Bamboo Babies Foster Care Programs

Touching the lives of children throughout China

The purpose of the Bamboo Babies Foster Care Program is to provide infants and children with direct, individualized care in the home setting. For optimal growth and development, the children enlisted in the Bamboo Babies Foster Care Program will be placed in one home with one set of foster parents. This home setting will allow the child to receive one-on-one care with the ability to be loved and nurtured. It is our belief that children who are able to bond with a caregiver and have their needs met in a nurturing environment early in their life will have less attachment disorders. The foster parents will be trained by professional, medical personnel in infant and child care, safety, and growth and development. This training will allow the foster parents to help in the facilitation of speech, emotional and social development, cognitive ability, and fine and gross motor skills.

Each foster family will be assigned to only one or two children. The foster parents will care for the same child/children in their home twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The children will remain with their foster parents as long as funding is available or until the time they are adopted. If the child becomes ill, they will be returned to the orphanage to receive medical treatment. Once the child is well again, they can be reunited with their foster family.

The Bamboo Babies Foster Care Programs

Zhanjiang, Guangdong: On March 1st 2008, Pearl River Outreach was proud to implement the Bamboo Babies Foster Care Program at the Zhanjiang City Children's Welfare Institute. At this time, we have 10 healthy and special needs children enlisted in our program and plan to add more as funding becomes available. The Zhanjiang City Children's Welfare Institute covers an area of 1.73 acres. The institute is comprised of four buildings. The children's complex building is a ten-story building with a floorage of 1.24 acres. It contains living rooms, playrooms, classrooms, and medical rehabilitation rooms for children less than 7 years of age. There is also a four-story building that houses children over the age of 7, along with those who have special needs. The remaining two buildings are specifically for senior citizens. Currently, Zhanjiang has approximately 100 staff members, including 20 medical staff members and over 30 children caregivers.

Changsha, Hunan: Pearl River Outreach is grateful to have been given the opportunity to partner with Families Thru International Adoption Agency (FTIA) at the Changsha #1 Social Welfare Institute to facilitate the Bamboo Babies Foster Care Program. The Changsha #1 SWI covers a land area of 160 mu (1 mu = .667 hectares). There are over 30 staff members, 20 of whom provide direct hands-on care to the children. There are approximately 300 children for whom the orphanage is responsible for. We currently have 42 healthy and special needs children enlisted in our foster care program. At the moment, 99 children live in the community under a program funded by another foreign agency. This foreign agency provides funding to hire caretakers to take care of these children (mostly special needs) in family or group homes. There are also several older children who are attending a school where they overnight during the week and return to the orphanage on the weekends.

Hengshan, Hunan: Pearl River Outreach is also grateful to have been given the opportunity to partner with Families Thru International Adoption Agency (FTIA) at the Hengshan Social Welfare Institute to facilitate the Bamboo Babies Foster Care Program. This institute was founded in 1980 and is made up of the Hengshan Senior Citizen's Home, the Hengshan Social Welfare Institute and the Hengshan Children's Welfare Institute. The Social Welfare Institute is located in village of Jiaotong and covers an area of 240 acres. The institute accommodates 32 orphans, many of whom are special needs, along with many elderly individuals. We currently have 7 healthy and special needs children in our foster care program. Hengshan has 35 staff members including 2 medical staff members, 16 caregivers, 4 nurses and 1 rehabilitation trainer. Hengshan is praised as a "Provincial Second Class SWI" for the excellent care it provides for those who reside there.