Chongqing SWI

Today we had a tour of the Chongqing SWI. Apparently Leah's orphanage does not allow tours, so we went here instead. This is a completely new orphanage that cost 222 million dollars to build. It is just beautiful--if you don't think about why it needs to be there in the first place. It's built on a mountain top just outside the city proper. It was unbelievably quiet and serene. The facility includes dorms for the children and the elderly, a hospital, a school, and a career development center.

The new orphanage will take applications from children in other orphanages that are in poor condition. I imagine based on availability of space, they will bring in orphans from all over Chongqing whose conditions are much worse. You can see from the pictures that this looks more like a resort community than an orphanage.

We didn't see too many children. They are just in the beginning stages of moving there. We did see a group of about 10 older girls who were singing and doing oral presentations. Jon and I both have such a heart for all the older orphan girls in China. It was hard to see these girls and not want to give each and every one a home--specifically ours!

At the end of tour the director told us that we were now family. She went on to explain that first she is the parent to these kids and then we become the parents. Since we are all parents to these children (at some point), we must, therefore, be related. A very intriguing thought indeed. She also kindly invited us to visit her SWI any time we wished to. An amazing women running an amazing facility.

We then returned to the hustle and bustle of downtown Chongqing. Eva, our guide, was kind enough to walk us through the food court in the mall next to our hotel. Now we won't starve to death. After that, we took a nap and then went to bed for the night. Is there a problem with that?

The first couple of photos are the orphanage. The second set are from the mall we can't afford. The next is our hotel lobby and the last is the unending throng of people outside our hotel. Look beyond the first row of people to see the other 30 million behind them.