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HEJ ALLA!

Det kom ett tack- och nyårskort från HTS som var så vackert!!

Klicka på bilden för att se den större!

In search of beautiful sights

I forget the cold

-Yang Wanli (Song Dynasty)

Wishing you and those you love

peace and prosperity in the New Year!

On behalf of the folks at Half the Sky Foundation

and the children in China whom we serve

Dear Half the Sky Community,

Here's a special Chinese New Year greeting from all of us at Half the Sky--with warmest wishes from our staff, board, volunteers and, most especially, on behalf of all the children you have helped this past year.

Our greeting comes a little later than usual this year because I wanted to be absolutely certain that the news I'm about to share is really true. It is!

Perhaps even more than in the west, the Chinese Lunar New Year is a time to sweep away the troubles of the past and welcome a time of fresh beginnings. In even the poorest families, debts are paid, homes are scrubbed top to bottom and filled with flowers, fruit and candies. Children too - scrubbed clean and adorned in bright new clothes.

We can't quite sweep away the old year's troubles these days, but we at Half the Sky can look to the New Year of the Ox with hope and - I'm, at last, happy to tell you - some certainty that this will be a year filled with bright promise. Here's our good news..

Our board of directors has just approved an alliance with an organization whose work with orphaned children perfectly complements that of Half the Sky. The organization is the China Care Foundation.

To tell you why we've decided to partner with another nonprofit at a moment when we - like so many others-are working hard to pare away and streamline our operations through challenging times, I have to tell you a little of the China Care story.

It is a story about a remarkable, 11-year-old boy who spent a year in China, learned the language, and like me and so many others in Half the Sky's global community, loved the country, and was moved by the plight of her most vulnerable children. Five years later, at 16, the boy returned to China with a determination to help the orphans. That is how China Care, a Connecticut-based nonprofit founded by young Matt Dalio, came to be.

There is an extraordinary synergy between Half the Sky's and China Care's philosophies and missions. Where Half the Sky offers education and nurture, China Care offers specialized medical care and nurture.

China Care provides medical care with as much concern for the emotional health of the children as for their physical well-being. China Care's staff spends 24 hours a day with its tiny patients who are enduring life-threatening medical procedures, calming their fears, wiping their tears, and rejoicing when they coax those first, tentative smiles from babies who are not only healing but know that someone cares.

In the decade Half the Sky has been providing nurturing care in government orphanages, I have seen too many small children who desperately need medical care that is simply not available locally. It is heartbreaking to not be able to help. Now, working with China Care, we can!

When Matt founded China Care eight years ago, he did so in order to rescue orphans from what seemed to be an impossibly broken welfare system. At Half the Sky, we've always believed that what's broken can and must be fixed. In partnership with the Chinese government, Half the Sky has made giant strides in bettering the conditions inside welfare institutions. China Care has witnessed the changes and, with us, sees the possibilities.

Now, by taking on China Care's high quality medical care program as our own fifth program - The China Care Program at Half the Sky - we, in partnership with China Care and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, will finally be able to offer orphaned children a comprehensive, personalized plan for the brightest possible future.

Yet, though our hearts and our missions intersect so closely, even that would not have been enough for us to enter into a partnership and new venture in these difficult times. Our due diligence taught us that

- China Care shares our frugal approach to maximizing the impact of every donation and, like Half the Sky, has a loyal and generous group of donors.

- China Care is blessed with a board of directors that underwrites its operational costs so that every dollar donated goes directly to support its programs.

- The China Care Foundation is fully committed to support The China Care Program at Half the Sky. It will operate no other program in China.

As we enter into this strategic partnership together, we can help to ensure our combined futures, make more effective use of our resources, and, most important - reach more children who need help.

And some of you may already know that there is another happy side to the China Care story. When Matt Dalio went to Harvard, he started a youth empowerment movement that is spreading across dozens of college and high school campuses in North America and soon, beyond: China Care Clubs. This terrific network of young people - who not only raise funds for orphan support but also mentor adopted Chinese teens and run playgroups and celebrate Chinese culture with the youngest adoptees - will now also become a part of our family.

It's truly a great fit in every way.

You can learn more about China Care at www.chinacare.org. You can learn more about The China Care Program at Half the Sky at www.halfthesky.org/TCCP. Please feel free to ask any and all questions. We'll do our very best to keep you informed as our new 5th program gets ready to launch.

For now I just wanted to share our happy news with you, our most valued partners. Half the Sky is your organization. Your concern for the children makes even this exciting opportunity possible, for without you, Half the Sky would not exist.

In the last decade, we have welcomed so many different sorts of people into Half the Sky's global family - adoptive parents who know that the waiting children in China are their children's brothers and sisters, people like Matt who have a special love for China's orphans, those whose birthplace and/or heritage is China, and generous corporations and foundations that strive to make the world a better place. Each addition has made our community stronger and better.

Now, as we welcome China Care's family into ours, our hopes for the future are brighter and better than ever.

From all of us at Half the Sky. Happy Year of the Ox!

With love and gratitude,

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.

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