100+ Beijingers Visit Rural Orphanage
2011-04-12 15:46:46 Agencies Web Editor: liuranran
 Report by Tom McGregor Biancun, Ninjing County of Hebei Province, a rural village, stands in the rural heartland of Central China. The location is remote as the town's center is dotted with crumbling buildings, rocky roads and cramped spaces. Certainly, few could imagine that more than one hundred Beijingers would enjoy spending a beautiful spring day on the weekend there. But that is actually what occurred, when a large group of Beijing residents arrived to visit an orphan home for disabled children, called 'House of Dawn.' The outing was organized by a group named Agape, which arranges visits for regular Beijingers to meet orphans and elderly people in China. I joined the group from South Cathedral Catholic Church located nearby Xuanwumen subway station, Exit B. The bus ride was an adventure in itself. An Irish priest living in Sydney, Australia, regaled bus riders with humorous stories about his trips all over the world. He even got all of us to sing his favorite Australian chant, which is "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie �� Oy, Oy, Oy!" The song sounds unique when mostly Chinese people sing it. But Father Peter told touching stories as well. He recounted working as the chaplain at a firehouse for the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) in the Bronx. He arrived on the Thursday before the 9-11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center. He explained these firefighters were just ordinary guys, who loved a good beer and a joke, but they were true heroes on 9-11. He remembers the funeral services he presided over and the time he spent with families to provide emotional support. Upon returning to Sydney, the Bronx fire crew gave him an FDNY fire helmet and chaplain's jacket. He proudly wore it on the bus. Father Peter nicknamed our bus driver, "Mr. Formula One" for his skills of outracing all cars on the highway. The bus ride was five hours long from Beijing to Biancun. Amidst the crumbling village infrastructure, the gated House of Dawn orphan home for children stood as a beacon of hope for disabled children. The property had buildings that were clean, well-equipped and the 11 nuns, who ran the facility, were hard-working and conscientious over every detail. The children were young infants to teenagers. One could visit a shop that sold handicrafts made by the children. Our group was guided into the baby girls' nursing room so we could play with them for one hour. I kissed a baby girl with brain tumors and without a nose. I took a nap with another girl by laying my head next to her tummy. While asleep, she smiled. I was informed later this girl didn't smile for 1 and 1/2 years since she was abandoned by her biological parents. But my favorite baby girl gave me a 'Texas Salute,' since I'm from Dallas, Tx. U.S.A. She pointed with her index and middle finger while bending her thumb. This looked like a gunslinging hand gesture. I nicknamed her, "Texas Cowgirl." Hopefully, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will consider declaring her an 'Honorary Texan.' I held her in my arms throughout the day. She frequently smiled and spoke her first words that day. She looked at me and said the Chinese word, "ba ba," which means "daddy" in English. She said "ba ba" so many times that one volunteer tried to hold her mouth to keep me from crying. I shed many tears that day. The children gave a special performance for the 100+ Beijingers in the audience. The show was well-organized. In some acts, children were choreographed dancing to Chinese pop songs. A blind girl played beautiful classical music on the piano. She also recited an ancient Chinese poem about the sun and the moon. Some boys, who can only grunt when speaking, sang about loving life. A girl with no arms and legs used her mouth to make a paper origami. A teenaged girl, who acted as the show's host, read her poem. It was so powerful you could not see a dry-eye in the room. She spoke about her happiness about meeting many people from Beijing, but reminded us that as an orphan girl, she's very lonely along with others living there. She asked a simple question, "will you remember me after you leave?" I was permitted to give a closing ceremony speech and I simply reminded everyone that we should never forget these orphans. Then we departed while giving hugs and kisses to all of them. On the bus, many said this was their "best days ever." One woman from a Latin American country said, "this was amazing. I don't understand why we can't do this more often. This shows the human face of China." Tommcgregor@cri.com.cn |
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