On Thursday I spent the day visiting Milo's orphanage. We felt it was important for one of us to see where Milo came from, meet his amazing care givers and nannies and visit his finding place. This was a major part of Milo's life story and we wanted to document this experience to be able to tell him once he is older.
Milo's orphanage is in Hengyang, about 180 km south of Changsha. I left with our guide and driver around 9 am to make the three hour drive each way. The drive to Hengyang was a beautiful drive with rolling hills, rice fields, and rivers. It's something I won't ever forget.
I arrived at the orphanage about 11:45 am and was given a tour of the buildings and grounds. The orphanage and ICC have an amazing space for about 300 kids. Unfortunately, of the 300 kids, only 3% are eligible for adoption due to their severe special needs. This was an eye opening number. It was amazing to visit with the workers there who dedicate themselves to these kids. The love they show for the children creates a home that these children wouldn't otherwise have. What they lack in finances, they more then make up in love and knowledge to care for the kids. Find out more about ICC's work in Hengyang by clicking here.
Milo's room consisted of 6 or 7 cribs with an adjoining play room. We decided not to bring Milo back to his orphanage for the visit as this can sometimes confuse newly adopted children and cause the grieving process to lengthen. We weren't willing to risk the progress we had made in our bonding. However Milo's caregivers were very happy to see me and see the photos and videos of our first few days. Of course they asked where Kang Kang (Milo's Chinese nickname) was, but they understood our decision.
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| The playroom portion of Milo's room |
Another amazing part of the visit was when I learned that the day after we Milo joined our family, another little boy was found in the exact same finding place where Milo was found over a year and a half ago. This little boy has a bilateral cleft lip and palate. At only 5 days old his mother left him with a note stating that they didn't know how to feed him and were worried he would not survive because he was not nursing. We pray that he finds a forever home once he gets the care he needs.
After the tour and meeting with the ICC workers, I was taken out to lunch at a local restaurant. The Hunan province is known for its spicy food, and this place didn't disappoint. The meal consisted of a chicken dish that was very spicy, some sauteed green beans, rice, and a sweet soup made with a local fruit and walnuts (sounds odd, but it was actually delicious).
I arrived back in Changsha around 5 PM just in time to meet another adoptive family for dinner (and relieve Kim of solo Milo duty).
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| The tollbooth on the trip back to Changsha. |
It was an amazing day and one I will never forget. We have stories and pictures for Milo about the people that loved him before us. We cannot say enough kind words about ICC and what they provided Milo. It is very evident that he was loved and was given a great start in life. If you want to learn more about ICC and how you can help other children in need, please visit their site. They truly made a huge impact on our family and we are forever grateful to them.
This is a picture of Milo's care givers that we will make sure gets passed on to him as he grows up. The woman in the middle is Kyla, an Aussie who is the director from ICC at this location. She has worked in Hengyang for 8 years and is fluent in Mandarin.
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