A picture I took of Jasmine in China was used by wikipedia to illustrate infants....The picture was taken a few weeks in -- I think I had already left Xi'an and was in Guangzhou waiting for her US Passport and papers.  The first couple days were rough, but by this time in the trip we had bonded, and she knew she was stuck with me.  She was even starting to play a little.  They had a very nice crib at the hotel (The White Swan).   The hotel was right next door to the American Consulate, so there were many recently non-orphaned babies / families milling about.  I had to take her to the "doctor" here, and she did not like that what so ever, and then waited for the paper work to be finished.  But that time of the trip I was ready to go home.  I remember that was the first time in 2 weeks that I could go to a restaurant (I didn't feel comfortable in Xi'an), but Jasmine would squirm to much for me to eat (and heavens knows I couldn't put her down).  That whole time I didn't once think of getting take-out (I mean they invented those little boxes for take-out Chinese food, no)?

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Jasmine spent the first year in the Xi' an orphanage and was part of the Grannie program at the Xi'an orphanage.  I've since found out that the Grannie program was developed and sponsored by Spence-Chapin, who I continue to support. 

A Joyful Visit with the Grannies and Children in Xi’an

by Rita Taddonio, Director of Spence-Chapin’s Adoption Resource Center

For the past five years, Spence-Chapin has been sponsoring a granny program at the Child Welfare Institute in Xi’an, China. I have visited four times to offer trainings to the grannies that would enable them to help with the children’s development. This summer I returned with Susan Campbell, an occupational therapist and Joan Radigan, a special educator. I was extremely excited because one of our goals was to support an additional granny program for children between the ages of three and five.

It was a joy to return to Xi’an and see the children sitting on their grannies laps to hear a story read or grabbing their grannies’ hand to pull them to see the new toys we brought. The obvious signs of attachment the children have with the grannies and the sense of comfort they derive from their presence makes me aware of the meaning and power of this program. It is particularly moving because I am conscious that most of these children will remain at the orphanage and so having an adult who lights up when they come into the room or is completely interested in their painting is most important.

The success of the first granny program for infants to age three is the reason we were determined to extend the granny program to cover children who are between the ages of three to five. Continuity in care and attention is so important that it was clearly the right thing to do. We found children we recognized as having been in our Birth to Three Program now happily playing with grannies hired for the new program.

Our visit in July 2006 lasted two weeks. The first week we spent training the grannies and staff in the Birth to Three Program. Eleven out of fifteen grannies were new to the program so we reviewed basic developmental stages, how to encourage age appropriate skills and basics about how attachment forms

The second week we focused on training the grannies and staff who work with the three to five year olds. Again, we reviewed basic child development, how to encourage creative play, interaction between the children, language and other age appropriate skills. Every time we passed the children’s room, they started clapping and waving because the activities we did with them were so much fun.

When we asked the grannies to evaluate the training, their responses were very positive. One granny said, “I am so happy that I know how to help my baby. Before all I could do was hold her because I thought she could not move on her own but now I am able to get her to crawl to me.” The grannies were particularly interested in how to stimulate infants and how to help special needs children.

I had the opportunity to meet with government officials, notably the head of Child Welfare for Shaanxi Province. He was very impressed with our program and asked that Spence-Chapin consider opening more granny programs in his province. When I asked how many he thought were needed he said he thought every orphanage in his province should have a program such as ours. That was quite a compliment and offer of support especially since it came from a government official. He suggested that I visit a more remote orphanage to see the kind of need he was describing. So I took myself to AnKam— a days train ride followed by a long car ride—to see the orphanage.

I found AnKam to be a fairly typical rural orphanage, situated in a new building which provides light and space for the children. However, there were only two caretakers for 38 children and no developmental toys or activities in their daily routine. A perfect place for us to consider establishing a granny program..

Returning every year to China to support and train and grow the Granny Program has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. A personal thank you to everyone who has enabled Spence Chapin to make such a profound difference in the lives of children.