Part One
Xiang Xiang’s Family
Every morning, Juqin rises early and tiptoes into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her four children. It has been more than three years since we trained her and her husband, Hongshang, through the OneSky Family Village Program, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to provide quality, responsive care and attention to their foster family.
OneSky’s foster care model has been replicated across China. In fact, in recent years, the positive impact of placing children in stable, loving foster families has been recognized and expanded to more welfare institutions. Institution Directors who have heard of our successful programs elsewhere are asking us to bring our training to them as well. We aim to provide every child with the security and care essential for their well-being and development.
Juqin recalls when three-year-old Xiang Xiang was first brought to their home.
“She hurried over to me, took my hand and began chatting. She was curious about her new home and full of questions about her three older brothers, who had already been with us for six months. Xiang Xiang filled the room with joy.
During the day, it seemed like she carried the sunshine around with her. But she was scared of the dark and unable to sleep at night. As soon as I tried to tuck her in and leave, she would start all over, crying and holding onto me. At the beginning, there were entire nights when I couldn’t go to my own bed. I was so tired.”
Thanks to OneSky’s caregiver training, Juqin understood Xiang Xiang’s fear and responded to her needs by holding her and whispering soothing words of comfort. Still, Juqin checked in with her OneSky trainer and mentor. Was Xiang Xiang ill or in pain? Was she unhappy? She and her husband hadn’t faced a nighttime challenge like this with the older boys, and Juqin worried that she wasn’t providing Xiang Xiang with the proper care.
“Our mentor, Zhang, visited our apartment and assured us that we were doing exactly the right thing, that little Xiang Xiang just needed time to feel secure and safe. She said that by staying by her side with patience and love, Xiang Xiang would begin to feel connected to me even when I wasn’t there, and despite the darkness, she would relax into sleep.
I added some more time to talk to her about the day’s happiness, both of us under a new quilt on her bed that we shared. My husband also bought Xiang Xiang a soft doll that she cuddled and held while I read her stories and tucked her in at night. When I left her room, I could hear her quietly singing and talking to the doll before she drifted off to sleep. It still makes me smile to think about it because Xiang Xiang sounded like me, calm and peaceful.”
When the boys got home from school, they played with their little sister and even let her choose the games and books, following her lead. And, when Junqin’s husband arrived home from work, he doted on all of them. The laughter that filled their lives was a frequent reminder of why she had chosen to become a foster mother.
But Juqin and Hongshang knew that Xiang Xiang’s journey was just beginning. Soon, she would travel to OneSky’s China Care Home in Beijing for hand surgery that could improve her life.
The impact of our Family Village Program on foster parents and the children in their care is profound. In-depth training and ongoing mentoring are core components of OneSky’s approach everywhere we work. Please consider a gift to OneSky now so that more children like Xiang Xiang and her brothers can feel safe and loved. The long-term positive effects on the children, their families, and the communities are undeniable.
To be continued…. Part Two: Xiang Xiang’s Journey
