Happy New Year, Chinese Style!

Xin Nian Kuai Le! That’s “Happy New Year” to the none Mandarin speakers among us. On February 18 a sixth of the world’s population celebrated Chinese New Year, marking the beginning of the Year of the Boar.

Celebrations vary from place to place, but the underlying message is one of peace and happiness. This is a time of reunion, a time for sharing special food, giving gifts and a time to reinforce the bonds of family love and devotion.

In Changsha our celebrations began on February 17 when everyone enjoyed a big meal together. On New Year’s Day the children and young adults visited their friends and enjoyed traditional fireworks, along with the rest of Changsha’s population. It was very, very loud!

We’re celebrating in Hengyang too. For many of the children and young adults this is the first time they’ve ever joined in with the New Year Celebrations. It’s easy to imagine how excited they’ll be. There’ll be lots of big smiles around the place.

Everyone has received new clothes so they can look their best on the big day. There’ll be lots of fun preparing traditional dumplings (jiao zi) and other dishes over the fifteen day holiday. The best part of the whole celebration is that those we care for know they are loved and valued as part of our family.

China Team Update

Judy Elliott has just returned from co-leading an ICC China Team. She writes:

'I remember the day the team gathered outside the office to board the bus. Without warning firecrackers began to go off very near to us, giving one or two near heart attacks! A black car was parked by the entrance to the welfare centre baby area and the fire crackers were exploding near the car. Our translator explained that a Chinese family was collecting a baby for adoption. As the car pulled away I couldn’t help thinking about that baby – their new family were proudly fussing over her in the back seat and celebrating. The contrast was marked the next day when a police car arrived with a newly abandoned baby boy, born with a cleft lip and palette. He arrived under less auspicious circumstances and was quietly and quickly taken to the admission room for a thorough check up. What potentially different lives for these two babies!

Having been part of the first China Team to visit Heng Yang in November 2004 it was great to see some of the changes first hand. One of the most surprising was the way the older boys behaved during their afternoon craft session. It used to be utter chaos! Leisel Luscombe (ICC international volunteer) has worked very hard with these boys in difficult circumstances, many of them with very challenging behaviours. They are now used to Leisel’s afternoon craft session and obviously look forward to it. As she arrived and shepherded them round a table I stood amazed. The boys continued to sit relatively quietly waiting for her to return with all the equipment and spent the afternoon engaging them in cutting, gluing and pasting. This is a major step forward and an incredible achievement bearing in mind many of them, until recently, couldn’t even sit for any length of time. It may not sound much but this is another great success for the work in Heng Yang.'

Come and join an ICC China Team – you could change someone’s life, even your own!
www.intlchinaconcern.org