SHANGHAI SOUTH CHINA ALL CHINA - AHKs

COMMUNITY
GIVING BACK
Rebuilding a
Lost World
Morning Tears Assists Children from Broken
Homes: A Volunteer Experience
It was in the middle of autumn
when volunteer Morten Bech
Jensen left for Zhengzhou, the
capital of Henan Province. He
had arrived in Shanghai a month
earlier from his native Denmark,
and was still coping with the
city’s bustle and chaotic traffic.
Heading to the train station with
another volunteer, Morten’s bags
were tightly packed with blankets,
clothes, toys, and crayons - all
sponsored by private donors and
companies.
Morning Tears is almost entirely run by
volunteers like Morten. These consist mostly
of professionals from the social sector or
development aid workers, but also journalists
and engineers. What connects them is a
shared dedication to rebuilding the world for
children who have suffered or are suffering
emotional pain. Through its volunteerbased
structure, the running costs of the
organisation can be kept very low, so that the
majority of donations can go to the children
in need.
66 April - May 2010
Morning Tears provides new homes for
children in despair. This includes orphans,
children who have suffered abuse or neglect
at home, and children whose parents are in
prison or on death row. The organisation
also takes care of street children who have
often not been registered at birth and thus
have no rights. Morning Tears provides these
children with all basic needs, psychological
and judicial support, education and leisure
activities. Above all, the organisation offers
a safe, loving and caring environment where
children can heal from their trauma.
Three ‘Children Villages’ in Henan, Xi’an and
Sanyuan allow Morning Tears to assist around
300 children and offer further support for
families that take care of a child whose parents
are in prison. Around another 300 children are
assisted by sponsoring other organisations.
Besides providing the caregivers with
financial and psychological support, Morning
Tears offers them child development and selfesteem
workshops. To further raise awareness
of the emotional consequences that children
of convicts suffer, Morning Tears successfully
runs training sessions for organisations and
government officials.
Rebuilding a world implies the reconstruction
of all domains of life and society. Lobbying
and advising authorities on improving
the legal
framework
is an important
aspect of charity work in China. Founded
on an informal basis in 1998, Morning
Tears was formally registered in China in
2001 and is now also a registered charity
in Belgium, Holland, Spain and Denmark.
Ever since its formation, Morning Tears
has been cooperating closely with local
government bodies in China – a fact that
was acknowledged in 2009 through an
International Friendship Award from the
Chinese authorities for the organisation’s
close cooperation with the government of
Henan Province.
Visiting the Children Village in Henan
Morning Tears Zhengzhou Ai Tong Yuan is
a Children Village located in Jiulong, a rural
village of 20,000 residents near Zhengzhou.
Coming from the road leading past old and
decrepit village houses, the sight of the complex
with its shiny new façade, bade a pleasant
and warm welcome. Upon entering the
courtyard, a group of children aged from four
to eleven greeted Morning Tears volunteers
with waving hands and big smiles. Rather
than representing a staged welcome committee
for the visitors, the children were merely
heading to their nearby primary school.