Happy Chinese New Year!
  
     
  Chinese New Year is a time of new beginnings and intentions and marks a fifteen day celebration that usually falls between January 19 and February 23. Considered the most significant of holidays, the New Year integrates the themes of family, friends and food. For many Chinese this is the only opportunity throughout the year for them to return home to see their families, not just extended family, but their husbands, wives and children!  
     
  During the recent Chinese New Year, Mac and I decided that we would have a child from TCH spend a few days in our home. This would allow us to give extra attention to the child and would also allow some staff to go home to be with their families and friends.  
     
 

Hui and Mac out for a stroll
 One morning at 2:00 a.m., when I was holding precious
Hui in my arms and giving him a bottle, I thought to myself, “Hui did not have a choice in being abandoned or being an orphan.”
 
February 10, 2008 marked two years since we welcomed our first children to TCH. We are truly making a difference in the lives of orphans throughout China, making sure they will have choices to make, thanks to the collective efforts of the staff, volunteers, medical teams, donors, foster families and adoptive parents.
 
To each of you, thank you for making the choice to
become involved with TCH!
 
- Jenny Smith
 
     
 
  Children’s Home Program
New Children Welcomed
 
   
   
     
 
Welcome to Ti!
Baby Girl
Born January 2007
Abandoned in Guangdong Province
Heart Defect
 
     
 
  Birthday Celebration
 
   
   
     
 
   
Ti’s birthday celebration with QSI teachers
Jian celebrates his first birthday with foster friends
 
     
 
  Staff Appreciation
 
   
   
     
 

Enjoying the local cuisine
Once a year, as a thank you to the staff for the day-to-day quality care they provide to the children at our children’s homes and in the hospitals, we have a Staff Appreciation Dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. The staff had a fun time being together and enjoying the delicious meal at the recent dinner.
 
     
 
  Medical Care Program
 
   
   
     
 
   
Jue, cleft lip surgery
Yi, anal atresia surgery
 
     
 
  Foster Care Program
 
   
   
     
 
   
Ni receives a new outfit
Gu and her red envelope
 
     
  Katrina (TCH Director), June (Foster Care Coordinator) and Jenny went to offer New Year’s wishes and blessings to the children in foster care and their foster families. To welcome the birth of the New Year the Chinese celebrate with a completely new outfit. Traditionally, this was the only time of year the Chinese indulged in such luxuries, so shoppers sought the best and dressed anew from head to toe. Each child received a new outfit.  
     
 
         
Cao receives a red envelope
Cong and his foster father
Katrina and Men
 
     
  Also in the Chinese tradition, we presented each child with a red envelope containing “lucky money.” The amount to give is based on the price of a candy bar. Giving and receiving lucky money is good luck for all. Etiquette dictates that the envelope remain unopened until the giver and the receiver leave each other’s company. New Year’s lucky money is intended to sustain the child from one year to the next, so saving is encouraged.  
     
  A Chinese family also prepares a selection of Chinese New Year dishes. The menu is handed down from generation to generation, and usually includes long-grain rice which symbolizes long life. Therefore, a bag of rice was presented to each foster family.  
     
 
  Community Outreach
 
   
   
     
 
At the recent Staff Appreciation Dinner, I asked the staff (through a translator) if they had anything they wanted to share with me. One caregiver asked if I could help her son who has a medical condition. Yi is five years old and has ichthyosis, a genetic defect where the skin’s natural shedding process is slowed or inhibited and is characterized by dry, thickened, scaly skin.
 
At TCH it is important that we take care of our children and also our staff. The caregiver and Yi traveled with us a few days later to see a doctor at Guangzhou Children’s Hospital. The diagnosis was that there is no cure, only treatment for this condition. Medication was given to Yi, along with instructions to hydrate the skin, hold in the moisture and keep scale thickness to a minimum. We treated Yi to lunch - his first visit to a McDonald’s!
 
     
  Update on Jian who previously received cleft lip/palate surgery through TCH  
     
 

Jian with his mother and father
Jian and his mother returned from their local village in Guangxi Province to Dongguan and invited Katrina and Jenny to their home (one room apartment) to see Jian and to celebrate the Chinese New Year together. Jian’s mother served dishes she brought from her hometown, made by her mother and her
husband’s mother. It was great to see how much Jian had grown and that he is now walking. The parents expressed thanks to TCH for helping their son with his medical care.
 
 
 
 
  True Hero
 
   
   
     
  There are many people working together to make a difference in the lives of children that come to TCH.
Each month we will spotlight one of those individuals as our True Hero.		  
     
 

Papa and Elliott
Elliott Poteat, a five-year-old kindergarten student at Millen-nium Charter Academy in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, heard about TCH through his cousin, Cynthia Perry, a teacher at QSI Dong-guan. Elliott decided he too wanted to help make a difference in the lives of children at TCH. For four months, from August to December 2007, Elliott collected aluminum cans from friends, family and his school. He also assisted on the paper route of his
Papa, Dennis Faw, from 2:00 am to 6:00 am. Through Elliott’s efforts he collected two truck
loads of cans eighing
171 pounds and donated $214.00 to TCH.

5-year-old Elliott
The funds Elliott donated will go into our Medical Care Program to help finance the upcoming cleft palate surgery for Jie. Thank you Elliott. You are a True Hero!
 
     
 
  Another Successful Adoption
 
   
   
     
 
 
 
Jing and her family from the U.S.
  
