If your life is very long, would you like to live it with purpose. Would you like to dedicate one third of it to a worthy cause?
If you had known the challenges you were going to face, would you still have had the courage to come forward for what you are doing now?
1
40 years’ love for orphaned children
CHUNHUI MAMA
Li Daoxin is a 60-year-old gentle lady with neat short hair and a kind face. You can always see happiness in her loving smiles. She has spent more than 40 years touching the lives of orphaned children. She has been their “sister”, “mama” and now “grandma”.
18 years ago, Li Daoxin learned about Chunhui Children’s childcare and education concepts and was impressed. So, when an opportunity came along, she did not hesitate to join the foundation and began to serve as director of the Infant Nurture program. Since then, she has been sparing no efforts to help orphaned and disabled children. In the past 20 years, she visited 60% of the welfare institutions in 92 cities and counties of 29 provinces. Each time she went on a business trip, she took enough Guoba, a kind of solid food popular in her hometown, so that she wouldn’t feel hungry when she worked late into the night. She has always been energetic, committed, and respected.
2
A most painful experience
CHUNHUI MAMA
Commitment to childcare & education brings happiness and makes one look younger. Working with orphaned and disabled children, however, requires patience, power, and resilience. Perhaps, there are no other jobs more demanding than it.
40 years ago, Li Daoxin worked as a child caregiver in a welfare institution, taking care of dozens of children by herself. That winter, the young lady was confronted with the first big challenge of her life.
Little Hui was the most troublesome child under her care, and everyone called him Silly Hui. Hui was 7 years old but couldn’t speak yet. He was always running around wildly, beating people, yelling, and stuffing things into his mouth. But Li Daoxin loved him dearly. She would give more attention to children who had poorer functions and were not liked by those around, because they needed her more, said Li.
It was strange that the boy, who couldn’t be controlled by anyone, behaved himself under Li’s care. When Li told him to be quiet, he wouldn’t say a word, and when she drew two circles in the air with her index finger, he would obediently run around the yard twice. He always stayed in Li Daoxin's arms, looking up at her with simpering smiles. "Oh, this is Li Daoxin's silly son!" the people around them joked. But only Li knew deep in her heart that Hui was the most caring child. If she loved him, he would undoubtedly love her too.
One winter, Li went to another city for training. But when she returned wo weeks later, she found that all her colleagues looked at her in a strange way and avoided talking to her. She walked to the nursery of Hui, only to find his crib was empty. She was given a notebook which recorded what happened to the boy while she was away.
The second day after she left, Hui had a heart attack, and although he was rescued in time, he didn’t turn for the better. In the two days that followed, he screamed wildly, and no one could control him. On the third day, he had a heart attack again and didn’t survive it.
"Why? Why didn't you ask me to come back? Why? Tell me! Who can tell me? " Li roared with despair. “He was such a good boy. How can I not love him? He's not silly, he's my baby.”
Now, it still hurts her to think of the boy. She can't forgive herself. If there had been the slightest possibility back then, she would put down everything in hand and go back for him.
In each of her training sessions, she talks about the boy with tears in her eyes. She tells the trainees how important it is to help the children develop secure attachment and give them the best possible care. The death of Hui motivated her to work harder and stay committed to the children for 40 years.