Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Warm, Dry Bots for this Year!

The Mothers and Foster Mothers who take care of  our children with varying needs, 
face a constant struggle to do the most basic things every day in life.
Just keeping their children safe, dry, fed and clothed is a full time job.
On top of this they use therapy and play to help their children develop,
and struggle with stairs and public transport every time they have to go out. 
With no washing machines and tumble driers, one of the ways we can really help to make a difference is to provide good quality nappies to keep the older children who need them, warm and dry throughout the day and night.
                        Foster Mothers' eyes light up when they see their deliveries of.............

                                                        Pampers Nappies!!!!!

                                              Delivered in Style :-)

                                    Such a small thing to make such a big difference?



                                                                  Can you help them?

We need £100/$158/117euros a month to provide nappies, any medicines and sundries 
for all the children in our New Hope Programme.

We already have £100 for January thanks to Polbeth SWRI. (THANK YOU!)

Can anyone help us towards the £100 for February?
We now have £100 for February! Thank you ALL!
We are £60 towards March now...........
March is covered - Thank you!
Let's do April?
We have covered April, May, June!!!!!!!!! Thank you!
So now £40 into July....and counting..........July covered now! Thank you to Buckhaven's Fortune Cookie Crew!
£35 left to raise for August? August covered - Thank you Ann & Allan!
September covered - Thank You All!!!!!!
£30 into October???? October complete!
and £30 into November- thanks to The Cat's Whiskers!

You can Donate any amount via PayPal Donate Button top left corner of Blog Page 
and mark for Nappies
http://www.hope4china.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Please help us to make a difference?

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Xu Bu Village, San You Waterfall, Farmer's House

Xu Bu Village, Xiangfeng Town

                                                                    San You Waterfall


Stunning scenery and waterfall in the Rongshui mountains
 A Safe place for the children to swim - 
and we had it completely to ourselves. 
It would have to be one of the chilliest days of our trip?
But the girls had the time of their lives :-)


Dried off and in the bits of dry clothes that were left,
Our friend from the Women's Association insisted on sharing her coat with the wee one, while Lucy insisted on sharing her scarf to keep the bigger one warm!
                                                 Afterwards we headed down, thro rice fields

                                                              pools of sparkling water





                                                            to the lovely Miao ladies at the Gate
                                                      ( I LOVE the embroidered leg-warmers ;-)
                                               A new tourist hotel/B & B being built nearby

                     ..but we travelled on down to the Farmer's House where we were excited to be staying!
Our hostess' from the Women's Association were most concerned that we wanted to stay here, and were insisting we travel back to the Town to say in a good hotel, but gave up when they realised that we REALLY wanted to stay in the local area with the farmers.
                                          This is the river across the road from the farmer's house

                            This was the family home to which rooms were added for travellers in the area.



                                               Then they added this little "hut" in the front for extra tourists.
                                                                    This was our home!



                                                                   The girls just LOVED it!
                                  This was our Entrance area, with a double bedroom on each side,
                                           with its own very basic but functional en-suite!
                                 The beds were clean and as comfortable as they could be,
                                  and dinner and breakfast were served up in the farmer's house
                                                  where we were welcomed as part of the family
                                                          Farmer's wife with grandson

                                                                              waiting for dinner
                                                                          cooked by the farmer thro here
Fresh rice and vegetables from the fields
and very fresh duck from the pond below!
          Afterwards a chance to look at the exquisite Miao embroidery in everyday use around the home


                                                        and the outfits kept for special occasions


This is the modern style favoured by the young women, 
over the black and turquoise colours favoured by the older generations.

That evening we walked in the silence and pitch darkness of the countryside
along the banks of the river, our way lit by the moon.
Magical, surreal and emotional!
What a privilege to be there!

As the girls and I snuggled in our room in the farmer's house, surrounded by the mountains and the river, the darkness of the countryside, with our Chinese friends next door, we felt truly blessed!

Next morning we woke early to the sounds of cocks crowing and the farmers busy off to work in the fields.
We came out to see the work had already started




                                                        So while we waited for Breakfast,
                                                             we did some exercises :-)






                        After breakfast we got our boots on and headed up the mountain to the Dong Village
                                                  where more surprises awaited us...........................

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Another Warm Welcome in a Rongshui Home


One of the girls in our Education programme invited us to her home where she lives with her grandmother.
They had previously lived in one of the old wooden houses, but sadly it had burnt down and they had lost everything. The government had helped them to build a new brick house.


We were given such a warm welcome, and immediately our girl, washed cups and offered us water

                                                      Matthew had to have the first cup :-)
                                                       We just LOVED this beautiful lady!
When I admired her beautiful costume, and went to dig my own one out of the case, 
she was very impressed.
Mine was hand-embroidered in Rongshui years ago and given to me as a Gift. 
It is exquisite beyond words, all stitched by hand! 
This is no longer done here, and the ones worn here are machine produced, and still expensive! 
I think mine is beyond price?
Sadly mine is rather small for my frame, and I can't quite carry it off the way these lovely ladies do!


However this inspired her to take us upstairs and bring our the family collection of Miao jackets and headdresses. 
We had fun trying them all on and posing. 
This lady was delighted!
And very proud!








 There was very little in this house, but as you can see the rail had only traditional Miao clothes which I guess have been handed down over the years. 
After we were finished every item was carefully put back in its own special place.


                                        Amazing ladies from Rongshui, Pingguo and Cenxi all in Guangxi


                                        And Goodbye from our Rongshui Friends......
                                                   Another special moment!