     
 
  Adoption
 
   
   
     
 
CHINA: A JOURNEY THAT WILL CHANGE
YOUR HEART FOREVER…
  
     
 
By Kathy Storro
  
     
     
  In the December and January issues of True News we included an article by Kathy Storro relating her experiences of
working with families to adopt children in China and responses to frequently asked questions. Here is the second, and
last, part of the frequently asked questions series.		  
     
  Can we qualify to adopt?  
     
  Adoption guidelines established by the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) is as follows:  
     
 
•
 Civil Status of prospective Adoptive Parents- Chinese law permits adoption by married couples only (one man, one woman). Since May 2007, singles can no longer adopt from China. Chinese law also prohibits homosexual individuals or couples from adopting Chinese children.
•
 Number of Marriages-Each parent cannot be married more than two times prior. If married prior to this marriage, the present marriage must be for at least 5 years. For a first marriage, the marriage needs to be longer than 2 years.
•
 Age of parents-Parents adopting non-special needs children need to be between 30-50 years old. For special needs adoptions, the parents must be no older than 55 years. This requirement is for both parents.
•
 Income-Families need to have at least $10,000 in income per year for each person in the household and a net worth of at least $80,000. The $10,000 per person must be income from employment and not from a disability, retirement or insurance settlements.
•
 Education-Both parents must have received education of or above the level of senior high school.
•
 Number of children-No more than 5 children can be in the home including the child to be adopted. The youngest child must be at least one year old. Adoption of special needs children will be exempt from this limitation.
•
 Criminal History-Parents cannot have a history of being the perpetrator of domestic violence or a history of child abuse whether arrested or not. There can be no drug abuse history. If there was a record of alcoholism, it must be over 10 years ago with no further drinking. There can be 3 or less minor crimes without a major outcome if they are over 10 years old and less than 5 traffic law violations.
•
 Health-both parents need to be healthy, physically and mentally, and do not have the following:
 
*
 Aids
 
*
 Mental handicap
 
*
 Infectious disease in the infectious stage
 
*
 Blindness
 
*
 Binaural hearing loss or language function loss. Except the adoption of special needs children who have the identical condition will be exempt form this limitation.
 
*
 A function or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incompleteness, numbness
or deformation or severe facial deformities.
 
*
 Severe disease which requires long term treatment and which affect life expectancy
 
*
 Major organ transplant less than 10 years ago
 
*
 Schizophrenia
 
*
 Severe mental disorders requiring medication in the past two years
 
*
 Obesity: the body mass index is to be under 40. Visit www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi to determine body mass.
 
*
 HOWEVER, for families with certain health issues that want to adopt a child with the same problem, the CCAA will consider on a case-by-case basis.
 
     
  Do we have to go to China?  
     
  Adoptive parents are required to travel to China. One parent traveling is acceptable, however, you must “readopt” in the U.S. for the child to acquire citizenship. Immunizations for travel to China are not required at this time.  
     
  You will leave for China a few weeks after approving a referral for a non-special needs child. (Travel for special needs children is set up within the family’s timing requests after receiving permission from the CCAA.) You should plan on being gone for 10-14 days. You will be accompanied by English speaking facilitators and guides and will stay in western- style hotels with quality accommodations.  
     
  Although the adoption is final in China, the child remains a Chinese citizen. Therefore, immigration paperwork must be completed at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. All U.S. citizens who adopt will go through the consulate process in Guangzhou.  
     
  What are the costs?  
     
  While the children are priceless, there are costs that must be paid to the U.S. government for the immigration of the child, and to the Chinese Government for the processing of various documents, the child’s passport and orphanage care. There are also costs for gathering the necessary documents (the dossier) and the legal processing of these. A fee must be paid for a required home study to qualify your family for the adoption.  
     
  There are also the costs for the agency to assist you in bringing your child home. These fees are to help pay for the time, experience and guidance of the agency to bring together the requirements for two governments plus licensing and accreditation required by local, state and international adoption laws.  
     
  The average total of ALL costs for an adoption, including travel for two parents, is approximately $20,000. The IRS allows a tax credit for adoption of approximately $11,400 for qualifying families. This brings the entire cost to about $9,500. (http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8839/index.html.)  
     
  Many groups offer grants and loans to adopting parents. Small World gives a 10% agency deduction for government and military personnel, and to families who tithe to their church. If you have additional questions regarding the adoption process you can contact Kathy, Waiting Child Director and China Specialist, Small World Adoption, at Kathy@swa.net.  
     
 
  Vital Statistics
 
   
   
     
  Children who received care—66  
     
  Surgeries performed—67  
     
  Children transitioned to foster care—35  
     
  Children adopted—13*  
     
  *Children have been adopted into families in China, Holland, Spain and the U.S.  
     
  True Children’s Home relies on donations from individuals, organizations and corporations. One hundred percent of donated funds goes into one of our four programs: children’s home, medical care, foster care or community outreach.  
     
  True Children’s Home is affiliated with China Care foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. Donations to TCH are completely tax deductible. All administrative expenses are underwritten by Alan and Twila True.  
     
  If you would like more information on how you can help, contact us at info@truechildrenshome.org or visit our website at www.truechildrenshome.org.  
     
  For monetary donations, please make the check payable to China Care Foundation. In the Memo/For section of the check write “True Children’s Home.” All checks must be drawn on a U.S. bank. Send your check to True Children’s Home, c/o True North America, P.O. Box 51057, Irvine, CA 92619-1057.  
     
     
 
Working together we can make a difference in the lives of children…
one child at a time!