INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT:
Dr. Blinn has extensive training in trauma treatment and rehabilitation techniques, and has worked and studied in the field for over 15 years. Last year, Dr. Blinn’s interest brought him into contact with Dr. Peter Levine, Director of FHE. Dr. Levine’s work in Somatic Experiencing® (SE), techniques grounded in recent research of human physiology and neurology, inspired Dr. Blinn to invite FHE to China in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake.

As a result of this invitation, CHERP was created as a collaborative effort between the United Foundation for Chinese Orphans (UFCO), the FHE and the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI). TRI’s directors, Dr. Laurie Leitch and Elaine Miller-Karas have coordinated the project for the FHE. Their brief training model, the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) was inspired by SE, and is being used in CHERP.

From May 2008 to January 2009, teams were sent to the worst hit areas of Sichuan as part of a six phase humanitarian effort to help treat the psychological and emotional damage of millions of earthquake survivors, led by Dr. Blinn and Dr. Leitch and Miller-Karas. To date, CHERP has trained nearly 500 individuals in somatic intervention.

PROJECT GOALS:
Dr. Blinn explained that sustainability was a problem with psychological relief efforts for disasters, and that CHERP’s method of training local practitioners in SE would allow for long-term treatment that had a much broader scale and impact, potentially bringing much greater relief to a wider range of trauma victims, including adults and children.

“The project goal is not to treat individual trauma victims, but instead train local providers in the area affected by the quake, like teachers, educators, and medical professionals,” Dr. Blinn said. “Basically we teach these locals how to respond to the traumatized adults and children who live around them and how to help with their treatment. The U.S. team demonstrates the techniques and methods during the training and then supervises local trainees as they apply the somatic skills.”

The FHE and TRI are a non-profit trauma training centers that provide training nationally and internationally in SE and TRM respectively. SE and TRM are biologically-based interventions which are effective cross-culturally, unlike more traditional mental health interventions. This is because they do not rely primarily on the patients’ thoughts and feelings, but on the physiological expressions of trauma - they work at the level of the nervous system and do not require a psychological orientation for symptom relief. This methodology is especially effective in China, where differences in culture and language can make relief efforts more difficult.

CHERP has employed orientations on somatic intervention using an evidence-based, early intervention trauma response model called Psychological First Aid as well as TRM equipped counselors, first responders and other disaster personnel to offer somatically based interventions in the field to survivors as well as to disaster workers.

PHASES:

PHASE ONE
Time Period: July 7- July 14, 2008
In Phase 1, Dr. Laurie Leitch, PhD, traveled to China in early July to conduct an initial needs assessment and to consult with individuals regarding project evaluation and research. She oriented project staff to the implementation of evaluations and survivor assessments, and maintenance of appropriate research-related protections for human subjects. She worked together with Rob Blinn, PhD, and Zhong Zhaodong, MD to identify sites and set up criteria for trainee selection. This Phase was fully funded by contributions from UFH/Chindex Employees and the UFCO Foundation.

PHASE TWO
Time Period: July 19- August 4, 2008
A training format of interactive classroom instruction and interventions with earthquake survivors has been provided to over 50 trainees of various professional backgrounds. Team members and trainees worked side-by-side as team members demonstrated the methods and mentored the trainees as they developed and improved their own intervention skills. Trainees initially watched trainers provide Somatic Experiencing-based trauma interventions and became more involved in providing interventions each day. Earthquake survivors were seen in the hospital settings as well as in the relocation camps in Beichuan and Wudu. Activities and techniques for use in working with traumatized children were demonstrated and then used in the field with trainees interacting directly with earthquake-affected youth. Workshop trainings were evaluated for participant satisfaction and relevance using an instrument developed by Dr. Leitch, TRUSS, the Treatment Relevance, Use and Satisfaction Scale. Pre and post intervention assessment data was collected for analysis at the completion of the project.

