In November 2019, 18 new children entered the care of ICC in Changsha. These children moved from the upper floors of the government welfare centre to Enquan Yuan, ICC group homes for children with moderate to severe disabilities.

The ages of the children are from 8 to 15, and there are 15 new boys and 3 new girls. Since they arrived they have grown in many ways. They have all received better nutrition and so have put on weight. They are becoming more alert as they receive one-to-one play time, and their health is improving through therapy and medical supervision.

Wheelchair Assessment

When the new children arrived, one of the main tasks for the therapy team was to assess them for new wheelchairs.

Four of the children are able to walk independently, but the other 14 all needed wheelchairs. For those with higher needs, it was a case of finding what was available and then assessing them, making arrangements to import new chairs from abroad. For some, the brilliant therapy team were able to modify what was already there. Resources are limited but the therapy team of local staff and international volunteers are experts in using what is available. The changes in the children when they sat in a wheelchair for the first time in their lives was incredible to see.

Rachel, (ICC international volunteer and therapist) with Jinhua (local therapist), fixing a wheelchair for the children.

Zhiyuan had never before had a wheelchair of his own and was often left in his bed. Now he can engage with the world with a big smile on his face. He loves to interact with people and see what is going on around him. He looks like a completely different child compared to when he first arrived. We are waiting for some of the imported chairs to arrive and are thankful for the donations already received for these. We can’t wait to see how it changes the lives of the other children!

Zhiyuan on his wheelchair at Enquan Yuan

One-to-One interaction

For most of the children, it is the first time they will receive intensive one-to-one interaction and play. Most of them never had the chance to pick up a toy of any kind. We were grateful to receive donations from our international donors to help buy new toys for all the children.

Child-Centred Approach

Throughout January 2020, each of the new children had an ‘all around the child meeting’. These are child-centred holistic meetings to discuss the needs and goals for each child. Each child is represented by a member of the therapy team, someone from special education, their keyworker carer, as well as an international volunteer who will help with emotional development.

Each of the new children now has goals to be working towards in all areas,  and we all look forward to giving an update on their progress.

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