Scrapping for Waiting Children

A week ago, I got an e-mail from a friend looking for volunteers to make digital scrapbook pages for children waiting to be adopted in China. With my background, I couldn't say no.

But I didn't realize just how rewarding this would be. I am totally taken with this charity, called Starfish. (See their website here and their blog here.) It's run by an South African living in Xian, China who takes care of children that the orphanages can't -- children with medical problems like spina bifida, cleft palates, and heart conditions. Doctors volunteer their time to correct the children's problems, and many times the children are adopted. Not all of the children that she takes in survive -- but what a difference she is making to the children who do!

In fact, the name of the charity comes from a story with that theme:

The Starfish Thrower

Once upon a time there was a man
who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.
He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day he was walking along the shore.
As he looked down the beach
he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself
to think of someone who would dance to the day.
So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was an older man

and the man wasn't dancing.
Instead he was reaching down to the shore,
picking up something
and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The older man paused, looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish into the ocean."
The man noticed there were hundreds of starfish
all washed up on the beach

from a storm the night before.
He watched as the man carefully
continued to pick up the starfish one by one.
"I guess I should have asked,
‘Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?’"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out.
If I don't throw them in they'll die."
"But don't you realize
there are miles and miles of beach
and starfish all along it.
"You can't possibly make a difference!"
The older man listened politely.
He bent down, picked up another starfish
He looked at the starfish
as he prepared to throw it into the ocean,
past the breaking waves and said –
"I will make a difference to this one!"

The charity founder takes great photos, and by the time the child is adopted, she has quite a few. So volunteers put together scrapbooks for the children to take with them to their new homes. How I wish I had that for my daughters!

Here is a page I did recently for "Rose", going home soon to her 'forever family':

Since adopting again isn't feasible for us, this is a great way to make a small difference. Plus, getting to scrap pictures of these little cuties is it's own reward.