2011 Aug 16 Love is Blind: Bethel Gives Blind Orphans A Family
When Guillaume and Delphine Gauvain founded Bethel China Foundation in 2002, they little suspected that nine years later, their dream of providing visually impaired orphans with the care and skills to help themselves would include an organic farm, foster homes and schooling for over 70 children in Beijing, as well as a China-wide project that provides training for orphanages. We asked Bethel’s program coordinator, Matthew Terlunen, about inspiring hope in the kids and being inspired by them in turn.
What is your mission?
To provide care, education and professional training to visually impaired orphans with the goal to foster independent living skills in a fun and safe environment.
Tell us the story behind your motto, “Love is blind.”
We wanted to provide the kids with what a parent should provide them: education, love, social skills and safety. It was created with a family spirit in mind. When Guillaume and Delphine started, they could not speak Chinese, and they did not know a lot about running an NGO in China. Most people thought they were crazy to try. “Blind” in “love is blind” also stands for blindness of impossibilities. They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it.
How do you inspire the kids?
Although some of our kids have faced challenges, they are very hopeful. They know that they once were in a place of hardship, but also that people who love them entered their life and took their hand.
What’s one of the most uplifting stories you’ve witnessed?
It is uplifting to see how kids conquer boundaries and limitations. A good example is Sam who, due to his past, has mobility problems. We often take the kids out to climb on our rock-climbing wall. Sam, however, was too afraid to climb. Instead, he climbed over a two-foot fence. He was scared, and afraid to fall – he almost did – but he made it over nonetheless.
What have you learned from the kids at Bethel?
The kids teach us that they are kids. Besides their background and visual impairment, they are no different from other kids. I’ve learned to love them for who they are, and not for what they are.
So how can we help?
First of all, donate some time or money to Bethel. But second, and maybe most important of all, you can help by being inspired. Most of our visitors and guests say that they are impressed, and that is fine, but we didn’t build Bethel to impress … we built it to inspire.
To get involved, email info@bethelchina.org or check out www.bethelchina.org
Photo courtesy of Bethel
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