The concept behind CEO Foundation's "Family Anew Program", where an orphaned and somewhat disabled child living in Mainland China is placed in a foster home where the foster parents are given a monthly stipend to care for the child, has the ability not just to care for these children in need, but more importantly, it has the ability to change elements of the post-Mao Tse Tung style communist mentality of holiganism and rampant profiteering we see in much of China that is impeded China's steady acceptance into the inner circle of the International Community.

The care that is given to these children is especially important because it says to the society as a whole, that there are qualities to humanity that we would do well to cultivate, and those qualities are the ability to care for and about "others", especially those less fortunate than ourselves. Beyond the impact to the individual children who's lives are improved by having an attentive family to care for them, it is the change that can be effected on the parents themselves tasked with caring for these children, not their own.

As a person of Chinese descent, I have often heard it said that most Chinese people do not consider adoption as a way to care for children - for them there is no "point" because raising children is about a way to achieve immortality, by surviving on in them. IF the children you raise are not your children, then, "what's the point of taking on all that responsibility?!"

And more so if the children have visible disabilities. People still tend to look upon disabilities as if they were character flaws, when in fact no one would 'choose' to be disabled, but people do indeed have the choice to lessen their character flaws. It is possible for anyone to chose a positive step in life, and to have the work they do leave a positive ripple effect, this is what is possible from the way the "Family Anew Program" works.

Then there's the added factor of being burdened indefinitely!

So, what's the point? Why take on what seems like an definite burden, indefinitely? The point is "bliss" which is best defined as those times in life when you are most thankful to be alive, and there to experience the moment. The feeling that comes from doing something that is pure and good for another person or group, where you can tell from looking at them that in that moment, they are blissful.

There's a story from long ago that remains with me and seems appropriate to bring up here, it is about a family playing in the park. In the group was a disabled child, and all the children just took care to make the disable child feel "normal", and finally the child kicked a goal, and the whole group was jumping up and down, more delighted than if they had scored the goal themselves - and, that's a story that really sells the importance of teamwork!

Just as Bad things (like apathy, violence and destructiveness) creates a vicious cycle, Good things (like empathy, responsibility and compassion), which might well be integrated as part of our education system, and so to be imprinted upon children - in action as well as in parables - so children are guided by these notions from an early age, see it everywhere in practice, and then they can't help but to grow up to be persons who exert a positive impact on society.

  Interview with Christina Chua, co-founder of a charity for disabled children - CEO Foundation

Young Artists T-shirt Design Contest Each contestant’s design will be sent to an orphan in China. Please click for details.

..... Stop here Please click here to read: The Young Artists T-Shirt Design Contest Catwalk Final Extravaganza & Prize Presentation Ceremony, by LoLa, published on 3 July 2009 http://www.icubed.us/node/1867 Dialogue in the Dark – Empowering understanding and empathy! published on 27 May 2009 http://www.icubed.us/node/1808 Interview with Andreas Heinecke - Dialogue in the Dark Founder, published on 26 May 2009 http://www.icubed.us/node/1809