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Our blog has updates on Open Arms!

• The Open Arms Aunties will work two shifts of 5 hours each Monday through Friday

• Each auntie will be assigned to only 3 babies per shift.

• The auntie will work with the same babies up until the time they enter foster-care, are adopted, or age out of the program at 2 years of age.  

• The aunties will be trained in early childhood development by U.S. medical personnel.

• The aunties will work daily to improve each baby’s development for speech, social, emotional, cognitive, and fine and gross motor development.

• The aunties will be required to document the progress of each infant. Daily/Weekly flow-sheets, monthly summaries and detailed quarterly reports will be utilized as a means of data collection.  

The orphanage staff have generously provided a special room at the orphanage devoted to the Open Arms program.  This room will be decorated with mats and rugs on the floor, mirrors and colorful pictures on the walls, and lots and lots of interactive and engaging toys!  A  wonderful place for our Open Arms babies to laugh, learn and play.

"Open Arms for Zhanjiang Children" is Based on Half the Sky's Baby Sisters Program and First Hugs for Fuling

This special ongoing program will be a partnership between the Zhanjiang Social Welfare Institute and Zhanjiang Kids Organization:  The program's beginning would not be possible without the facilitation and leadership offered by FTIA (Families Through International Adoption), a nonprofit foundation and adoption agency that has helped hundreds of children throughout China.   Open Arms is a direct the result of Adoptive Families and Adoption Specialists working together to help the children!

There is a board book for young children called What Do Babies Need?  It starts out with some of baby's most basic needs -  food, blankets, bottles, baths - then it goes on to say that babies need to play, they need love, they need to laugh, they need hugs and kisses.   In a loving family all of these needs would be met as a matter of course, but in an orphanage setting it is often difficult for the caregivers to give beyond the basics.  

The goal of the Open Arms program is to create a time and place when babies will get *all* of their needs met.  Babies in Open Arms will receive more individualized care and have the chance to develop a significant attachment to a primary caregiver.  They will spend time on the floor exploring their world and developing their muscles.   In short, the babies will get the chance to play, laugh, receive physical affection from their special auntie and feel loved and valued.

How Does Open Arms work?

Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA) assisted Zhanjiang Kids Organization (ZKO) and the Zhanjiang orphanage in the hiring and training of nine (9) full time aunties and one (1) full time supervisor for the Open Arms Program.  These ladies will be employed by the Zhanjiang orphanage and ZKO and their salaries will be paid through the funds raised by the ZKO organization.

 Here is a look inside of how a typical day in the Open Arms program would work.

The Aunties will go to the nursery to gather up their babies and take them to the designated Open Arms nurture room.

They will spend time with the babies working on their various development skills, as outlined in the Program Description.

They will spend floor time with the babies, giving them one-on-one attention with lots of love, playing with them, and allowing them time to play with the other babies to work on their social skills.

They will give the babies their baths, hold them while feeding them their bottle, talk with them, and provide them with one-on-one love and attention.

The babies will be returned to the infant nursery and the aunties will hug their babies, say “good-bye” to them and tell them when they will see them again. 

The aunties will then return to the nurture room to pick up the toys, making sure they are washed and sterilized, then spend time writing in their babies’ journals and tracking their progress on their individual flow-charts.

For a detailed Open Arms program description, please click here.

Zhanjiang Families and Friends
Who Are Making "Open Arms" Possible for the Babies!

Other Ways Zhanjiang Families and Friends Have Helped the Children at the Orphanage:

Foster Care for the Kids:
Children Reach Caring Families  

Specially Designed Pillows and Toys to Stimulate the Children

The Gift of a Smile:  Cleft Palate Corrective Surgeries for Zhanjiang Children

Warmth for the Kids: Clothes, Washers and Dryers and other Gifts