Scripture reminds us not to despise the day of small beginnings. Little did teachers realise what would happen due to their visits to abandoned babies in an orphanage or their provision for families struggling alone with the challenges of caring for special needs children: a pioneering work was about to be birthed!

Agape has been key in establishing a number of welfare-based projects, each with a clear purpose and vision, and has appointed project managers responsible for their day-to-day running and finances, with oversight provided by the main Agape board and office. Some of the projects are registered as subsidiary NGOs and one, the Agape Farm, has been established as a small social enterprise business.

HZ Agape

HZ Agape is made up of two programmes, employing 18 members of staff: Shekinah Shalom Childcare Centre and Eagles Wings. There are 48 children cared for in the childcare centre, of whom 80% have cerebral palsy. There is a focus on rehabilitation and this year 2,257 rehabilitation sessions took place for these children. There were also various activities and outings for the children and staff. Eagles Wings has 16 students who are being taught life and social skills. It is hoped that some of them will be able to get jobs, and so they are being trained specifically for this. They have also been learning about traditional Chinese culture and what is celebrated in each different holiday. They have been on outings to look at nature and to find out about the world. These are young people who were previously shut away out of sight, either in institutions or in their home because their parents were too ashamed to let them be seen.

This year, a Disabled Sports Meeting was held where disabled young people could show their talents, raising their profile in the community, and showing the potential that these precious ones have. Staff are also being trained with professional courses.

For those who live at home with parents, a parents’ group has been set up to help support them. A lot of this work involves coming alongside the parents, educating them about their children’s conditions and what is possible with training and help, plus teaching them to continue with the rehabilitation and training at home. Most have never had these opportunities for support or teaching before. This work with the parents is as important as the work with the children themselves, as they seek to show the Father’s compassion and love through their lives and attitudes.

Hope Haven

Hope Haven is a childcare facility for abandoned or orphaned children. It opened in 2001 and has grown and changed dramatically since then. Currently there are 24 members of staff, who work in partnership with the Main Welfare Centre, caring for 30 children from the age of 0-6 years. Staff training is important to them and 18 staff training programmes were run over the past year. They also had 352 visits from teams and volunteers over the year. Partly due to these visits and the activities they do in the community, they are developing relationships with local businesses and groups, so that they now get resources such as milk powder and nappies from these companies. Excess items, or those they cannot use, are donated to other groups in the city.

The plan for the next year is to continue to provide professional, loving care to the children in their care, including organising a variety of activities for them.

Please pray as we continue to promote the sponsorship projects, Love Baby, within China, and the VFC Sponsorship scheme internationally.

Well of Love

Well of Love began life as the Qing Xing centre with its origins in the vision and prayers of two teachers. They wanted to share God’s love in a practical way with families who struggled alone with the challenges of caring for children with special needs. The centre, which opened in 2000, gained government registration in 2002.

Well of Love succeeded to the work started by Qing Xing and gained NGO status in 2014; that work continues to this day, providing intensive sessions, both at the centre and in the home, enabling children with special needs to develop physically, cognitively and spiritually.

According to the latest statistics there are about 85 million people in China today with various kinds of disability, representing over 6% of the total population. More than a million babies are born with a birth defect every year. Well of Love aims to provide these children with appropriate and tailored holistic therapy, education, vocational training and rehabilitation, and to empower and train up local staff with the specialist skills and expertise they need. Over recent months we have had to adjust how families are helped due to COVID-19, this, along with complying with government regulations and changing premises, has produced unique difficulties. Please pray for this greatly needed work in China.