Baobei recently received requests to help three new born babies during this holiday season. These children are all suffering from urgent neuro issues.

We understand this is probably not the best timing for fundraiser since most our local volunteers are on holiday, and every family needs to buy Christmas gifts and money is tight now.  However, we are not giving up on these children and we would plead for every cent from our network to help complete the lifesaving surgeries they need. Please consider this is the best gift you can give to these innocent children who came to this world during the holiday, but without families around, being sick at the hospital, waiting for the funding to save their lives, so that they can grow up like anyone else.

The picture above is baby Christine. She just came to us from Henan province with a leaking spinal bifida. Her surgery is needed asap to prevent infection from traveling to her brain through her spine. Thank so much to the Shanghai Pudong Moms’ group who donated 20,000rmb to Christine. We are working with the neurosurgeon at SCMC now to schedule her surgery hopefully on Monday, but we believe we still need another 15,000rmb or so to cover the whole hospital bill.

We also have another two boys here. They are both from Henan province too. The one in blue is Baby Noel. He has a encephalomeningocele that is already broken. This reminds me of our Baby Bing, who also arrived at the hospital with a completely broken encephalomeningocele but survived, and now very healthy and chubby. I do hope the same miracle will happen to Noel. We currently don’t have funding available at all for Noel, but since his tumor is already broken, we have asked the orphanage to bring him into SCMC asap. They are on their way now. We are hoping to have his surgery done asap and also hoping to raise 30,000rmb for his surgery.

Baby in red is Joseph. He also has a encephalomeningocele but it is smaller and not broken yet. Because of our funding situation, unfortunately we have to put him as pending until we raise enough money for him. His surgery will be about 30,000rmb too. We will go ahead and provide all the needed tests done for now, as we are a bit worried that he is also suffering from hydrocephalus. If that is the case, then his need will become very urgent too. So we really hope we can gather enough money for him very soon too.

We really hope that you would consider helping these children. Any amount is greatly appreciated, and will make a huge difference in these children’s lives. We hope these children will celebrate the holiday with us and will be showered with love and care as we are their family now! If you need further info, please contact us at info@baobeifoundation.org.

Ms. Smith’s 6th grade class from Concordia Middle School gave wonderful Christmas gifts to the orphans of Baobei.  Many diapers, blankets, thermometers, etc. were generously given by the students.

Concordia Students present gifts to Baobei Foundation

Director Carol Hoag teaches Ms. Smith’s students about Baobei Foundation activities

Sunday, Moms in Pudong held their annual charity bazaar at the Radisson Hotel, Pudong.  Many Shanghai shops were set up on a mini scale for one stop holiday shopping.  I was introduced to so many new and different stores our great city has and bought a number of last minute gifts.  Each year, Moms in Pudong organizes this holiday bazaar and donates vendor booth fees to a charity.  Because of Baobei’s concern for the orphaned children, they wanted to work with us.

Thank you, Ellen, and all who helped make this event successful!   Baobei Foundation is truly honored to be chosen as one of your charities!  Please visit their website at www.momsinpudong.com to learn more.  They are a great group of international expatriate moms who meet regularly to help make their Shanghai experience the best it can be.

Our Baobei volunteers are the heart of our work in Shanghai.  Not only are they loved from the heart, but they are the foundation’s life support.  We simply could not support all of our dear baobeis without them.  Our volunteers come to us with many gifts and areas of interest, but as you can imagine, MOST want to hold, kiss and love on our babies!  We need all of them, but sometimes we come across unique individuals, like Angeles Meinshausen, who catch a vision for the business side of Baobei Foundation and want to use their talents for fundraising.

Angeles is an avid quilter with a passion for helping the orphans of China.  She heard about Baobei through a friend and decided to use her quilting talents to offer classes for a reasonable fee.  She has several students she teaches each week, and she donates the class registration fees to Baobei Foundation for surgeries.  In less than six months, this talented international quilting group has raised almost 25,000 RMB!  These dear ladies also plan to sell some of their completed projects to continue raising funds.  If you are a sewer and enjoy crafts, please let us know so we can introduce you to Angeles and her charitable group.  Email us at info@baobeifoundation.org with your interests.

Angeles Meinshausen on far left preparing to present financial gift to Baobei Foundation

Angeles’ wonderful quilting group with one of their completed masterpieces

Angeles also has a group of friends in Germany who are sewing quilts for Baobei.  These beautiful quilts are being donated to our “precious ones” so they will have a baby blanket made just for them to keep for life.   This group is also auctioning a Christmas quilt to raise money for Baobei Foundation in their country.  Thank you volunteers in Germany!  We appreciate you!

Beautiful Baby Faith with her gorgeous new quilt

For our Baobei community, the last few weeks have been bittersweet.  While we continue to seek and help children in need of life saving medical care we are missing a vital part of our Baobei family here in Shanghai.  Emily Chan, known to all of us as “Ting Ting” finally received the engagement visa she and her fiancé had been pursuing for over 15 months and with that moved on to begin a new life in the USA.
Ting Ting was a founding member of Baobei and brought with her a wealth of knowledge on everything from orphan policy to pediatric neurology.  We had many months to prepare ourselves for this transition, but still feel the loss as we go through our first “post-Ting Ting” days.
We are so fortunate to have two new Medical Managers in place to take up where Ting Ting left off. Lily Rong and Jessica Ling will be our Medical Management team at Shanghai Children’s and are already working closely with the doctors and nurses providing care for the Baobei babies in the hospital.
Transitions are sometimes challenging, but we feel fortunate to have worked with and learned from someone as gifted at Ting Ting over the past year. We are still in daily contact with her by every means of communication possible and she will maintain a strong presence in our organization no matter what continent she is on .   .   .  but we will miss her smile.
Good Luck to you TT!