China Little Flower

By Annie Kessler

In Beijing, China volunteers, medical staff and employees have come together to ensure the safety and protection of the most vulnerable of God’s children.

For over 20 years the China Little Flower Orphanage has provided hospice care and medical care for infants, educational foster care and long-term care for severely disabled children.

Most of the children at China Little Flower have been abandoned by their parents.  Oftentimes the birth families do not have the financial means or knowledge to care for a child with special medical needs.

The organization’s hospice program provides comfort, love and care to orphaned children who are dying.  The staff and volunteers at China Little Flower consider it a privilege to provide these young guests with love and dignity during their last days.

The group educational foster homes allow school-aged children with physical disabilities to live in a supportive family environment.  It is the goal of the foster homes to nurture these children and help them to grow into strong, independent individuals.  The foster homes care for children with a wide range of disabilities, including spina bifida, cerebral palsy, limb deformities, speech difficulties, deafness and visual impairment.

China Little Flower’s infant homes provide intensive care to abandoned babies who have complex medical needs.  Many of the infants were born prematurely, with club feet, or birth defects requiring special medical care.  The long-term goal of these infants is to be adopted into loving, nurturing homes.   

The long-term care provided by China Little Flower focuses on care for older children with disabilities.  These children will not be able to live independently as adults.

China Little Flower opens its doors to all children in need.  In some cases, orphans, children at high risk for abandonment or children of impoverished families need special help.  China Little Flower has helped these special causes with lifesaving surgeries, school tuition and even temporary foster care placements.

The Missionary Oblates in China recognize the good works of the program by assisting the group as often as possible.  Father David Ullrich, O.M.I. first began working with Chine Little Flower about 10 years ago. They have been known to spend time nurturing the babies and they also host volunteer groups who spend time with the infants and children.

One such group included young men from the Oblate-run Mazenod College in Mulgrave, Australia.  This group of young students spent time at China Little Flower during an immersion experience in December.

The young men visited the infants five times during their travels.  These life-changing sessions allowed them to comfort the babies, play games with older children, assist with some physical therapy sessions and help out wherever needed.

The students were grateful to spend time with the children at China Little Flower and left the orphanage with hearts full of love and respect for those who dedicate their lives to helping people in need.