STAR’s Partnership With Show Hope Grows to Help Orphans in China

We are blessed to continue and expand our partnership with Show Hope to provide crucial physical therapy care and services to orphans in China.  Recently, Dan Coley, Senior Director of Programs at Show Hope, shared the vision of our expanding partnership…

Hope in Motion

To care for someone means planting a seed of hope in their heart. Sometimes it’s hidden behind a smile while other times it’s seen through the help of a friend. Regardless of its appearance though, hope cannot be contained. Its life-giving characteristics make hope contagious, spreading with every person who encounters it. Undeniably, the broken world in which we live lacks this necessary aspect of life, making the restoration of hope imperative, especially among orphans. Hope is the ultimate healer and is the driving force behind the newly formed partnership between Show Hope and STAR Physical Therapy.
This August, Show Hope will experience firsthand how STAR Physical Therapy will be restoring hope for the children at Show Hope’s Care Centers in China. When Amy Melton, Betty LeNoir and Regg Swanson, of STAR Physical Therapy, first traveled to China four years ago to provide care for orphans with special needs, they left with an overwhelming desire to become more involved.
“I saw the incredible need for physical therapy services,” Melton said. “It left me powerless knowing I had to walk away after only 10 days and nothing more would be done.”
This desire sparked their idea to provide year-round physical therapy services to orphans in China. In May 2014, this idea became reality when Show Hope and STAR Physical Therapy formed a partnership that would lay the foundation for a long-term pediatric therapist at Show Hope’s Care Centers in the Henan province of China.
For the children at Show Hope’s Care Centers, consistent physical therapy is imperative for healthy growth and development. Many of the children have lived their first few years of life without comprehensive medical care. For kids like Erick and Shepherd Calen, two boys with Down syndrome, guidance in everyday activities is necessary. Actions such as swallowing food, standing up, and picking up toys are difficult for some children and if ignored, could lead to long-term issues as well as other more severe outcomes.
Children like Issachar, whose joints have been impacted by arthrogryposis, face major obstacles to mobility. Other children like Hope, who was admitted to Maria’s Big House of Hope (Show Hope’s flagship Care Center) in 2010 with cerebral palsy, have struggled for years with serious developmental disabilities. With regular access to physical therapy, however, these children are able to enjoy an improved lifestyle.
By implementing more consistent physical therapy services, Show Hope’s Care Centers will be better equipped to improve functional independence for the children under their care. The impact that STAR Physical Therapy is hoping to have in China is immeasurable. Not only will the children receive life-saving medical treatment, but they will also have their hope restored through the loving support of nannies, therapists, nurses, and doctors.
“This August, we will be able to watch the seed planted by God grow into an incredible opportunity as a therapist has humbly and graciously accepted the calling to be Gods hands and feet in a place so desperate for our skills, knowledge, and healing touch,” Melton said.
The therapy will significantly improve the children’s lives, giving them comfort, confidence and independence. Although the ultimate goal is for every child to be welcomed into the arms of a family, STAR Physical Therapy is humbly making that goal possible through their generous efforts in China. By offering more comprehensive care, the children have a better chance for survival as they wait for their forever family.
Show Hope and STAR Physical Therapy are looking forward to the launch of this new program in August 2015. Figuring out the logistics of travel, housing, visas, training and other arrangements seems minimal compared to the impact that this new partnership is expected to have. The children at Show Hope’s Care Centers will soon be helped daily by STAR Physical Therapy, an incredible image of hope springing forth out of love.