Multiplying our Blessings

It is deep fall right now, and we really had a chilly, rainy day today. But on the other hand, it was also a great day that made us feel warm and happy as we were able to share with others the knowledge and resources we have been blessed with. This past summer, we visited several nearby foster homes including Bethel, an organization that helps orphans that are blind. Bethel has had foreign therapists volunteer for short trips in the past in which the therapists evaluated, set up treatment plans, and trained the nannies how to do simple exercises for children that needed physical therapy. However, they have not had any therapy volunteers for the last year so the nannies, not having any therapy training, were continuing to do the same therapy plans they were given a year ago. During our visit, the nurse asked if we could help re-evaluate and we were so happy to have the opportunity to share! Bethel's nannies brought five children to PHF today for physical therapy evaluations. All the children needed updated therapy plans but especially the little boy in the picture above who has severe cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Although he is almost 2 years old right now, he cannot control his head movement. When he lies on his back or stomach, he cannot lift his head steadily or turn his head sideways. We evaluated the children, made short and long term goals, and gave each child an evaluation report to clearly explain to the caregivers what problems the children were having and what exercises they need to do everyday. We demonstrated to the nannies how to carry out the plan. We took pictures and made a CD of the therapist demonstrating how to do the exercises correctly so they could take it home with them and be sure to do the exercises safely and not cause the children pain. Our PT will follow-up with them each month. We hope we can use this model and develop more ways to help other organizations in the future!

Teacher's Appreciation Day

It is a special holiday for all teachers today- Teacher's Appreciation Day. In China, this is a big day as teachers are highly respected for their knowledge and hard work with the children. Students will give little presents they have made themselves to express their love and care for their teachers. At PHF, we also wanted to express our love and thanks to the teachers of our Little Lambs School. Teacher Wang, Teacher Zhang and Teacher Gao have many fun times together with their little lambs. Without even knowing it, our kids are making big progress while having fun playing and learning. Thank you to our teachers. We wish them a very happy Teacher’s Day.

Training Outreach to the Community: Speech Therapy Conference

For the first time ever, our therapy team held a therapy training conference at PHF. From August 18th to 29th, twenty-five special education teachers and therapists representing four organizations that are dedicated to helping special needs children participated in a speech therapy training conference. We learned, discussed, and shared our experiences in lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on training. We were impressed with all the attendees who worked so hard and were eager to learn new knowledge about speech therapy. The visitors appreciated the therapy staff for the excellent training, especially the wonderful teaching of Carrie and Laura. The conference was also a great opportunity to network. It was an amazing chance to connect with other organizations that have the same motivation for learning and doing the work we do: our desire to help children enjoy a better life. The participants were also deeply moved by what they had seen at PHF, as they thought our children were loved very much and were growing up happily here. In their feedback, they said they hope to return to PHF for more training. We are looking forward to it, too!