Huanggang Orphanage.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to visit the orphanage. We left for about a 2 hour drive from Wuhan to Huanggang, and were able to see some of the rural countryside of China. Upon arrival to the orphanage, we came upon the entrance to the courtyard.

After we entered the courtyard, we were greeted by a few of the pink outfitted orphanage workers.

We saw an area where several older children were playing. One of the fathers in our group brought a bag of candy which the director gave him permission to hand out to the children..

At this time I also saw the only two babies we would see during our time here. One was in a stairway by the courtyard, and another was looking out of a window from an upper level of the orphanage.

The director led us inside and upstairs to a meeting room. My initial impression was that the building was very, very cold! I can see why they bundle the babies so much! In the meeting room we sat at opposite sides from the Director, Vice director and several workers. They had provided bottled water, and fresh strawberries at the table for us to eat. (after eating many strawberries, it dawned on me that they had likely been washed in tap water! oops! But I never got sick!) The director talked to us through our rep and translator and spoke of the needs of the orphanage, and talked about the practice of this orphanage to place all their babies with foster parents, and how it was a model orphanage.  My impression was that they placed the babies throughout the community and with the orphanage workers. The babies spent time at the orphanage during the day, but went home with their foster family in the evenings. We were also allowed to ask questions about our children, but in many ways it felt very elusive, and they did not impart much information to us. I was hoping to get more information about Jade's time at the orphanage, and her foster family, but was unable to do so. It became clear that this was not information they were willing to give.

After we were finished with this meeting, the Director took us on a brief tour. We were shown a typical bedroom of the older children who lived at the orphanage, the classroom, the baby room (minus any babies- we saw no children at all except the ones outside.) The nanny training room, and babies playroom.

Child's bedroom

classroom

Playroom

Babies crib room

I also took some pictures of a few other interesting things inside the building. In the nanny training room, I saw several posters on the wall with pictures I assumed to be of all the nannies presently working at this orphanage. I tried to find out if Jade's nanny apeared in any of these pictures, but again was given an elusive answer. I video taped the entire wall in the hopes that I could find a picture of the woman who handed us Jade, whom I believed to be her foster mother. ( I was not able to determine this, as the video is fairly unclear.)

I also saw a picture in the classroom of many of the older children. I must admit that having been so focused on adopting a baby ,I had  not put much thought about all of the older children who are never adopted and spend most of their young lives in an orphanage. If the pictures I saw are any indication, there are  many.

After the brief tour, the Director agreed to come on our bus and drive with each of us to our child's place of abandonment. In the case of Jade, she was left at the Jinquao Market. I had envisioned a sort of open air market, with local people selling their wares. I was suprised to find a rather modern shopping center. I was not allowed to cross the busy street to get closer, so I had to settle from a picture taken from the bus window.

Our trip to the orphanage was finished, and we all settled in for the trip back to Wuhan. It was a very quiet trip back as we all contemplated what we had just experienced. For my part, I felt a sense of sadness that I did not get the information I had hoped for. I also was struck by how many older children grow up in the orphanages, and felt a heaviness over the plight of so many children throughout China and the world. I also was very grateful that the director allowed us to come to her orphanage, and at least find a little of our childrens history.

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