Half the Sky Foundation

Half the Sky Foundation (Traditional Chinese: 半邊天基金會; Simplified Chinese: 半边天基金会) was created in 1998 by adoptive parents who wanted to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for the children who remain in China's welfare institutions. Half the Sky operates [http://www.halfthesky.org/work/ourprograms.php four nurture and enrichment programs] designed to prevent or reverse the ill-effects of institutionalization. The programs address the needs of orphaned children from birth through adolescence. It is named for the Chinese adage, "women hold up half the sky," to denote the fact that almost all of the healthy babies abandoned in China are girls.

The influx of healthy infant girls into China's welfare institutions began in the 1980s when China introduced strict family planning policies in order to control its burgeoning population. As the traditional, especially rural, Chinese family's preference for boys collided with well-intentioned population controls, healthy girls were often abandoned in hopes of the birth of a son.

In recent years, China's "floating population" of migrant workers has meant an increase in the number of healthy boys, as well as girls, given up by their birth parents. Rising health costs have contributed to an influx of children who have medical needs that poor families cannot meet.

While the Chinese government takes responsibility for the basic care and education of orphaned children living in welfare institutions, their well-being and likelihood of a bright future remains at risk.

ee also

* List of non-governmental organizations in the People's Republic of China
* List of charities in the People's Republic of China

External links and references

* [http://www.halfthesky.org/ Half the Sky Foundation (The Official Site)]
*Johnson,Kay (1993). "Chinese Orphanages: Saving China's Abandoned Girls." "The Australian Journal of Asian Affairs"(30), 61-87
*Cannon, Carl M (2005). "Too Spoiled, Too Male." "National Journal" 37 (32), 2514-2517