In 1997, Jenny and Richard Bowen adopted their daughter, Maya, a toddler from a welfare institution in southern China. They received a first-hand education in early childhood development and the trauma of institutionalization: she suffered from both physical and cognitive developmental delays. But after just one year of individual attention, love and nurture, Maya was transformed.

How easy it was to make a tremendous difference in the life of one young child! What if you could do the same for the many children in China who languish waiting for families — or those who will never be adopted? That’s how Half the Sky Foundation — named for the Chinese adage, “Women hold up half the sky” — was born in 1998.

Half the Sky’s mission — to provide family-like nurturing care in the lives of orphaned children — was clear, but the effectiveness of its first pilot programs, launched in the summer of 2000, was an open question.

Thousands of children are now enrolled in Half the Sky programs to provide love and hope for orphaned children. Since Half the Sky began its work in China in 2000, more than ten thousand children have benefited from one or more of these four innovative programs:

The Baby Sisters Infant Nurture Program — Half the Sky employs, trains and supervises local women to work as full-time nannies, providing orphaned babies the stimulation, bonding and affection that are essential to a healthy start.

The Little Sisters Preschool Program — Teachers from the local community are trained in Half the Sky’s innovative curriculum, designed to give young children the self-confidence, basic skills and love of learning that will help them to succeed when they move on to primary school.

The Big Sisters Program — Older children, especially those who’ve not had the benefit of early education, often give up on themselves. Half the Sky provides these children individualized learning opportunities, according to their own interests, talents and aspirations.

The Family Village Program — Children, whose medical and developmental challenges preclude them from http://aic.org.uk/cialis-generic/ government adoption programs, grow up in permanent loving families, living in Half the Sky-provided homes nearby the institution where they can receive the support services they need.

Please visit their site halfthesky.org

Information gathered from halfthesky.org