Christians from Tian'an Church of Fuzhou visited Mercy Field Home in Xiyuan Village in Minhou District of Fuzhou on May 19, 2019.
Xue, a teacher there, gave a brief introduction of the home. Mercy Field Home, as a children's charity, was established on June 1, 2000 through donations and under the approval of the Civil Affairs Bureau. There are two kinds of children there: those whose parents are in prison and unable to take care of them, and wandering or abandoned handicapped children. The latter ones usually have brain-paralysis, are physically deformed, or are mentally challenged and were abandoned on the streets, in stations, or even near cabbage containers and were adopted by the Home.
Xue showed us around the dormitory of the handicapped children. Athough they had physical handicaps, they were very polite and said hello to us. Most of them are brain-paralyzed, mentally retarded or severely mutilated. They ranged in age from infants lying in beds to teenagers. Unable to take care of themselves, they rely completely on the teachers of the Home for their daily life. Teachers have devoted a lot of time and energy on them.
For those children of prisoners, psychological counselling is what these teachers do. These children generally felt inferior. Some of them rejected their parents from the bottom of their hearts. Teachers need to do a lot to bridge the relationship between the children and their parents. They periodically go with the children to visit their parents in prison, so as to keep and rebuild their relationship, as well as to have the parents feel relieved. Teachers desire for the children to regain their right to an education and return to a normal life.
-Translated by Lin Changfeng
