HOPE enriches the lives of disabled orphans, and others with special needs, through therapeutic horsemanship. Children in China who typically have extremely limited access to therapy services, connect with HOPE's well-trained therapy horses to provide a proven avenue for physical, cognitive, and social growth.
With a large number of China's orphans being surrendered at a young age because of expensive & involved medical issues, orphanages have a large population of children who would benefit from access to specialized therapy programs. There are many forms of therapy, but few can aim to impact as many cognitive and physical areas as Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy (EAAT). Unfortunately, special needs awareness and knowledge of programs do not extend to all of China's citizens.
HOPE, founded in 2009, provides EAAT and Therapeutic Horsemanship (TH) to orphanages in the Beijing area, and has grown to serve other members of the community. These therapies provide our participants an undeniable source of enrichment as they experience the healing properties of the horse. Horse-based therapies also may help children reach major development goals in from sitting and walking, to listening and communicating with others.
HOPE strives to be an exemplary service provider, educator, and leader in EAAT and to encourage local and regional citizens to serve individuals with special needs. By offering safe, effective activities and therapy to individuals with disabilities, we aim to provide learning opportunities for others within China to experience the best-practices for horse-based therapy, as well as an understanding and compassion for individuals who are differently-abled.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
