Sunshine Village-New Family for Orphans, Foundlings

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 11, 2001

Sunshine Village-New Family for Orphans, Foundlings

The three-bedroom apartments in Sunshine Village, an orphanage in Heifei, Anhui Province, are all furnished and equipped with color TVs, microwave stoves, electric cookers, toys and furniture tailored to the children's height. The 60 children in the orphanage, aged between two and 14, are all excited at the prospect of their new families.

A Happy Family

But what makes them real families is the fact that for every six children there is a "mother" and a "father".

"I am now the happiest kid in the world, with papa and mama and five brothers and sisters," said a little boy, who had just moved into his new family in Sunshine Village, an orphanage in this capital of Anhui Province, east China.

Mother's Love

Mother plays an irreplaceable role in family life. The "mothers" in the Sunshine Village are ten laid-off workers, who, having excelled in a competition with dozens of candidates, received systematic training before they moved into the orphanage, each bringing her husband.

Fifty-year-old Zhang Zefang, a laid-off worker, is now the happy mother of seven children -- her biological daughter and six orphans.

"Food and clothing alone cannot heal the wounds in their young hearts," Zhang told Xinhua, "They need family love more than anything else."

Zhang Ying, a former laid-off worker, quit a well-paid job in order to work for the orphanage.

"I love kids, and it's been my dream for years to offer love and care to those in need," said Zhang.

Sunshine Helps Children Grow up Healthily

"We aim to create a sound environment for the children, which should resemble real family life as much as possible," said a source at the orphanage.

The family-simulation practice has been affirmed by many experts, who have expressed the belief that family life will help the orphans and foundlings grow up in a healthier way, both physically and mentally, and will enable them to adapt more easily to society in the future.

Orphanages in China

China attaches great importance to the healthy development of children. It protects the legitimate rights and improves the welfare of children, especially those of orphans and the disabled, through legislative, judicial and administrative means. China's Constitution and many other laws prohibit the abuse of children and abandoning of babies, and law breakers will be brought to justice. At the same time, the Chinese Government has been taking concrete measures to protect the rights of infants, including training of child-care personnel and providing material and financial resources.

The Chinese Government has set up and supported a great number of children's welfare establishments. The National Coordination Committee on Women and Children under the State Council and many other central and regional authorities, including health, educational, cultural, public security, civil affairs and teenagers' service departments, are all doing their parts in improving children's welfare. Among them, the civil affairs departments are responsible for the adopting and caring of orphans. At present, there are 40,000 welfare institutions, including orphanages, in China's rural areas, and 100 orphanages in urban areas. China, in cooperation with the U.N. organizations, has also set up four SOS children's villages, providing homes for 400 orphans.

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