Lucy's Roots

I have been told that Jiangxi Province is the poorest province in China. Whether or not this is an accurate statistic, it is obvious that it is very poor, nonetheless.

Yesterday we were able to visit the Social Welfare Institute (SWI), or orphanage, where Lucy lived. It is located in Yifeng, which is a city of about 40,000 people in Jiangxi Province. The ride to Yifeng was amazing. Very rural, and very poor. The countryside was beautiful, but filled with mile after mile of run down buildings where people live. There is also a huge amount of construction going on everywhere. What's strange though, is there are so many buildings standing empty. Some are old and run down, but some are brand new. However, they just keep building. 60% of the population here are farmers. Most have very small pieces of land, where they work hard to produce enough to exist. Cotton and rice are big crops here, as are nuts.

Jiangxi

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

It was a day I was originally looking forward to. I'm glad we went, but it made me very sad. It was hard to see the spot where Lucy was found. She was found at the front gate of the orphanage, where this photo was taken:

Finding Spot 2

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

I just can't imagine what that day must have been like for her birth mother. I can't be angry with her, because she gave us Lucy. She must have felt as if she had no other choice. What a horrible decision to live with for the rest of her life. How close were we to her today, as we drove here? It's possible we drove right by her home I suppose. Probably not very likely, but possible.

It just made things very real for me, in terms of what is going on here with these girls. We were able to also meet her Foster Mother, which I am very thankful for. Lucy spent the first 4-5 months of her life in the orphanage, then was taken care of by a local woman, who became her foster mother. She clearly had wonderful care from this woman because she is really on track developmentally. I was able to thank her in person, for taking such wonderful care of our daughter. We were also able to take some photographs, which will be priceless for Lucy.

Foster Mom

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

Our tour of the orphanage was very guarded. We were only allowed to see the outside of the infant building, and were told that all 31 babies currently under their care were in foster care. It's impossible to know whether or not this is true, but I'm glad to know the girls are getting such good care.

Each family gave a financial donation, and our group was able to give the orphanage a computer and some other gifts.

Group at Orphanage

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

The director of the orphanage was a very kind man.

SWI Director

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

We ate lunch with him and several of the workers from the orphanage at a local restaurant. They put on quite a feast, and clearly had many of the best local dishes prepared. The amount of food we had was astonishing...over 30 dishes.

Food

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

After our visit, we began the 2 1/2 hour ride back to Nanchang. We stopped part way back to visit a local farmer and his family. He was nice enough to let us look at his home, and share some information about his family with us. Unfortunately, my entire family, with the exception of Marian, missed this visit. Roger got sick yesterday, so he stayed on the bus. Hannah had fallen asleep, so I stayed behind to watch her and Lucy. Marian got some amazing photos, and shared the experience with us. I will let the photos speak for themselves:

Farmers Home

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

Elderly Woman

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

Blowing Bubbles

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.

There are so many things to tell everyone about this amazing country, but that will have to wait for another day. We leave early tomorrow for Guangzhou, the final stop on our journey to bring Lucy home.

Lucy

Originally uploaded by MomTo2.