LWB Community

First, Do No Harm

This weekend, I read a thought-provoking essay in Time magazine called “There’s No Point in Doing Good Badly.” I remember talking to a man who helped coordinate the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. He told me that so many unneeded items were donated following the catastrophe that it involved a massive effort just to bulldoze and burn all of them. During our conversation he sighed and summed it up with, “What a waste.” As someone who helps coordinate charity efforts in China, I get to see firsthand the passion and kindness that people have towards wanting to help those in need. But sometimes our best efforts don’t really help, and truth be told, might actually cause more problems. The last line of the essay in Time concluded with “First, do no harm.” We repeat that mantra at LWB each and every time we consider a new project.  We have learned the hard way that oftentimes ideas that we think seem wonderful (in America) don’t translate to actually helping in another country.
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The Wonderful and Amazing Gavin!

A facial cleft — a gap in the soft tissue, bone, or both that occurs during fetal development that involves not only the mouth and nose but also affects the rest of the face of a newborn — is extremely rare. The care involved to ensure the baby learns to suck and swallow without aspirating the fluid into their tiny lungs requires patience and skill.  Fortunately, LWB’s Anhui Cleft Healing Home (ACHH) provided the perfect combination of loving care and skilled caregiving needed by one very special baby named Gavin.  Here’s the story of how Gavin went from being a baby with some big health issues to the grinning, happy boy you see here!
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Sweet Sadie

Sweet Sadie is doing us the honor of gracing LWB Community for our very first Friday “Photo of the Week” feature. Every week we will highlight a recent photo that stood out from the many that we receive from each of our programs throughout the week. Sadie’s gentle nature shines through in this darling photo! She is currently sixteen months old and lives with a foster family in our Fuyang Foster Care program. We look forward to seeing more of her as she grows.
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Did My Birthparents Love Me?

One of the questions that adoptive parents are often asked by their children is whether or not their birthparents loved them. Many people have different thoughts on this subject, since very few of us know the absolute facts surrounding our children’s abandonment.

How do you answer this question when asked?
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Dutch Treat

When Liang and JiaNan were babies, they lived together in the Shantou Social Welfare Institute in Guangdong province.  At one and two years of age, they were adopted by two Dutch families and now live in the Netherlands.  These talented boys have discovered a passion for music and are using their musical talents to help babies at their former home in Shantou.
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Adoption of Older Children

I’ve been asked a lot recently how I feel about the growing number of adoption pleas we see for kids who are almost turning 14 and aging out of the international adoption process. Some people have written me that they feel it is wrong to make a child start over at age 13 or 14, having to learn a new language and not really understanding what it means to live in a family. Many have expressed concern that the kids will be leaving the friends they have had their whole lives, while of course others spread the news far and wide that a child is about ready to age out, wanting to help them find a permanent home.
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Welcome to LWB Community!

Welcome to LWB Community!

My name is Paige Mills-Haag, and as Love Without Boundaries’ Director of Operations I am thrilled to help launch our new LWB Community blog today! We recently decided to combine our two blogs — lifeofgiving and lwbstories — to one central blog source for all things LWB! Our vision for LWB Community is to engage current followers, welcome new supporters, and expand our community across the globe – volunteers, supporters, donors, adoptive parents, and people of all ages who have a heart for serving children. We hope to share inspirational stories as well as the greatest needs of the children, feature our wonderful volunteers who help make LWB’s mission possible, and establish an ongoing conversation with everyone who wants to follow our work in the world.
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LWB Lantern Festival Riddles

This past week, I had the good fortune to celebrate Chinese New Year with my daughter’s third grade class. I read the stories Ruby’s Wish and Sam and the Lucky Money to the children. We also made paper lanterns festooned with riddles in the tradition of the Lantern Festival that is celebrated on the 15th day of every new year. There was a lot of giggling as my daughter’s classmates simulated a lantern parade and tried to guess the answer to such riddles as: What animal has its own built in shower? (Answer: An elephant)!
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Future Fisherman

Sweet William could be a fisherman in the making. This cheery three year is a favorite at his local fishing store in Kaifeng, Henan province. The locals there love him and teaching him about the sport. But what William really needs is a mom or dad of his own to teach him how to fish…and to be his forever family.
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Foster Care Challenge

LWB’s foster care programs in China allow approximately 300 children in seven provinces to share in the love of a family of their own. Many of us look forward to seeing the photos of these darling children with their doting foster families. It’s evident to see how much care and love they are receiving in a home environment!

A generous donor has stepped forward who understands the great importance of foster care to the lives of these children and has offered to match any donation made to the LWB Foster Care program made between February 15 and March 15, 2010…up to $36,000!  With this in mind, we thought we would take a few moments to share with you some of the needs of our foster care program and what it takes to make it a success for each and every child.
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