When Little Qiu was deserted because of thalassemia and sent to the welfare institution months after he was born, the masses of bruises and dotted signs of IV injection on his head, and the paleness on his little face struck us with a stabbing pain. Qiu was put under care of Chunhui mama Xia Mei.

“Every little life matters. I wish he can, like every other little kid his age, have a mom he can call his own who hugs and kisses and makes him happy every day,” said Xia.

During his first days in the activity room,Qiu was at a loss and fearfully looking around. But over time, he opened up. Looking Xia in the eye, he would beam a sweet smile and settle down playing. To build up his health, Xia never forgot to feed him milk and vegetable-enriched rice paste on time. Each time he saw the paste, he bounced and kicked with joy. As time went by, Qiu looked better and better.

He began to gain much more strength to play with Xia. Xia tried all possible means to make him laugh, tickling his armpits, making faces, holding his little hands against his cheeks, gently grasping his hair and singing tone-deaf songs. Qiu was ready to ash his typical smiles, showing his two little rabbit teeth. His eyes grew brighter and he often played the pampered boy reaching out arms for hugs. He learned to crawl to a toy he wanted and showed it to Xia. Seeing other babies creep into Xia’s arms, he would rush to fight for her care. Every morning, he sat in his crib eagerly waiting for Xia to show up, and once she did, he reached his arms toward her and kept pointing to the activity room until he was taken there. And when it was time to take him back to the nursery room, he wouldn’t leave Xia’s arm. He put his forehead against Xia’s face in a way that melted her heart. 

Now, Qiu is one year and three months old. He is learning to stand. Although sometimes his little face is pinched up with pain while taking steps, he smiles back at Xia when she nods at him with encouragement. With Xia staying by his side every day, letting him know what motherly love feels like, Qiu gets everything life has to offer for him to blossom. We believe together they can work miracles beyond imagination.