PHASE THREE
Time Period: September 15 – September 28, 2008
In Phase 3, a second FHE-sponsored team (6 members) from the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) lead by TRI Co-Director Dr. Laurie Leitch came to China to provide in-depth training in the somatically-based model, Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM). Phase Three will provided trainings that included classroom instruction and supervision of skills in field work with survivors. As in Phase Two, instruction and demonstrations were provided regarding the use of games and activities with traumatized children. Phase 3 also offered consultation group session for trainees from Phase 2 in order to deepen skills and respond to questions.

PHASE FOUR
Time Period: January 10 – January 18, 2009
This was an abbreviated phase with a smaller team. The team consisted of TRI Co-Directors Laurie Leitch and Elaine Miller-Karas. One week was spent in Sichuan running consultation sessions with previous trainees, orienting new trainees to the TRM model, and practicing skills with new and recent trainees. In conjunction with this phase, Laura Ren and Rita Lan completed a WHO and CHERP-sponsored mapping exercise interviewing many of the organizations and training recipients in the epicenter area to ascertain the types of trainings that have been done in Sichuan and the impact of those trainings.

PHASE FIVE:
Time Period: March 10-22, 2009
The team will travel to Jiangyou, Santai, Shifeng, and Emei in order to continue training and consultation work. This phase we will train several groups of new trainees as well as offering consultation and follow-up sessions to several trainees who took part in earlier phases.
PHASE SIX:
MAY 9 – 23, 2009
The purpose of Phase Six is to consolidate the skills of trainees from Phases 2-5 in order to leave advanced trauma treatment expertise in Sichuan Province. Rather than training a new set of trainees, this phase of the project will focus on following up with previously trained trainees to assist them in “fine-tuning” their skills for managing trauma. For this last phase of the project, we will select the training group solely from trainees who have been trained during one of the previous phases. The training will focus on working with more complex cases and unresolved trauma resulting from the earthquake. This final phase will be scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of the May 12 earthquake. Many of the Phase 3 team members will return to complete this phase of the project. This team will be lead by Dr. Laurie Leitch.

ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED:
UFH – United Family Hospitals: www.unitedfamilyhospitals.com
UFCO – United Foundation for Chinese Orphans: www.unitedfoundation.org
TRI – Trauma Resource Institute: www.traumaresourceinstitute.com/
FHE – Foundation for Human Enrichment: http://www.traumahealing.com/
Includes field reports from CHERP: http://www.traumahealing.com/chinaletter.html
CA- Christian Action, Hong Kong

INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED:
Peter Levine – Originator of Somatic Experiencing
Laurie Leitch – CHERP Team Leader for Phases I, III, IV, and VI. Overall Project Team Leader.
Elaine Karas –CHERP Team Leader for Phase V, Co-Director of TRI.
Lisa LaDue – Team Leader for Phase II of CHERP.
Rob Blinn – CHERP Project Director.
Laura Ren – Project Coordinator, Coordination of translation work and project logistics, WHO Mapping Project Coordinator.
Rita Lan – Trainee during Phase II, Interpreter during Phases II and IV.
Helen Fu – Project and Translator Coordinator Phase III.
Maggie Phillips – Somatic Experiencing Teacher, assisted in early stages of the project, contacting interested parties and building support for the project.
Paul Chung – Responsible for translation of many of the materials for the first two phases. Coordinating fund-raising from Hong Kong.
Ninetta So – Phase II Interpreter and responsible for translation of materials for several phases.
Angel Meng - Phase II Interpreter and responsible for translation of materials for several phases.

