A Mom and Dad of Her Own

Ye Xuehuan and Wen Jiexing have been Half the Sky foster parents for more than a decade.

They get asked alot why they have chosen to be foster parents and they always answer the same way: “We just don’t want the children to be alone.”

Last year, the couple’s youngest daughter ZhongJuan joined the family when she was only two. ZhongJuan was very thin, could not walk steadily, and wasn’t fully potty trained. But the first day she arrived at her new home, she fell asleep peacefully in her mom’s arms.

ZhongJuan’s mom started making nutritious porridge for her every day, read stories to her every day, and patiently potty trained her by making sure she praised ZhongJuan when she used the toilet. After only a month ZhongJuan had gained three kilograms, was potty trained, and had started expressing herself more through her body language.

Soon after ZhongJuan started talking! She quickly learned to call her sisters and brothers by their names, and even started taking the initiative to say hello to people pass by her home. Now she can walk steadily without anyone holding her hand and she’s very proud that she can even walk without help on a hill.

When ZhongJuan’s mom needs to do errands, her daughter will get her shoes and coat and hand them to her and she also helps her dad put away his shoes when he comes home. ZhongJuan is always smiling, which warms her parents’ hearts. “We love our baby so much,” says ZhongJuan’s mom.

For her part, though ZhongJuan is now a big girl–three years old–she still likes to stay close to her mom and dad when she plays and when she does, she calls out “Mom, Dad!” again and again because she is so happy to finally have a mom and dad of her own.