Visit to Lia Kate's Orphanage

Finally ... a few moments to tell you about Danny's trip down to Lia Kate's orphanage yesterday. We were not sure they would let him visit, but they agreed to it on Gotcha Day, so we took them up on it and hired a guide and driver to take him down. We would have loved to have both gone, but besides it being very confusing for Lia Kate to go back, we just did not think she would be up for a long day in the car (especially since she just made that long trek on Monday). Danny spent 12 hours in the car yesterday ... going to and from Lianjiang.

Lia Kate lived in the Lianjiang SWI (Social Welfare Institute) since she was 12 days old. To my surprise, Danny told me that Lianjiang is home to 1.6 million people. I had no idea it was that big. The SWI is on the small side. They have about 20 infants (ages 0 to 12 months) and about 20 toddlers (12 to 24 months) and I'm not sure how many older children. Despite being small, they have adopted out 300 children in the last 11 years. That is a lot for a small orphanage. I am so thankful they see the importance of these children finding forever homes. They told Danny they just sent 20 files of children to the central office in Beijing so that families could be found for them.

Street in the city of Lianjiang.

Boy playing in the sand in the city of Lianjiang.

Scooter for 4? An entire family catching a ride on a scooter.

Danny arrived and they immediately went to lunch with the SWI Director and Assistant Director and the woman in charge of the nannies, Ms. Wong. Ms. Wong is the woman who accompanied Lia Kate to Guangzhou and who placed her in my arms. She is also the woman who named her. Danny said they went to a nice-looking restaurant but were escorted out the back through an alley, past all the live animals and fish tanks and into a private dining room. Oh, and Danny had to eat the entire meal with chopsticks ... chicken drumsticks and all. (He came home hungry.)

Danny with the Orphanage Director, Asst. Director and Ms. Wong in front of the orphanage gate.

The Baby Building ... Lia Kate's room was off the first balcony.

The SWI entrance from the road below.

The Orphanage Director, Asst. Director, Ms. Wong and one of Lia Kate's nannies by the baby room.

The Baby Building at the SWI.

After lunch, they went back to tour the orphanage. The orphanage complex is on the top of a hill overlooking the hospital. There are four buildings on the campus. The building to the left is a nursing home, the building to the right is apartments for workers, and the middle buildings are the orphanage. Lia Kate was on the 2nd floor of the Baby Building where other toddlers her age were. The 3rd floor was for infants and a back building housed older children. They would not allow Danny to take pictures or video the nursery, but they did let him visit. He said there were about 20 babies in her room. They pointed out her crib, which was empty except for a ball in it. He saw the other children who were in cribs next to hers. One was a little boy with a cleft lip.

Danny used his time with the SWI administration and nannies to ask a lot of questions about Lia Kate like ... did she cry a lot (b/c she does now!)? did she hate having her diaper changed? did she have a hard time getting to sleep? is she truly walking? All things we are wondering whether this is her personality or if she is just grieving. They told him no on all the above and that yes, she was walking without assistance. He didn't believe them so he pressed again, and they told him that she truly was the best child at the orphanage, always happy and content unless another child took her toy, she slept well, cried some, loved being held and that we were very lucky to adopt her. ;o) I know the latter is true, but I am also glad to know that there is a whole different person in her that is slowly coming out. (By the way, we saw more signs of this today!)

Danny left with the impression that the people were very kind and genuinely care for the children, but that it is an orphanage in a poor area without a lot of financial means. I have to agree with him given the fact that Lia Kate has been grieving so heavily. Children who grieve after being in situations like this are usually ones who have formed attachments with a caregiver along the way. If they have formed an attachment in the past, it makes it much easier to form attachments with their parents once adopted. I have also heard from other families who have adopted from this orphanage that their children have grieved heavily as well. I am taking all this as a good sign that even though the facilities they lived in were not nice at all, they have been well cared for in this orphanage.

Before he left, Danny was able to record Ms. Wong pronouncing her name, since we still struggle with the correct pronunciation of her Chinese name (tonal languages are not easy for Americans!). He also asked the Orphanage Director and Nannies to record goodbye messages for her to hear one day. Our guide Rebecca translated and I loved the message that the Orphanage Director left her with. He said, "Ga Gang (Jia Jing), may you go and grow with joy."

I couldn't agree more. We hope that despite these difficult and traumatic beginnings, her spirit would be protected, that she will know she has been loved by many, and that she will grow with joy.