On October 20th 2013, 18 Bethel kids will join 30,000 other runners to take part in the Beijing marathon! It will require determination and perseverance, and we are so excited to run with them to say to the world that children with visual impairment can live life to the fullest!
Bethel China supports children who are visually impaired in China. The majority of these children live in institutional care for most of their life. Within their orphanages, they rarely have an opportunity to receive an education, develop healthy relationships or pursue goals and dreams. Bethel's family-style projects in Beijing ensure that children live in small groups with caregivers, go to school each day are encouraged to dream and set goals for the rest of their lives.
Bethel has established four homes and specialised educational opportunities for children in the past 10 years. Our projects allow children to be loved in a safe and secure environment, to grow up in a small group of brothers and sisters, eating breakfast and dinner at home before going to school and receiving a high-quality education each day. Each child has an Individual Education Plan for each child based on their age and abilities and what kind of visual impairment they have.
The long-term benefits on the children are significant. From hopeless situations, children join a Bethel family and receive a high-quality education that sets them up for life. The project also has long-term effects on the community. As more members of society see the children and realise how much they can achieve, they catch onto Bethel's vision and start to believe that these children should be respected, treated with dignity, and deserve to live life to the fullest.
