WALK THE WALL

Proverbs 31:8-9

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

In China, disabled people are seen as people that do not contribute to society and so they are unwanted and discarded. Families abandon their children so they can have a chance to have a “normal” child, since they are only allowed to have one. Other times, families just cannot afford the care that unhealthy children need and abandon them believing that their child will be better off having the government care for them. The government does have Welfare Centers where the children are taken. The placement of them shows the value they place on these children's lives as the center is on the edge of town... past the drug/alcohol rehab center, past the HIV/AIDS clinic, past the jail. They are hidden.

I had the opportunity to go to China with a team where we worked with an organization called International China Concern (ICC). ICC is a Christian organization that provides full-time care for hundreds of Chinese children and adults with disabilities that had been abandoned. They provide housing, education, proper nutrition, medical care and therapy each and every day in a caring, nurturing environment for hundreds of children. Most of my team worked with ICC and the children that they have been able to take out of the welfare center. Unfortunately, ICC is unable to take all of the children. They wish that they could but they still do what they can to help the children living in the Welfare Center.

ICC has the rare privilege of being able to go into the welfare center to work with the kids there. A few of us had the privilege of going along to help with their snack program and to spend time with the children there. I was one of the ones that volunteered to go to the welfare center every day. Being a social worker, I had worked with disabled children before and figured I could handle it. But, I was not prepared for this....

Walking into the center is an assault on most of our senses - sight, smell, sound, and feel.... You are faced with terrible sounds and smells before you even enter the room that our children stayed in. I was told we were working with kids with disabilities. Doesn't sound so bad, right? Typically, it wouldn't be. It wasn't just kids with disabilities though... it is that compounded with injustice and the ramifications of that.

Here kids with disabilities are unwanted and abandoned. These kids are taken to a place that is supposed to care for them but there is a mortality rate of 85%. The bare minimum is done for these children. The center is overcrowded and they don't have all they need to provide for these children. It is survival of the fittest at its finest. These kids are provided with very little food. There are about 3 bowls of food to feed 12 kids... 2x/day. Food time is a very stressful time for these kids. They will push and grab to get any food they can even if it means grabbing food out of the other kids' hands or mouths. They are quick too!

The caregivers work 24 hours a day and only have 2-3 days off per MONTH. They are burnt out and with the mortality rate; they have to deal with a lot of death. There were 8 deaths the month before we were there. With all of this, they are shut off and unable to connect with the children. These kids are left to themselves most of the day. The babies stay in bed all day and rarely get touched. These kids are unloved.

Back home, if I were to walk into a room full of children they would be running around playing, laughing, and interacting with each other. It may be loud and chaotic but they are full of life. They are given opportunities to have the fullest life possible even with a disability. Walking in to the center can be very depressing. You look at these children and it is NOT normal.... The room is fairly quiet and the children sit or lay there doing nothing. There are spontaneous yells, moans, and cries... all heart-wrenching. The smell of the room is that of dirty children covered in urine and other things. My heart breaks for these kids. They live in a corner room with white walls. It isn't very inviting and it is cold. It is like a waiting room for death.

I spent a month in China going into that room day in and day out (what I wrote above is an excerpt from one of my blogs I wrote while there). That room is cold and uninviting. I spent countless hours in there and it is a place I would not want to live. The time I WAS in there was difficult. The living conditions were something that no one should have to face... let alone a child. Yet, there are many children. I felt powerless. Being a social worker, I am one that cares about social justice and fighting for those that can't fight for themselves. I was not in China as a social worker; I don't know the language or the system to even begin to talk to somebody about it. So what could I do to help these kids? I felt like my hands were tied. I could do nothing.

Needless to say when I left, I was broken. It broke my heart to know that I left but those children remained. Since returning home, China was still on my mind and my heart. I have not been able to forget what I saw and experienced there and I can't ignore it. I felt powerless and those children are powerless. But now that I am home, I can fight for these children. I can speak up for them and share their stories. I am taking action to help ICC raise awareness of the need not only that these children have but the needs of ICC. ICC is there and wants to do more but they need our help. They need the funds to be able to do it. ICC has an annual 10k walk/run around the world, Walk the Wall, for this purpose. Will you join me in fighting for these children?

Visit http://www.walkthewall.org/ for more information, to find a location near you, and to sign-up. The 10k is taking place on September 24^th. If you are unable to participate, please consider sponsoring me! Go to my page by clicking here and give online. Some of you may be unable to do either one, but I ask that you pray. Pray for these children and those taking care of them.