Our May, 2000 trip to Wanzai Social Welfare Institute

Our daughter, Laura Jin Fen was born August 28th, 1995, and we adopted her on January 14th, 1996 in Nanchang. She spent her first 4 1/2 months at the Wanzai Social Welfare Institute (WSWI).

In 2000 and 2001, my wife and I taught at a college in Beijing for 12 weeks on each visit. On our 2000 trip, we had some time at the end of the semester, so we arranged a trip to Nanchang and Wanzai for several days.

We had become friends with Helen, who was then the coordinator in China for Children's Hope
International, the U.S. agency we used for adoption in China. She secured permission for us to visit WSWI from the Chinese government. She also located a translator and driver in Nanchang, who we met when we flew from Beijing. We stayed a day at the Gloria Plaza in Nanchang before being driven to Wanzai (about 2.5 hours each way).

When we arrived at WSWI, we were met by the director, the assistant director, many employees, and a photographer from the local newspaper. We were graciously welcomed and told we were the first adoptive family that had visited WSWI.

We toured the entire facility, seeing several babies waiting to be adopted. We also saw the medical clinic room, shared snacks with the employees, and asked questions about our daughter. The staff was very open with us and shared information about our daughter that we hadn't known before. We took many photographs (some enclosed) and video, and were impressed with the facility and the views from the surrounding countryside. After a few hours we had lunch with a few staff members at a restaurant in Wanzai. We walked around the town, seeing the Jin River, and also the location our daughter was found by the director at WSWI.

We also talked to Wanzai residents and received lots of attention. We were taken to the home of a famous Wanzai resident, who achieved his fame by writing very small literary notes on stamps. You needed a magnified glass to see his work. He had a framed letter from the Guiness Book of Records documenting his achievements.

After about five hours in Wanzai, we were driven back to Nanchang, passing lots of farms, small towns, and water buffaloes. It was a memorable trip that we were very glad we pursued.   

We feel we have a more complete picture of our daughter's first four months and her probable birthplace. We encourage all families who've adopted from Wanzai to visit the WSWI if you have the opportunity. If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me at haskelle@yahoo.com.

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Please e-mail me at webmaster@gurrad.com if you have any additional information or if your child is from here and you would like to post a picture here or other contact information.