Xi'an Part 2

The rest of our time in Xi'an was divided between parades at the city, the city wall, and an orphanage called Starfish.  The reason we ended up at that orphanage is because Brynna and Neil are in the process of adopting a Chinese baby who's been living in their home since October.  Baby Chloe was born with spina bifida and ended up at an orphanage (not Starfish but a similar one).  Birth defects are quite common in Chinese babies because of poor nutrition in the mothers.  The most common defects are spina bifida and cleft palates - both of which are easily fixed with just one surgery and some physical therapy.  Unfortunately, many of the people can't afford to care for special needs babies, so babies with defects are often abandoned.

Baby Chloe was part of a charitable program called Baobei.  The charity pays for the surgeries and organizes "Healing Homes" for the babies to recooperate in.  Brynna and Neil agreed to be a "Healing Home" for Baby Chloe meaning they dressed her wounds, do her PT with her, and take her to doctor's appointments.  She is such a sweet baby!

The orphanage we visited in Xi'an, Starfish Foster Home is similar to Baobei in that they take in special needs babies, arrange for surgeries, but then they nurse the babies back to health until the baby is adopted.  The home is run by an LDS woman, Amanda.  So we stopped by to pay a visit.  We were able to hold some of the little babies, which was very hard actually.  It was difficult to see their deformities and know that they have a difficult road to recovery ahead.  Since Starfish has connections to the LDS church, they have plenty of clothes and blankets (the LDS church doesn't send money, just goods).  What they really need is money to buy food for so many babies.  If you're interested in donating, here is the link below:

https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=5165

The link is Baobei:

http://www.baobeifoundation.org/index-2.html