TERMINOLOGY:
SE – Somatic Experiencing is a short-term naturalistic approach to the resolution and healing of trauma developed by Dr. Peter Levine. It is based upon the observation that wild prey animals, though threatened routinely, are rarely traumatized. Animals in the wild utilize innate mechanisms to regulate and discharge the high levels of energy arousal associated with defensive survival behaviors. These mechanisms provide animals with a built-in ”immunity” to trauma that enables them to return to normal in the aftermath of highly ”charged” life-threatening experiences. SE employs the awareness of body sensation to help people ”renegotiate” and heal their traumas rather than relive them. With appropriate guidance with the body’s instinctive ”felt sense,” individuals are able to access their own built-in immunity to trauma, allowing the highly aroused survival energies to be safely and gradually discharged. When these energies are discharged, people frequently experience a dramatic reduction in or disappearance of their traumatic symptoms.

TRM – Trauma Resiliency Model: TRM is a brief, stabilization model developed after the 2004 Asian tsunami (and refined since then) and inspired by Somatic Experiencing.

TRM has been used in US disasters (e.g., hurricanes and fires) as well as internationally (e.g., in Rwanda to train counselors working with genocide survivors and perpetrators, in Kenya with activists against Female genital Mutilation). TRM is a 3 day, skills-based training (that can be delivered in 3 consecutive days or in another format, if necessary) that uses a field-tested training manual as well as other training aids for use in the field. All materials have been used in previous disaster work.

FUNDING:
CHERP is funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) on behalf of donations from the American Chamber of Commerce, and is also supported by funding from the Epstein, Becker, and Green Law Firm, Chindex and United Family Hospitals, and Christian Action - Hong Kong.

If you would like to help fund this project, you can make a donation via the paypal link. Please specify that your donation is to go towards the Sichuan project. Please also send us an email to foundation@ufh.com.cn to confirm your donation. For checks, please send to the following address:

United Foundation for Chinese Orphans
c/o Charlene Sessoms
Chindex International, Inc.
4340 East West Highway, Suite 1100
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
USA

For Hong Kong Donations:cherp@christian-action.org.hk

If you would like to know other methods of donating, please send an email to foundation@ufh.com.cn.

**As UFCO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the United States, your donation may be eligible for a US tax deduction.

Thank you,

Sarah
UFCO Operations
foundation@ufh.com.cn

Marketing Intern

The United Foundation for Chinese Orphans (UFCO) provides vital healthcare and medical services to orphans and children of low-income families. Since 2001, UFCO has been providing healthcare to vulnerable populations throughout China while at the same time bringing the most advanced in medical technology and training. Through UFCO’s network of partnerships of medical and non-medical service providers it strives to address fundamental issues around healthcare such as medical training, access and availability.

UFCO is the philanthropic wing of the United Family Hospitals with locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The Marketing Intern will be responsible for communicating UFCO’s message to the UFH network of hospitals and clinics as well as to the wider community at large. The candidate will be responsible for the creation of marketing materials in print and online. UFCO will also be embarking on fundraising and marketing events to which the intern will be a part of. The candidate will need to be comfortable working in a hospital environment and medical terminology. Person must be proficient in both English and Chinese.
We are looking for a proactive and caring individual who is driven by our mission and wants to be a part of this growing organization.

If you are interested, please send CV or contact:
Ellen Luo
Executive Director
ellen.luo@ufh.com.cn

Social Work Intern

The United Foundation for Chinese Orphans (UFCO) provides vital healthcare and medical services to orphans and children of low-income families. Since 2001, UFCO has been providing healthcare to vulnerable populations throughout China while at the same time bringing the most advanced in medical technology and training. Through UFCO’s network of partnerships of medical and non-medical service providers it strives to address fundamental issues around healthcare such as medical training, access and availability.

UFCO is the philanthropic wing of the United Family Hospitals with locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The Social Work Intern will be the primary person who manages our case management services. As our young patients check into hospital facilities, the candidate will assist with intact, assessment and registration as well as follow-up of medical condition. The candidate will also serve as translator if needed between domestic aid and foreign medical staff. Need to be comfortable working in a hospital environment and medical terminology. The candidate must enjoy working with children!
Person must be proficient in both English and Chinese.
We are looking for a proactive and caring individual who is driven by our mission and wants to be a part of this growing organization.

