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December 6, 2016

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Home » Metro » Health and Science

Moms group steps up to give kids life-saving operations

MORE than 30 orphans with congenital diseases, ranging from heart to spinal problems, are receiving life-saving operations funded by an NGO set up by 10 young mothers.

Shanghai Children’s Medical Center set up special wards and assigned medical staff for the free operations, partly to mark the International Volunteers’ Day.

Operations cost from 55,000 yuan (US$7,200) to more than 100,000 yuan each.

The NGO, Shanghai Baby Home Health Care Center, has helped almost 1,200 kids around the nation over the past five years, organizers said yesterday. More than 80 percent of the children the group helps go on to be adopted, mostly by parents overseas.

More than 500 hospitals are part of the scheme organized by the center, whose volunteers include nurses.

“We are very grateful to the hospital, which has a strong sense of charity,” said Zhang Min, one of the NGO’s founding mothers.

“We set up the baby home after seeing so many orphans at the hospital while serving as ordinary volunteers. We want to help these orphans.

“Orphanages around nation tell us about sick orphans and we raise donations for their medical and living costs in Shanghai and the cost of taking care of them during their treatment and afterwards, and their rehabilitation here.”

Many nurses have become regular volunteers and also teach ayis (maids) how to take care of children after surgery.

“Caring is very important for their recovery,” said Meng Weiyi, head nurse of the hospital’s pediatric surgery department. “We teach them how to prevent cross-infection and we teach them some basic health care knowledge.”

“We like working with these volunteers helping sick orphans and giving the kids a new life and a bright future,” she said.




 

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