Charity needs money for children

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-06 11:18

A Beijing charity group is attempting to raise money to fund operations for five children with birth defects.

Angel Mom, founded in 2007 by a group of mothers from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, is aimed at helping disabled orphans.

The organization recently assisted four children from Shanxi province, including Dang Yuan, aged five months, to receive cleft lip operations at Evercare Hospital in Beijing.

However, due to financial difficulties, the organization needs at least 100,000 yuan ($15,000) for the remaining five children, who have other birth defects.

The cleft lip operation is relatively simple and the stitches are removed in about seven days. Evercare Hospital has a free cleft lips operation program supported by Smile Angel Foundation, which was founded in 2006 by famous Chinese singer Faye Wong and her husband movie star Li Yapeng, whose girl had a cleft lip.

The Smile Angel Foundation mainly supports cleft lip children, so Angel Mom needs to raise money elsewhere for the other five children.

"We need at least 100,000 yuan for these children," Deng Zhixin, Angel Mom founder, told METRO.

Liu Hongyan, the head nurse at the hospital, said Dang's parents abandoned the child because she had a cleft lip.

"She is so beautiful, only a little cleft lip. Why were her parents so cruel?" Liu said.

The government of Yuanping in Shanxi province sent Dang and 50 other abandoned children with all kinds of congenital disease to foster families, because there is no welfare house in their city.

Li Suzhen, Dang's foster mother, said the local government contributes 700 yuan per month to Dang's medical expenses.

"I will adopt her in the future." Li told METRO. She thought if other children know Dang is an abandoned child, she will be laughed at when she grows up. Li's family all supported her to adopt Dang.

People can donate money through the charity's website www.angelmom.org.