If you are interested, please send CV or contact:
Ellen Luo
Executive Director
ellen.luo@ufh.com.cn

IT Intern

The United Foundation for Chinese Orphans (UFCO) provides vital healthcare and medical services to orphans and children of low-income families. Since 2001, UFCO has been providing healthcare to vulnerable populations throughout China while at the same time bringing the most advanced in medical technology and training. Through UFCO’s network of partnerships of medical and non-medical service providers it strives to address fundamental issues around healthcare such as medical training, access and availability.

UFCO is the philanthropic wing of the United Family Hospitals with locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The IT intern will provide overall IT support for our office as well as website in terms of daily maintenance and design. We are currently building a brand new website. This intern will spend the bulk of his/her time on this project. We are also interested in finding someone who is interested in helping us build a database using salesforce.com. Person must be proficient in both English and Chinese.
We are looking for a proactive and caring individual who is driven by our mission and wants to be a part of this growing organization. This person can work from home if needed.

If you are interested, please send CV or contact:
Ellen Luo
Executive Director
ellen.luo@ufh.com.cn

UFCO has partnered with the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) for the exhibit Yan Pei-Ming: Landscape of Childhood that will open on June 19, 2009. Faces of 20 Chinese newborns will be directly painted onto flags that will line UCCA’s Big Hall.

With the images of Chinese newborn babies’ portraits presented in the show, UCCA and The United Foundation for Chinese Orphans hope to raise wider support to provide adequate healthcare to all children, especially those abandoned and coping with mental and physical disabilities, living in China.

Born in Shanghai in 1960 and living in Dijon, France, since the early 1980s, Yan Pei-Ming has always been interested in the concepts of individuality and anonymity expressed in the portraits and landscapes he paints. He has been one of the first Chinese artists to settle and build his career abroad.

UCCA MISSION

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is a non profit, comprehensive art center founded in Beijing by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in November 2007. UCCA presents exhibitions of established and emerging artists and develops a trusted platform to share knowledge through education and research.

VISIT UCCA

OPENING HOURS: Tuesday — Sunday 10:00-19:00

Address:
798 Art District
No.4 Jiuxianqiao Lu
P.O. Box 8503
Chaoyang District, Beijing, P.R.China, 100015

Tel: +86 (0) 10 8459 9269
Fax: +86 (0) 10 8459 9717
E-mail: info@ucca.org.cn

尤伦斯当代艺术中心是一座非营利的综合艺术中心，由收藏家尤伦斯夫妇出资建造，2007年11月正式开幕。艺术中心推出包括知名和年轻艺术家的展览，致力于打造一个通过教育、研究项目分享当代艺术体验的平台。

参观UCCA

开放时间： 周二至周日 10:00-19:00

地址：
北京市朝阳区
酒仙桥路4号
798艺术区
北京8503信箱

邮编： 100015
电话： +86 10 8459 9269
传真： +86 10 8459 9717
E-mail： info@ucca.org.cn

Summary of Phase 4
January 10-18, 2009

In phase IV, 10 days in total were spent in Sichuan Province by trainers and translators. Some new trainings and some reviewing trainings took place as initially planed.

In Jiangyou we met for the day with 26 trainees who were all in our September Phase 3 training. We reviewed the somatic skills we had taught in September, did demos, and had them practice with each other. They asked many good questions which showed us that they have a good grasp of the skills even though they need more opportunities to practice.

At the end of the training we were invited by a trainee to do a demo with his friend. The session was very successful. At first the client couldn’t even look at this friend. But as the blocked traumatic energy released we could all see the man actually coming back to life. All at once he began gazing at his friend with such love in his eyes. Everyone in the room had tears coming down their faces.

We also did 3 orientations to about 80 trainees in total respectively in Mianyang, Shifang and Chengdu. Although people were all very busy because the Chinese new year was coming, the trainees all showed great enthusiasm which made us feel very valuable about our work. They hoped to receive the follow-up trainings which were in our plan of March and May as well.

