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Annual Report 2008
Psychological Counseling for Left-behind Children "Left-behind Children" refer to children left behind in rural areas, with grandparents or relatives while both parents are working in urban centers far from home. This situation has given rise to social problems and child deliquency. In 2008, Amity conducted a Care for Left-behind Children Project in Lianyungang City and Luohe City in cooperation with the Lianyungang Women’s Federation and the Luohe Christian Council. We designed a series of project activities including a service center for left-behind children, psychological training for teachers, training for grandparents, summer camp, and so on. A total of 80 training sessions for grandparents were conducted, benefitting more than 4000 grandparents, who were trained to communicate better with the children and care for them. Summer camps were held where a total of 100 children from the rural areas learned English, music, dance, and received psychological counselling from our volunteers. In Lianyungang, 220 children were taken on a tour to Shandong and Anhui. It was the fist time most of them had been out of Lianyungang. Church volunteers in Luohe made home visits to 400 children building good relationships with them and their families, communicating with the children and bringing them gifts. After a year of effort, there is better understanding of the left-behind children and a support network is developing. Teachers and families have gained more psychological skills, enabling schools and families to provide more care and assistance to left-behind children.
The Gospel and Drug Rehabilitation The Gospel Rehabilitation Center in Sichuan is managed by two former drug abusers who voluntarily stayed on at the center after kicking their drug habits. In their experience, the gospel has been most powerful in helping them overcome their addiction. Established in 2002 by Panzhihua Church, the center has succeeded in competely rehabilitating six drug abusers and has four more in the program. Participants in the program spend much time in Bible study and hymn singing during the day. They also cultivate vegetables and take turns cooking and doing laundry, all of which instills discipline in their lives. A senior pastor told us that establishing the center had been a very difficult process. Initially, the center did not receive official support and there were frequent visits from the local police. Nearby residents were not receptive either because they were afraid of the drug abusers and assumed that the center was some kind of a prison. Then the church went into the community to fully explain the aim and program of the rehabilitation center. The farmers learnt that the drug abusers were not as bad as they had imagined, and finally accepted them. Some villagers even paid frequent social visits to the center during the slack season. Today, the work of the center has won the acceptance of people from all walks of life. The local government is now extremely supportive, having found the work to be very meaningful. Local officials see it as a very positive experiment in social service by the church.