A Helping Hand

Fuling First Social Welfare Institute Project
 

A first-of-it’s-kind Rehabilitation
Center for children with special needs

A VERY SPECIAL PROJECT

La Vida has made a commitment to the Fuling Social Welfare Center, the City of Fuling, and the Chongqing municipal government to fund a very special project that is expected to be the first specialized rehabilitation center and medical clinic for handicapped children in all of China. The rehabilitation center is being built in the Chongqing Municipality.

There are currently 14 social welfare institutions located in Chonqing province. All of these institutions provide adoption services to its children and the vast majority of those adoptions are of healthy children. However, like most institutions throughout China, nearly all of the children with special needs remain residents of their social welfare institutions with much less of an opportunity for rehabilitation, special care, or the chance to be adopted into a family of their own. Upon completion of the new Fuling Social Welfare Institution, all children with special medical needs residing in the 14 social welfare institutes in Chongqing municipality will be moved to live in the new Fuling Social Welfare Institute.

La Vida along with the existing First Fuling Social Welfare Institute have teamed up to create an extraordinary facility for both healthy children and children with special medical needs. The City of Fuling has donated over 16 acres of land upon which a 450,000 square foot facility is being constructed. Primary funding for the building has been donated by the Central Chinese government and the government of Chongqing. The new social welfare institute will include a rehabilitation and health care center for children, a preschool, and sleeping and play rooms for up to 800 children of all ages and abilities. Half of this 16 and 1/2-acre plot of land is to be devoted to parks and play places for the children.

La Vida has committed to funding a rehabilitation center and medical clinic within the project where all children with special needs residing in social welfare institutes throughout Chongqing municipality will be moved to live.

The cost to build the rehabilitation center and medical clinic is $400,000. This center will provide rehabilitation services for treatment and therapy of children with special medical needs who currently are not receiving specialized care. The center will also include an advanced medical clinic capable of providing daily and higher level of medical needs than are currently available at other institutions. La Vida has already provided $100,000 toward the construction of the rehabilitation center which has begun. However, additional funding is necessary.

One of the primary reasons that La Vida chose this project at Fuling is the excellent care that children have received for years in the current First Fuling Social Welfare Institute under the direction of Director, Yang Peishu. Director Peishu is educated, experienced, innovative and very well respected in China. She has been voted "One of the ten most outstanding woman in China" due to her innovative care of children and advocacy for women’s rights. She has provided outstanding leadership to her staff, and has taken the level of care of children at the current facility to new heights. It is for this reason that she has been selected to spearhead this innovative, first of its kind project in China.

We at La Vida believe that the children who move to this innovative new facility under Ms. Yang Peishu’s direction will receive two primary benefits: 1) Greatly improved health and daily care, and 2) Increased opportunities for adoption by permanent families.

IMPROVED HEALTH AND DAILY CARE

Key to the high level of health of children at the First Fuling SWI is Director Yang’s focus on illness prevention. Most institutions in China do not spent resources on preventative therapies for children. However, Director Yang was a traditional Chinese doctor, prior to taking her position at the SWI. She has initiated disease prevention and early intervention treatments for the children in residence. Mrs. Yang insists that the staff and caregivers recognize that children need emotional and social supports as well as housing and food.

A precious baby receiving water therapy
 

Additionally, foster parents and childcare staff hired by First Fuling SWI are held to the highest standards and are carefully monitored. The rehabilitation center and health care clinic will provide the highest possible care and attention for children with special needs. Child care at the First Fuling SWI is a model which is used to provide training to social welfare institute staff from all over the country of China.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ADOPTION

We believe that the innovative and open staff at Fuling SWI will promote adoption opportunities for children with special needs who now have no chance of finding a family. We also believe that improved medical care and treatment will improve the health of children with special needs and thus increase the likelihood that a qualified and appropriate family can be identified. La Vida has worked with Director Yang for many years and we have found her to be a woman of integrity who performs her job with excellence. We believe that the innovative child centered, attitudes of Director Yang and her staff, as well as responsibility for all children with special needs in the province will lead to great opportunities for more children.

YOU CAN HELP

With the assistance of families like you, this facility can be completed and hundreds of waiting children can be immediately served. Your tax deductible donation in any amount will be greatly appreciated. Donations are accepted by check or credit card and 100% of your gift will go directly for construction of the building.

Please make checks payable to La Vida International and please indicate on your check or in a note that you wish the donation to be for Fuling children. If you wish to donate using a credit card please click here for an authorization form. Please mail checks or the credit card authorization to La Vida International, 150 S. Warner Rd., Ste. 144, King of Prussia, PA 19406.

La Vida is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and your donations are tax deductible.

 

Our co-founder, Bill Rosen recently visited the project and a portion of that visit was videotaped. Here (see instructions below first) you can view a short video of the Fuling First Social Welfare Institute and the on-going construction of the new facility.

Recommended Video Viewing Instructions - Due to the relatively large file size of the video (23 MG), we do not recommend playing it directly in your browser. Instead, place your cursor on the above link (the pointer will change its shape) and press the mouse button appropriate for your computer (often this is a right mouse click). Almost every browser will display a dialog box or menu with at least one option being "Save File", "Save Target", "Save to disk", "Save Link as" or some other option using "Save". Select the "Save" option and specify where on your computer the file should be placed. Then go directly to the file which is called lavidagrant.mp4 and open it. The file may be played in QuickTime player.

Here is a link to Apple's free QuickTime player download site in case you need it. http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html

To download and open the credit card authorization form you must have Adobe Reader installed. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed on your computer please click the button below to download the most current free Adobe reader program.