Besides the trainings, some of the team members of CHERP also did a mapping exercise in Sichuan with support and guidance of World Health Organization. The purpose of the mapping was to provide preliminary information and insight into what is being done, how it is being done, the needs and gaps at local level. This information will facilitate a more coordinated approach to Mental Health/Psychosocial Support work and help make appropriate connections among people working in MH and PSS in the quake affected areas.

Phase 5 is planned for the period of March 8th through 22nd and another team will come for Phase 6 which is scheduled to take place from May 7th through 21st.

January 2009

For those of you who have been following Wei Hao’s story, I wanted to give you a very quick update. He is still with a foster family and is doing very well. Wei Hao is now walking and talking all of the time. He won’t sit still! He has a family working on adopting him and hopefully this fall all of the paperwork will be finalized. I’ve included a recent photo of him.

October 2008

Wei Hao is currently being fostered by an expat family in Tianjin who have committed to fostering him until he is adopted. His adoption paperwork began 2 months ago and we hope that by the winter of 2009, he will have a permanent, loving family to call his own. Just as he was beginning to adjust to family life, life threw us a curve ball.

The few months before he was fostered in Tianjin, he seemed to be healthy and happy despite his swollen stomach. The doctors said the size of his stomach was not a problem but it clearly was not getting any smaller. After moving to Tianjin, WH began to have health problems and had to be admitted to the hospital for inpatient care. WH began to lose his appetite, get fevers, his stomach seemed to become even larger and his liver function was poor.

After several readmissions, blood tests, CT scans, and ultrasounds, the doctors suspected the cause of his failing health was portal vein thrombosis and scheduled a vein angioplasty. Portal vein thrombosis means that there is a narrowing or blockage of the portal vein which as a result causes pressure in the portal vein to increase (portal hypertension). The pressure causes the spleen to enlarge and can cause fluid accumulation in the abdomen if the liver is also congested which all occurred in WH’s case.

Before the angioplasty was performed, the doctors gave him an x-ray angiography which showed that blood flow through the portal vein was absent as suspected. An x-ray angiography takes x-rays of the veins after a special dye (visible on x-rays) is injected into the portal vein.

The angiography showed that there was indeed a blockage (either a stricture or a blot clot) and so they performed an angioplasty which is a procedure in which a balloon is used to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels. The third time they blew up the balloon and then removed it from the vein, the vein was unclogged, untwisted or stretched enough that the blood began right away to flow normally.

After the angioplasty, WH’s liver seems to be functioning better and his stomach and liver have both slowly decreased in size. The most recent blood tests show that he is improving. Hopefully he will continue to feel better and and will return to a normal life of Teletubbies, learning to walk (or at least having the confidence to walk on his own), and playing the piano.

As his medical needs continue, we are always happy to receive donations for Wei Hao’s ongoing medical and living costs. His costs come to approximately RMB2,800 per month if he is well and if his liver is functioning as it should. In September and October 2008, his tests, inpatient care and the angioplasty have totalled RMB28,000.

June 2008

Wei Hao has made amazing progress in the last three weeks. His surgical incisions are closed, all the tubes have been removed, he is no longer on antibiotics, and his jaundice is clearing. If you have been following his story, you will remember that he was abandoned and had been living in a hospital until UFCO brought him to Beijing. He received a liver transplant amongst suffering many close calls. Wei Hao is truly our miracle baby.

We are now looking for a foster family who can commit to caring for Wei Hao until he can be adopted. His needs are not much different from any other 2 year old. He loves to play and he loves attention. If you are a family who will be staying in Beijing for the next year and would like to know more about how you can foster him, please send us an email to foundation@ufh.com.cn with the subject line “Fostering Wei Hao.”

Wei Hao on June 1, 2008

Wei Hao: October 2007 through February 2008

This is a story about a little boy who wouldn’t give up.

