out of the institution and placing them in local, loving foster families.

Our Thai team is in the process of rolling-out our family placement training to all child welfare homes (orphanages) across the country.  One of those is Pakkred Home for Boys, which is based in a suburb of Bangkok.  It is currently home to over 100 boys, the majority of whom were abandoned due to poverty.

We started training the children’s home in January 2016. The home was extremely interested in developing a foster care programme but was skeptical about finding suitable foster parents.  As so many people move to Bangkok to find work, it can be difficult to identify ‘stay at home foster mums’.

The ideal scenario is to find a group of foster parents within a small close-knit community. This offers the benefits of peer support and also makes visiting the families a lot easier.

The home sent a mix of social workers, child development specialists and care givers to the training. They commented that the training was not only improving their knowledge of foster care but would also improve the standard of care for children within the home.

They have since placed six children in foster care and there is now a sense of hope that they will be able to find many more families.  They are planning on sending more staff to the training this year so that more of them can become family placement workers.

“As I’ve seen some of the boys move into foster families, I've felt really proud and happy that these kids now have a good environment to live in and a new chance at happiness. And it is not just good for children but also the families who now feel a new sense of contentment. It has really inspired me to keep working and to feel proud of what I do.”  Family Placement Worker

Once again, thank you for your support and staying connected with our work.

As you know, Care for Children supports care institutions (orphanages) across Asia to transition to family-based care, specifically foster care.  This means moving children out of the institution and placing them in local, loving foster families.

Chengdu Welfare Institution, one of Care for Children's long-term partners in China, has seen big changes in the way it operates. 

Based in one of the most important economic, cultural and communication centres of China, Care for Children started working with this care institution in 2001, at which point it knew nothing about foster care.  Thanks to Care for Children’s ongoing training and support, the institution has now developed one of the best models of family-based care for orphaned and abandoned children in China.

The institution is currently supporting over 200 children it has placed with families in the local community.  By taking part in Care for Children’s training, staff at the institution are now convinced that family-based care is much better for children than institutional care.

“It’s better for the child to be placed into families as it provides the child with a family and the sense of belonging. It also helps to build the child’s confidence.”  

“After the child was moved into the foster family, his school performance has greatly improved.”

With more and more children moved out of the institution and placed into local families, Chengdu Child Welfare Institution has repurposed its facilities accordingly to support children within the local community. They have established a kindergarten within the institution with over 100 children. Not only does it provide much needed early childhood education but it also allows children within the institution to mix with children in the community.

They have also redirected their funds and resources to build community resource centres within those communities where the majority of children have been placed. As well as a base for the family placement workers, from where they can manage their caseload of children, here children can access a variety of services such as special education, rehabilitation, and independent living classes. Parents also have access to training such as positive communication with children and how to care for children with disabilities. As well as improving the success of family placements, it is hoped that over time the community resource centres will result in less children being abandoned in the first place. 

Once again, thank you for your support and staying connected with our work.

One of Care for Children's fundraisers has just got back from an inspiring visit to the project in Thailand.  This is his account of the work he saw:

Foster Carers Visit

"Two weeks ago today I was in Northwest Thailand, on a visit to two remarkable groups of foster carers who live in the beautiful countryside north of Chiang Mai. At the first village we came to we stopped at a foster carer’s house to visit a group comprising of five families who were each fostering at least one child from Chiang Mai Home for Boys. In another village we met a similar sized group of carers who had taken in children from Chiang Mai Home for Girls. The two houses were homely and clean, centring around large communal areas which illustrated well the occupants’ lifestyle priorities."

"Each day the groups of carers meet at the two houses, supporting each other, sharing difficulties and achievements, and allowing the younger children to socialise whilst others attend school together. In this environment the children being fostered appear to be flourishing; developing essential social skills and confidence as part of a group to complement the strong attachment to their foster parents. This community (in the truest sense of the word) is what has so impressed the Care for Children team. Despite the vast disparity of resources, we would suggest that this model of interdependence and support could be an example to western family placement programmes."

National Conference

"The day after we visited the families I was able to attend the Thailand National Foster Care Conference, hosted by Care for Children in Chiang Mai. Delegations from all 20 government-run care institutions in Thailand attended, and in the morning session those who had recently begun running family placement programmes shared their initial experiences and challenges. It was great to see those institutions with more mature programmes being there to guide and encourage their colleagues. What really struck me throughout the day was the enthusiasm and unity amongst our frontline colleagues. They seemed truly passionate about this national movement, which is already changing their country for the better."

"During the afternoon another meeting took place at which Care for Children’s founder, Dr Robert Glover, addressed key officials responsible for implementing Thailand’s family placement programme. Robert shared encouraging stories from his time working in China, before driving home the message that the future welfare of Thailand’s orphaned and abandoned children rests firmly in the hands of those present. Clearly inspired by this message, our hope is that these delegates will continue to approach the task of shifting Thailand’s care provision from an institutional to a family-based model with the same drive and determination they have so far shown."

As our projects in China and Thailand enter new phases, we will make sure that we continue to keep you updated on this important work.

Thank you so much for your support and for staying connected to our work - it really is appreciated!