News

Expatriate teens help orphans brave dentist's chair

By Brad Webber (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-19 08:06

Carmen Doerwald, a foreign volunteer, talks with an orphan at Guang Ai orphanage. [Zou Hong / China Daily]

Needle jabs and dental probes aren't exactly the typical way to show tender loving care, but an energetic group of expatriate youths in Beijing believe good health is the best gift for dozens of orphans.

On Sunday, four teenagers who make up the nucleus of Dulwich College Beijing Interact Club, helped shuttle 42 children from the Guang Ai orphanage across a bustling second-floor ward of the Beijing Chaoyang Maternal and Children's Hospital near the Panjiayuan Antiques Market.

It was an unlikely sight - children gathered around a dentist's chair, eagerly queuing to hop up and show their teeth before being herded to other checkup stations.

Another 40 children from Tongzhou district orphanage will take the hour-long bus ride to the hospital on Monday morning for a second round of screenings. The checkups include blood and urine tests, vision and dental exams, and ultrasound heart scans.

For some of the orphans it was their first comprehensive health check; most had not seen a doctor in three years - the last time another organization stepped in to arrange physical examinations.

Twelve doctors and eight nurses tended to the young wards, who were clad in their orphanage's red and white track suits, but the Dulwich students took front and center in the initiative.

"Many took on real responsibilities," said Li Jie, vice-director and head of pediatrics at the hospital, which gave the club a 20 percent discount on the checkups. "They did a great job in helping organize the kids.

"We don't often do this type of service, because the hospital is usually very busy, but we agreed to their request because the pupils are from a very special school. They need the support."

Nicol Lo, 15, who spearheaded the effort with Patrick Yao, 17, said they became acquainted with the orphanage - and its many needs - as volunteer art and music tutors there.

"We could see they needed to improve some things," Lo said. "Because they don't really have a good medical system in the school, they said they would like health checks for the children."

Helping China's neediest - orphaned and abandoned children - is second nature for the Dulwich Interactors, who arranged and funded the screenings in cooperation with their sponsor, the Rotary Club of Beijing. The club is part of Rotary International, a philanthropic organization of more than 1.2 million businesspeople and professionals in 200 countries.

The 40 or so Interactors, 14- to 18-year-olds at the preparatory school of 1,120, e-mailed donors with pictures of the children, as well as held bake sales and other fundraisers.

"This cost about 33,000 yuan, including transportation and health check fees," said Lo. "The Beijing Rotary Club provided 16,500. We raised about 50,000 yuan because we wanted to ensure that if any of the children had health problems, we would have enough emergency funds."

Lu Xing, a teacher, said the project offered rare reassurance for the orphanage's staff.

"I've always been really worried about the medical well-being of the children," Lu said.

"If one child is sick, the whole group ends up becoming ill. Before, we've had no way of knowing whether a child has a serious condition. We're very grateful to the international school."

Many of the Dulwich Interactors have traveled abroad in their quest to do good deeds, for example, building 18 homes for indigent Cambodians, among other projects.

But helping close to home lends a special glow, say students, who also included James Wu, 16, and Haining Wang, 15. "I think they will understand that society does actually care about them," said Lo.

One pupil, Si Lamu, 13, concurred, saying in halting English with a broad smile: "I'm very happy because they have much love."