Journey to Jiujiang - Page 3

Ms. Yu could not attend my meeting with Mr. Cao the following morning. She was organizing a team of medical volunteers who came to help with the children¹s immunizations. Our meeting was interrupted with a call from an international adoption agency in San Francisco. The agent asked Mr. Cao to have some of his babies prepared for the arrival of their new parents on July 10th. A chief of the local security station called and asked what types of donations were needed for both the children and the elderly in the institution.
 
I was unable to take photos of the the children's department, because the children were still receiving their immunizations, but Ms. Yu found some photos for me of the institute. There was also a photo of Mr. Cao and a baby. Mr. Cao recalled that the picture was taken after he had gone to the hospital to pick up the baby following heart surgery. The child was later adopted by a family in New York.
 
When asked about money for medical treatment, Mr. Cao said, "We are never close-fisted with our children. We were ready to spend 60,000 yuan for the surgery for this child. The hospital asked only 40,000 when they found that we were from an orphanage." The child I saw in the crib yesterday will have the next surgery. The estimated medical expense will be 300,000 yuan. Amity, a domestic charity organization, will assist with some of the money to save this child's life. Mr. Cao said that the mortality rate at the institute is at it's lowest level because of this philosophy of humanity.
 
Mr. Cao and a driver helped carry my luggage on board the train. It was so crowded, it was impossible for us to shake hands before he got off. I waved good-bye to him through the window. I wished him luck in dealing with the "headache problems," as he described his attempts to gain more understanding and support from society for the institution.

Edited by Sharon Lee Puttmann

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