From the Heart
Are you hopeful about the future? I am. The past few years have been a rollercoaster for many of us, and the changes at Shepherd’s Field and in China reflect that bumpy ride. It was exciting when the Vocational Building was complete, and we had a strong staff. It was heartbreaking when the children we loved were required to return to their provinces. While it was hard to watch from afar, the grief of the staff at that time was palpable. Were you following the Philip Hayden Foundation in the summer of 2018?
One hallmark of PHF is the passionate desire to see and love individual children, instilling value and hope. The staff immediately went to work to find new ways to meet the complex needs of children with disabilities. New partnerships with orphanages and local charities were forged, always with the goal of helping individual children.
The next rollercoaster drop happened in the spring of 2020. Just when PHF was developing a new program on our campus to provide therapy, vocational training, and train orphanage caregivers to provide safe and loving care and therapy, the pandemic caused all our foreign staff to leave the country. And just like that, another steep drop in the rollercoaster ride. In the following years, no new charity programs were started in China because of COVID-related health concerns.
What’s Next?
It has been a long, slow climb back up. PHF has continued to provide medical care and humanitarian aid in China. The good news is that there are fewer orphans today than last year, and the number has declined steadily since the peak in 2012, the year I started working for PHF.
The attitudes around disabilities in China are starting to change, and Chinese charities are beginning to provide support and care for families choosing to parent their children with disabilities. Access to medical care is improved, but many families still cannot afford medical care. Inside this issue, you will read about the projects planned for 2024. We need your help to carry out these plans.
Hope
There’s hope for children in China and Mexico. PHF has forged strong ties with reputable China-based charities providing humanitarian aid and access to medical care to orphanages and families struggling to meet the needs of their children with disabilities. Your donations are reaching children in need.
Your gifts to PHF also provide hope to struggling families in Mexico. Children like Matías and Jésus are receiving lifesaving medical care, while others like Karlita are receiving asthma medication monthly. And over 300 children receive milk and eggs monthly to supplement their diet, helping their minds and bodies grow strong.
PHF is celebrating 28 years of transforming the lives of orphans and vulnerable children. Would you provide hope to children today with a gift of $28? Your gift ensures a child is seen, known, and loved.
Exciting Opportunities in 2024
2023 was the first full year supporting children and vulnerable children in Mexico. Here’s some of the impact:
- 250 children in extreme poverty received milk and eggs each month
- 350 children received school supplies, encouraging children to attend school
- 300 families attended free local health fairs each month
- 10 children receive asthma medication each month
- More than 10 children received lifesaving chemotherapy, surgery, or access to medical care
UNICEF just released its latest report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which reveals that Mexico is falling behind in its progress toward achieving its targets of child well-being:
- reducing extreme poverty
- reducing stunting in children under the age of five
- coverage of basic health services
- improving the literacy of children in the elementary grades
The programs you support in Mexico through PHF directly impact these four areas, improving the health and well-being of children.
Would you impact the lives of even more children in Mexico in 2024?
Asthma Medication: Would you help double the number of children getting asthma prescription medication monthly? More than ten children are waiting for asthma medication right now. A child can get the gift of healthy breathing with just two sponsors of $25 each month. A healthier child misses fewer school days and can concentrate better in class.
Nutritious Food: Stunting is a typical result of a diet low in protein. Your gift of just $10/month provides a child with milk and eggs, promoting a healthy mind and body. Healthy minds improve learning in school, too!
Health Fairs: Heart disease and diabetes are the two highest causes of early death in adults in Yucatan, Mexico. These diseases are silent, with very few symptoms until a significant episode. But both are often treatable with early diagnosis and lifestyle changes. Read more in our June 2023 issue.
Our partner, Red de Ciudadanos de Mérida, hosts a monthly free health fair near Mérida. One way to encourage attendance is by offering a nutritious meal. Your donation of $30 provides a meal for ten people. Maybe that meal tipped the scale, encouraging attendance and the diagnosis of hypertension! You are impacting families with your gift.
Access to Medical Care: In 2023, your donations provided crucial medical care for more than ten children. Local charities like the hospital, physicians, and Red de Ciudadanos de Mérida are doing their part…but sometimes it’s just not enough. Your donations provide an essential safety net for desperate families with very sick children. Will you help in 2024?
Would you impact the lives of even more children in China in 2024?
The past few years have been heartbreaking for those of us who love China and passionately care about the hardships faced by orphans and children with disabilities in China. In the past year, there have been a few signs of hope.
Adoptions: International families who were matched with their child before Covid are FINALLY getting to travel to China to meet their child! The pace is slow, but it is happening. Let’s celebrate with them! Please also pray that more families can adopt from China.
Domestic (within China) adoptions are on the rise too. More families, especially in urban areas with access to healthcare, are adopting children with disabilities. There are fewer orphans, too. That’s all great news!
Formula and Diapers: Orphanages are stretched to the breaking point as expenses continue to rise. Your donations may provide nutritionally rich formula or diapers for an orphanage with limited funds.
Medication: Your donations are providing prescription medication for orphans. Our partner, New Hope Foundation, operates Healing Homes within government-run orphanages. Many orphans need costly medication and medical care, and your donations extend this lifeline.
Access to Therapy: In another region of China, your donations strengthen families who have decided to parent their children with disabilities. A local Chinese NGO supports families, including access to therapy and a social worker. In 2024, your donations can also provide mental health counseling. What a blessing and encouragement for families who feel isolated, overwhelmed, and alone!
Announcing Blossom
For children with disabilities, therapy is life-changing. Physical therapy improves movement and motor skills, enhancing quality of life. Occupational therapy gives children the tools they need to overcome challenges and build success uniquely. Speech therapy promotes language development and articulation. Therapy radically improves the trajectory of success and possibilities in life. I’m a big fan!
Unfortunately, not every family with a child needing therapy can afford to attend, and there are not enough pediatric clinics to meet the growing needs. We are happy to announce a new opportunity in China. A local charity is nearly finished renovating a building where they plan to offer pediatric therapy to kids who could not otherwise afford it.
Right now, they need $15,000 to complete the extensive renovations. The much-needed equipment will be an additional $15,000. With your help, the clinic renovation can be completed, outfitted, and opened for business. Would you help a child with disabilities BLOSSOM with PHF? Your year-end gift for China will help a child thrive!
28 Years of Changing Lives of Children in China
Twenty-eight years of impacting the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in China. The world looks much different today than in 1995. Philip Hayden Foundation continues to provide humanitarian aid, medical care and therapy, access to education, and vocational training with compassion to children with disabilities.
My first visit to the Philip Hayden Foundation was in the summer of 2008 with a team from my local area. On that first visit, the children I met impacted me deeply. In many parts of our world, including my local community, people with disabilities can be invisible. But at Shepherd’s Field, every child had value. Regardless of the severity of the disability, each one was seen, known, and loved.
I’d invite you to be part of our community. Would you send me, Lori.Baxter@chinaorphans.org, an email sharing how you first heard about PHF? Since PHF spent the first twenty-five years supporting orphans in China, you may have a connection to China. But maybe it’s just kids with disabilities. I’d love to hear from you!
What’s your passion? Is it for kids with disabilities wherever they live? For supporting families with children with disabilities? For feeding hungry children? Education? Life skills? Through PHF, you can make an impact on a child in Mexico or China. Perhaps you’d like to honor our 28th anniversary with a $28 donation by the end of 2023. That simple action may change a life.