Because every child, no matter how humble her beginnings, deserves loving care, and a chance at a bright future.

LiuShan-Love for Babies

HTS Field Supervisor, Liu Shan (above right):
I started working for Half the Sky as a nanny at the Xinyang Social Welfare Institution.  Then I became the Nanny Supervisor.  Last year I became an Infant Nurture Field Supervisor and travel all over for Half the Sky.. I loved working as a nanny because I spent so much time with the babies. But my job as a field supervisor is also gratifying....

Special Projects at Half the Sky

Every now and then, opportunities arise to help China's orphaned children in special ways, outside of our four programs.  When our limited resources permit, and when the opportunities fall within our mission statement, we are happy and eager to lend our expertise wherever it can make a difference in children's lives.

Models of Care for Children Orphaned by AIDS in Rural China

In Henan Province, large numbers of children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, transmitted through blood donations. Half the Sky, in partnership with the Henan Province Bureau of Social Welfare, provides permanent family care to 225 orphaned children living in villages across the province that are hardest-hit by the epidemic. 

Additionally, the partnership has converted a government orphanage for children orphaned by AIDS into single family homes as a pilot project to provide permanent family care to 48 children in one hard-hit township.  Those same children are part of a pilot project to develop a curriculum for children and communities affected by HIV/AIDS using Half the Sky's innovative approach to learning.  Using art, music, games, performance and just plain fun, the children find new friends, family and community and the beginnings of new strength in themselves.

Chia Family Fellowships

An outstanding three-year commitment by the Chia Family Foundation has enabled Half the Sky to offer educational opportunities to children who have been orphaned by AIDS in Henan Province.  135 young people have selected from almost 300 applicants to become Chia Family Fellows.  Many had been forced to drop out of school in order to become migrant workers or field hands. They are now attending high schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities.

National Guidelines for Orphan Care

In 2003, a grant from the Ford Foundation enabled Half the Sky to research and write a manual, For the Children, to be used for training teachers, nannies, orphanage administrators and caregivers in a nurturing approach to care for orphaned children. 

In 2005, the Ford Foundation stepped forward to provide research and development funds for a new partnership between Half the Sky and the China Center for Adoption Affairs, the government agency entrusted responsibility for oversight of children's welfare institutions. 

Delegates at a 2005 conference in Chongqing, including Half the Sky, pledged to "...work hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder to realize our goal with full passion and determination and start a new stage of care of Chinese orphans and handicapped children." 

They defined the "new stage of care" as "a richer and more stimulating environment of love," "inspiring education," and "an atmosphere where children's individuality and potential" can be developed fully. 

These stated values are the same as those which Half the Sky has espoused since its inception in 1998.  Half the Sky is honored to be participating in the groundbreaking effort to provide national guidelines for education and nurture of orphans.