TheBanyanTree: Transition 24

Fri May 16 02:59:00 PDT 2008

            The Chinese New Year's fireworks continued for several nights,
but it was a lonely time for me even though Wayne did not leave for Hong
Kong for three days. At my request, he introduced me to several restaurants
with Chinese/English menus within walking distance of the apartment. He also
helped me find my way around on the local buses.

Sometimes when we traveled together, a local with limited English would
point to him and then me and say, "Baby?" and I'd shake my head. "Women
yingyu laoshi (we're English teachers,)" I'd say. I was certainly old enough
to be his mother, though. I'd known Wayne was very young but was surprised
to hear that he was just days away from his 19th birthday, and his mates
from Wales were flying to Hong Kong to celebrate it with him there.

When Wayne left, the apartment became very quiet. I had another three weeks
to relax before my teaching started and spent many lazy days reading a novel
I'd borrowed from 'The Rainbow Sports Bar' book exchange. Finding English
novels is nearly impossible here so I was thrilled that for a 50 yuan
deposit ($7) I could borrow a novel and when I returned it, I could get my
money back or could take out another. I love reading.

Pauline had returned to her school in Fuoshan on Chinese New Year's day; I
missed her and wished we'd had more time together. It had been good to speak
with a like-minded woman who, like me, enjoyed visiting and experiencing
different cultures and didn't mind doing it on her own.

            The Wang Yani situation was still on hold. One of the donors had
suggested we divide the 12,000 yuan raised between three children including
Wang Yani, rather than allocating the entire amount to her. (The others had
been content to go along with whatever I decided.) Based on that, I'd
written to Jackie and Ron stating that our group did not require Wang Yani
to be tested for Down Syndrome, and we were willing to provide 4,000 yuan
towards her heart surgery. I'd heard back from Jackie saying Ron thought it
prudent to have her tested anyway. On February 13th, I heard from Jackie:

"Dear Pat,

Wang Yani's father took her to have a test and the result is what we
guessed. Ron decide we don't support her surgery. I will find another three
patients who need help.

Best Wishes,

Jackie"

            I'd been afraid this might happen and immediately sent out an
email to the sponsors:

"Dear Sponsors,

Some sad news. Agape has decided not to provide the 15,000 yuan towards
heart surgery for Wang Yani; this means she won't have the needed
operation.  I feel certain this is because of the tremendous need in
China--there are thousands of children whose parents can't afford their
heart surgery and there are children dieing every day.

Ron Brown, the person in charge of Agape's China Medical Mission is a kind
man who has to make very hard decisions like this on a regular basis. We've
written numerous emails back and forth. He is a volunteer and says, "No
human should have to make these kinds of decisions." I agree.

Please advise if you want any of the money you raised to be given directly
to Wang Yani's family provided I can arrange for Jackie to deliver it.  It
won't be going towards heart surgery but could help ease some of the
financial pressure the family feels. If you look at my photos in Picasaweb,
you will see this family's poor living conditions.

 http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/WangYani

I never expected to have to deal with something like this when I began
accepting donations for Zhang Kang.

Let me know your thoughts...

Pat"

The donor who'd suggested dividing up the money wrote to me "… a very
difficult dilemma.  It is doubly too bad as it looks like by initially
asking to have the test done, this has also taken away 15,000 y of Yani's
funding." He suggested I contact Ron to find out if he would reconsider.

On February 23 I wrote:

"Hello Ron,

The situation with Wang Yani has been most uncomfortable for me, and I'm
sure it wasn't easy for you to turn down her application after confirming
she has Down Syndrome.

As you know, I have about 12,000 yuan available to help support poor
children's heart surgeries. Because some of the sponsors didn't want me to
arbitrarily decide what to do with any funds raised in excess of the
3,000 yuan we paid for Zhang Kang's surgery, I felt I needed to present them
with all the facts. Wang Yani looked to have Down Syndrome and I requested
that she be tested so I could fulfill the role entrusted to me. Because of
my query, it appears I caused Yani to lose Agape's support.

Is there any flexibility on your decision? For example, if my group of
sponsors were able to raise and pay the entire 16,000 yuan (the parents'
share), would Agape reconsider its position and pay the remaining 15,000?"

I received this reply from Ron on February 26:

"I have to make very difficult decisions every day.  A child with Down
Syndrome does not have hope of a life and yet if we spent funds on this
child it would mean that a child which could have a normal life would have
to die.  It is a matter of using the funds to the best advantage for those
who have an opportunity to live a full life.  Of course, I wish I could save
all 2,000 who die each day.  It breaks my heart."

I then advised Jackie that my group would like to contribute 4,000 yuan each
towards two heart surgeries (to aid parents having difficulty raising their
share of surgery costs). Using this money, on March 14th, a seven-year-old
boy with congenital heart disease (CHD) named Zhang Runtao was successfully
operated on.

On April 21st, another 4,000 yuan was used to save the life of Mu Shuixia,
an eighteen-year-old girl in grave condition. (Please follow the links at
the bottom of this email to see these congenital heart disease patients.)

I held Wang Yani's 4,000 yuan and another 700 yuan sent specifically for
her, and sent out an email to the sponsors asking if one of them could take
on fundraising for her. One sponsor asked to have until the time I left
China to raise the funds, and if unable to do so, agreed they should be
allocated to another deserving child.

This week I sent 4,700 yuan to Agape in Xian and advised that the final
4,000 yuan could be used for another child's heart surgery.

Seven hundred yuan is being held in trust for Wang Yani, and the donor in
Canada will continue to try to raise the funds needed for her operation.  The
heart surgery cost for Wang Yani is 31,000 yuan or around $4,500.

If anyone wants to donate to this child's operation, please let me know and
I'll provide you with a contact name and email address.

-- 
My Blog:  http://mysouldancesinchina.blogspot.com/

If you don't use Picasa, China photos can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/home?tab=mq

If you use Picasa, you must access the albums individually:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/MuShuixia
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/ZhangRuntao
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China3ZhangKang
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/WangYani
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/Sanya
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/January2008To
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China2
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/China