The Half the Sky Foundation

半边天基金会

More pictures of the Half the Sky Foundation program in Gaoyou are on the HTS website.

What brought me to Gaoyou for a week in April 2005 was a chance to work with the Half the Sky Foundation (HTS) on one of their projects there, and another in Haikou in Hainan Province. I have to admit that the opportunity to spend a week in Gaoyou was a powerful motivator in my decision to volunteer for the build trip. At the time, I wasn’t very familiar with the work that Half the Sky was doing. I had been concerned with some of the developmental delays that our daughter seemed to experience at the institution, but wasn’t sure how to help. Half the Sky was the answer.

The Half the Sky Foundation was founded in 1998 by a group of adoptive parents to help the orphanages in China care for the children there, and address learning and development issues. From what I saw, their services are exactly what is needed at the institutions.

While the CWI nannies are loving and caring, they just don’t have the training and resources to help the children develop on a normal path.  HTS now (as of 1/06) has programs in 25 institutions to help train the existing staff, and provide additional staff, to help the children grow.

While the crew of parent volunteers worked all day assembling and painting furniture and painting rooms, HTS staffers held training classes in a local hotel, instructing new nannies and teachers modern on modern child development methods. I cannot overstate the difference that this training will make in the lives of institutionalized and future adoptive children.

At the Gaoyou CWI, HTS has a very unique program called the “Jiangsu Province Foster Village”. In the village preschool orphans from around the province that were in danger of “falling through the cracks” are paired with volunteer couples in a group setting to help them grow with a secure support structure.

These couples are quite amazing. Most have already raised a child and now they want to help these orphans. Each couple is paired with four children, many with special needs. Although they are provided with apartments, they give back to the children so much more than they receive.

The Half the Sky building will really stand out in Gaoyou. Instead of white tile or paint, the outside of the building is painted a sky blue. That color, with the new vinyl windows, makes the building look great. The top floor contains play, art and study areas for the kids. The lower two floors house the eight apartments that the foster families will call home. The apartments are two bedroom units with a decent kitchen/dining room and a living room. I would guess that they are at least 800 sq ft.

Participating in the building renovation project with Half The Sky and seeing the wonderful work they do was truly inspiring. I encourage all readers to give generously to HTS. Your money will not be wasted. You can find out more about HTS at www.halfthesky.org.