Where Hope Lives

　　SOS Children’s Village in Putian City， Fujian Province provides a loving family home for orphans

　　In March 2011， when 44-year-old Zheng Yun read a recruitment advertisement online that SOS Children’s Village in Putian City of southeast China’s Fujian Province was seeking mothers for orphaned children， she felt she had to get involved.

　　After a stringent interview process， Zheng was selected as one of the mothers in the village， the site of an international non-governmental organization focusing on family-based and long-term care of orphaned and abandoned children.

　　Prior to her decision to become a full-time foster mother， Zheng was a factory worker in a local company. “I love children， and that is the reason I came here，” she said.

　　Now her day is occupied with regular household activities - cooking， laundry and transporting small children to and from school.

　　Zheng said it is easy to be a mother here， but it is hard to be a good one. “There are so many [children]， and you need to take good care of each，” she said. She now has eight children to look after， ranging from nine to 15 years old.

　　The aim of the charity is to give children a chance to be raised in families， so that the orphans can enjoy a mother’s love and family warmth and grow up healthy and happy， according to Hermann Gmeiner， an Austrian philanthropist who founded SOS Children’s Villages International in 1949. It is now an umbrella organization of the federation of 116 autonomous SOS Children’s Villages member associations active in 134 countries and regions.

　　The village in Putian has 15 family houses， home to up to 165 children， with a foster mother taking care of six to eight children. Since SOS Children’s Village entered China in 1984， 10 villages have been built in cities such as Beijing， Chengdu， Putian， Urumqi and Lhasa. As the seventh village in China， the Putian village opened its door in 2000， said village Director Zeng Suqiong.

　　Family-based upbringing

　　Living in a family with a mother is the biggest difference between the village and an orphanage. “Family， as the core of the village， provides children with a sense of belonging and protection，” said Zeng.

　　“We hope to provide the children a safe and nurturing home， which helps them overcome their past traumas and regain the joys of childhood，” she said. “In these families， children can gradually establish their values， share responsibilities and build lifelong relationships.”

　　The children attend local schools and are fully integrated into the community as they are involved in after-school activities such as sports or singing in the choir， according to Zeng.

　　Zheng works hard to cultivate good habits， personality and character in the children， being fully aware of the need to create a loving family environment. Instilling confidence is also crucial.

　　Boosting confidence

　　“Both boys and girls were shy and lacked confidence when they first came to the village. I want them to develop their interests and hobbies so as to boost their confidence，” she said. “Now they are more confident than before.”

　　Liu Ling， a 15-year-old girl who has been living in the village for about nine years， said life there is colorful and she loves being there.

　　“I take taiji (a Chinese martial art) class in the morning， and we have a lot of fun learning taiji together，” she said， adding that a variety of extra-curricular activities were available， including music， painting and calligraphy classes， as well as basketball and badminton.

　　“The children are encouraged to develop a team spirit and learn to love and help each other with a thankful heart.” said Zeng.

　　After the boys enter junior high school， they will leave their family and move to the SOS youth apartment， where four boys share one room. “With the support of qualified professionals， the young boys learn to develop perspectives for their future， shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions，” said Zeng.

　　In SOS Children’s Village， the mother plays a crucial role as she is the children’s first teacher， who helps them build up self-esteem and learn good behavior and manners.

　　Zheng and her children live in one of 15 two-story houses in the village， all equipped with modern facilities.

　　According to SOS founder Gmeiner， to qualify， prospective mothers must be unmarried or divorced and childless.

　　“To be an SOS mother is to make a commitment to being single or having no child， and agreeing to remain in that state for life. Once a mother decides to get married， she must resign and leave the village，” said Zheng. “Therefore， we can focus on pouring all the love in our hearts on the children.”

　　She said although she sometimes feels stress in her work， the relationship between her and her children is very special and heartfelt.

　　Unique supermarket

　　What differentiates SOS Children’s Village in Putian from other similar villages in China is the Donation Supermarket.

　　Village Director Zeng said she came up with the idea of the supermarket as a unique concept of redistribution of the gifts and donations they receive. The supermarket opened its doors in 2011 and has become an integral part of the lives of mothers， children and youth in the village.

　　Its shelves are lined with clothing， cosmetics， sporting goods and snacks.

　　In 2009， when Zeng started to work in the village， she noticed there was a problem with the supply and demand of donations and distributions for the children. A point-based system was created， where every child in the village earns points based on different criteria， including academic performance， behavior and hygiene.

　　The educator keeps track of the criteria and allocates points to each child. The child can then use those points to buy any product from the supermarket.

　　“This system has helped build a sense of responsibility in the children for their actions and inculcate good habits，” said Zeng. “They now feel they have rightfully earned what they get and are not just receiving charity.”

　　According to Zeng， this point-based system not only applies to the children， but also to the entire family， allowing the mother to also “buy” from the supermarket.

　　Good prospects

　　This system has given children more confidence. “We often tend to feel that we receive gifts only out of pity because we are orphans，” said Li Ming， an orphan living in the village. “We can earn what we want and it is not simply handed out to us.”

　　Zheng said that she supported this system as she can really see the difference it has made to the children’s lives. “Now they cherish what they buy and care for it as it is their own hard-earned gift. They have also started sharing more，” she said.

　　“Kids are able to buy birthday gifts for their friends and siblings with their own points， which they could not do earlier，” she added.

　　Currently， Putian local university students， social workers and company employees give lectures at the village on weekends， which cover a wide range of topics from fire protection to first aid.

　　“SOS programs help the orphaned children rebuild their confidence and guarantee their rights to life， development， protection and participation for their best interests，” said Liu Huawen， research fellow at the Center for Human Rights Studies， Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　“It awakens corporate social responsibility as many entrepreneurs frequently donate money and goods， while their employees volunteer to do social work here，” Liang told ChinAfrica.

　　By Liu Jian

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