China Bears & Books

At age 3, Zhen, like most children in China’s Sichuan province, was sent off to boarding school. Her life at school revolved around her studies. Her friends were the other children at the school. The most significant adult in her life was her teacher. It was a life most Americans would find hard to comprehend.

Zhen and her classmates’ lives were different from an American child’s in other ways too. They did not have toys to play with or enjoy the hugs and loving touches most American children experience. Instead, they were taught to be strong and independent, to repress their emotions. They studied hard and worked to make parents, teacher and country proud of their achievements.

When a massive earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, Zhen was one of the few classmates who survived. As many as 87,000 people died and almost 5 million people were left homeless. The loss Zhen and Sichuan’s other children are enduring is almost impossible to imagine.

“There is a great need to help the survivors in some way cope with all they have been through and find new hope for living,” says Ben Wolf, who with his wife, Pam, directs Baptist Global Response (BGR) work in the Asia Rim. “Their lives must be rebuilt physically and emotionally, but where to begin?”

After careful planning, BGR and partners in China have launched a program to help earthquake survivors deal with the emotional trauma they are suffering. The initiative, sanctioned by the Chinese government, is the first of its kind in the country.

Baptist Global Response has been invited to supply 150,000 bears and sets of six trauma recovery books for a three-year partnership that will train 2,000 teachers to help the children in their care. Teachers are learning to use the bears and books as tools to help their students process grief and regain emotional equilibrium. The teddy bear has the Chinese characters for “peace” and “joy” stitched on the bottoms of its feet. The books address emotional struggles and provide encouragement with titles like Making Sense out of Suffering and Everyday Courage.

You can help provide these tools. Your gift of $11 will provide a bear and a set of six books – a tangible demonstration of God’s love that will help a traumatized child, like Zhen, experience emotional healing and renewed hope.

Visit gobgr.org to donate using our secure on-line giving page. You can also view a video that can be shared with others. Check or money orders, payable to Baptist Global Response, can be sent to:
402 BNA Drive, Suite 411
Nashville, TN 37217

Thank you for caring for a child in need.

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