Ellie's Orphanage

We visited Ellie’s orphanage today, and it was truly amazing!! I mean really really something! I need to say that this orphanage is absolutely not typical of the orphanages in China.

 

We met all of her teachers - the ratio in her class is better than 1/3 teacher/student.

 

When we got to the orphanage, we were greeted by Son Li (sp?), the same nanny who brought Ellie to us on gotcha day. We soon met the orphanage director and another nanny, and they were super sweet and so excited to see Ellie again!

 

We were first taken to Ellie’s play room, which was on the second floor. It was filled with colors, mats, toys, letters, pictures, blocks, and playhouses. All of the children were playing with the various nannies and they allowed us into the room to play with the children as well. Music was constantly playing and it was a very loving and happy atmosphere. We all sat on the floor and all of the nannies call Ellie by her full Chinese name, Xin Yishan. In Chinese, it sounds like zhin-ee-shan (where shan rhymes with pan), said very quickly.

 

As we left the room, one of Ellie’s nannies fell in love with Allison’s baby carrier and wanted to try it on! Then, of course we had to put Ellie in it with her and they both loved it! J From Ellie’s classroom, we took a tour of the rest of the orphanage. The orphanage has insane technology.....a sensory room that I don't think America has ever seen before, cutting edge equipment, and tons of personnel who all seem deeply in love with the kids.

 

In one particular room, the children can press circles on the floor for certain colors to light up and certain sounds to play. In the next room, a teacher was working with two students to paint pictures, ceramic dolls, and do crafts. Then, on the next level, we were taken to a large circular room where the children are taught how to walk using walkers with rollers. Then, we were shown the brand new, hi-tech water treatment tub that is used to help the children increase their strength and help them be more coordinated so that they can learn to walk. The next room was an acupuncture room where an outside acupuncturist comes in during the week to perform this on the kids.  Then we went by the massage room, where professional masseuses massage the kids!! Then we were shown some of the classrooms for older children where they were working on crafts and artwork of various kinds. Then, we were able to meet some of the older children in the orphanage whose needs were more severe, but they were so cute and precious! One particular girl was working on a painting of butterflies, while another was painting flowers and fairies. They were so excited to show their work to us! Then we were shown the sewing room, and the teacher in this room used to be an orphan in Ellie’s orphanage. Now she teaches the children how to sew so that they may have a trade. Also, everything that the children sew can be used by the orphanage for clothes, etc. We’re talking NICE things here….angora sweaters, knit dresses, etc.  Then we were shown the music room where the children can pay drums or learn to pay the keyboard. They told us that some of the older children who learned to play now have a band and they have paying gigs!  Then, we were shown the adventure room, full of climbing nets and soft towers to climb on. This room is for the older children to come and play and pretend they are on a great adventure, hence the name “adventure room.”

 

Next, we were taken to an amazing room where about 12 children were working on beautiful Chinese cross-stitches. Once again, the children were so precious and were so proud of their work. In fact, their work was displayed on one wall and we were informed that it was all for sale! So we bought one! A portion of the money that is raised from the sale of the children’s work goes back to the orphanage and a portion goes into the children’s special savings fund. The stitching that we bought basically means that “you have to give something up to earn something,” or “no pain no gain” as our guide said. Also, the work was all framed, and we were worried that we would not be able to get the frame on the plane or in our luggage, so they sold us a stitching that did not have a frame. And, the cool thing about this stitching is that it was not quite finished. So, one of the little girls finished it for us while we were there! Our hearts melted! We also met a little girl named Deborah in this room, and she even spoke a little English. It was so lovely to say “hello, Deborah. How are you? Your work is so beautiful!” She understood us and had the biggest smile on her face! Too precious!

 

We were then shown the orphanage super market, where the children are allowed to use the money they earn from selling their work to purchase special things for themselves. The supermarket had candy, toys, and other fun items that the children could save up their money to buy. We were then taken to the apartment section of the orphanage where some foster moms and dads live with 4-6 children per room. The apartments are small and quaint but they give the children a sense of home. Then leaving one particular apartment, some children came by and wanted us to try some special bread that they had baked themselves. Well, of course we tried it and it was delicious! After that, we made our way to the cafeteria and then to the bakery where were offered more homemade goodies. This time, it was a cupcake type bread (with no icing) with walnuts on top. Once again, delicious!  This is where the kids learn to bake things and they are sold as well.  We were told that when the teachers and nannies want a baked good, they have to purchase it…..then they packed up a huge bag of cupcakes for us to take!

 

The last few rooms we visited were for 3-6 year olds. These rooms contained a number of activities that the children had been working on that would help the children learn their numbers, colors, letter, and shapes. In one particular room, all of the crafts were made from recycled materials, such as the bottoms of plastic bottles and straw paper. All of it was very hi-tech, well-organized, and focused on actively engaging the children.

 

After all of that amazement, sadly it was time to leave. We took lots of pictures with the nannies and the orphanage director, and we were even given some gifts. Allison and I both received a traditional female and male hat worn by the local citizens of Urumqi. It was a truly an experience that we all will treasure forever! J

 

As a side note, we were able to talk to the orphanage director about Ellie’s foster family. They are so excited for Ellie to be getting a family, but very sad to see her go. She has been in a home with a foster grandma and grandpa and she was their only baby. When they found out she was being adopted and going to America, they took her to do special things and had a big family portrait made. I know that lady is broken-hearted. We didn't get to meet her.

 

As another side note, the lady who runs the bakery at the orphanage used to be a chef at the 5 star hotel where we are staying!  We took lots of video. :-) When one of her nanny's was holding her today, Allison walked by her and Ellie reached for her.....that's a very good sign! :-)

 

Tomorrow, we are off to the local bazaar to find some traditional Urumqi gifts for Ellie.

 

(as another side note, the internet here is terribly slow and it takes forever to upload pics)