By Zach Johnson | Director of Development
A letter from the Founders:
Dear friends of Bethel China,
I am amazed at the work Bethel China is doing. Delphine and I moved out of China in 2012 and as founders it felt like we were saying good-bye to our daughter in front of the college's dorm (I hate those scenes in movies). At first it was difficult because for 11 years I was the go-to guy to solve problems and set the vision for the foreseeable future. I learned how to let go and let the local team courageously shape the future of Bethel China into what it is today.
The environment for NGOs in China is ever changing and Bethel has had to reinvent itself a few times. However, at the heart of what we do will always be children who see differently. Delphine and I are so proud of every staff in China and are always so touched when a child who was adopted from Bethel write to us to let us know they graduated from college or are signing the lease on their first apartment.
Recently Bethel has been contacted by Airbus so they can collaborate on how to make planes more visual impairment friendly. What an honor to see that after 15 years of working in this field, Bethel can influence global issues relating to people with visual impairments.
We are forever grateful for your support in allowing us to be a voice for those who have none.
Guillaume & Delphine
Children's Day Celebration!
June 1st is International Children's day and we at Bethel like to use this day as an opportunity to celebrate with our children, staff and volunteers. This year the 1st conveniently fell on a Friday so everyone put the school books away and spent this special day with music, games, some special food and of course laughter! If you look close you will see our new development manager Allie taking training classes to be Rocky!
Shenzhen Trainings
Over the last quarter, Bethel has been conducting 2-day outreach trainings in Shenzhen. These trainings are are focused towards parents raising their Blind or Visually Impaired child through different workshops ranging from practical orientation and mobility trainings to education based curriculum. Once completed, Bethel provides follow up materials and support to the families. Through these outreach trainings and seminars we find that often times, Bethel is the first support system that families have.
Other News
So far in 2018, Bethel has had five adoptions, with three adoptions currently matched. As Guillaume mentioned above, Bethel partnered with Airbus to help them engineer new aircrafts that are VI friendly. In the second half of the year we are launching a second outreach project called: Bethel Education and Rehabilitation Program for Youths with Visual Impairments. The program will be the first of its kind in China to provide rehab services to youth who have congenital or acquired blindness. The quarterly trainings based in Beijing will provide teenagers in need the opportunity to be taught by professionals the necessary skills utilized in everyday life.
As always, Bethel can only provide these services thanks to your support. We've attached Bethel's 2018 Organizational Profile where you can read more about the services you are helping us to provide. We still are in need of support for 2018 and any donation helps. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this. From all of us at Bethel, we send you our blessings and hope you have a great summer!
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