On October 22nd, 2007, UFCO received a phone call from a woman who told us about a little boy who had been abandoned by his parents and was living on a cart in a hospital. He had jaundice though no one knew what it was that was wrong with him. The board agreed UFCO should get involved and on October 27th, he arrived in Beijing and was admitted to Beijing United Family Hospital for further testing. Although no one was sure if we could help him medically, we knew that at the very least we could find a safe, caring foster home that would take him.

The test results showed that he had biliary atresia and the doctors thought that a Kasai Procedure could help alleviate his symptoms until a possible liver transplant was needed. About a week later it was confirmed that his liver in fact had been so damaged that he needed a liver transplant as soon as possible. They had also found a tumor on the liver. One week later he was admitted to the Er Yan Suo Children’s Hospital and underwent additional tests.

During that time there was consideration of using a living donor who had offered to help as he had the same blood type O as Wei Hao. Unfortunately that plan did not work because of a new law that had been passed in May of 2007 stating that living donors had to be related to the patients in order to donate. The doctor told us that it would take about a month to find a cadaver liver and the surgery would cost around RMB250,000. We didn’t have any other options so we told them to start looking.

On November 25th, he was transferred to Wu Jing Zong Hospital as a top transplant surgeon agreed to do his surgery (and to do it at a discounted price). We waited many weeks. Two trained and loving caregivers lived in a room with him and played, fed and held him as we all waited for news that his liver had arrived. Some days there would be news of a liver only to later find out the liver was too small or too damaged. There were also days that he had a fever and the doctors told us if he didn’t receive his surgery during that week, he could die.

When Wei Hao first came to Beijing he was developmentally very behind. He had very little range of motion, barely cried and never played with anything. Even when you held him it was hard to get a smile out of him. The doctors were even afraid that his prolonged jaundice and liver damage had affected his mental abilities and ordered him to be tested at another hospital. He tested at the mental developmental stage of a 4 month old despite being 15 months old.

During the months of December and January Wei Hao began to change and developed his own personality! He loved standing on the bed with the help of his ayis and he loved “rou song” (dried meat) sprinkled on his “zhou” (porridge) and wouldn’t eat it without it. He loved being held and having his back patted while he slept. He would make these sounds of contentment as they patted his back and if they stopped, thinking he had falling asleep, he would begin to cry. He had been without for so long that he needed these little things to make him feel safe and calm.

On February 1st, a Friday, Wei Hao was admitted to the operating room. A liver that fit him just right had finally arrived! His surgery took 19.5 hours and the next day he went directly into the ICU. Wei Hao was doing well for the first 5 days following his surgery but on the 6th day developed a fever.

Because he is so young, there are not a lot of tests that they can do on him. The doctors were concerned that either a blood vessel was blocked or his body was rejecting the liver. If a blood vessel is blocked, there is not much they can do as performing another surgery is out of the question. If his body is rejecting the liver, there are ways to fix that problem. The results from the tumor on his liver have come back– he has a type of hepatocellular carcinoma that could spread despite already taking out the infected liver. All we can do at this point is continue to take it day by day. If Wei Hao’s story has taught us anything over the past 4 months, it’s that nothing is certain.

Those that thought a little boy abandoned by his parents, and left on his own for 3 months, wouldn’t survive were wrong.

Those that said this same little boy was too underdeveloped for his age that he might never catch up were also wrong.

And those that said he couldn’t live another week without a new liver were thankfully wrong.

*From the time we heard about Wei Hao, there has been a blog that told of his story. Many overseas and local Chinese have posted words of support and love for Wei Hao on this blog and they have also sent donations and committed to supporting him on a yearly basis. The donations received for Wei Hao so far total around RMB140,000. The costs incurred for his care total RMB170,000 and they continue to rise as each day in the ICU costs us another RMB6,000.

If you feel moved by Wei Hao’s story and would like to donate a monetary gift to go towards funding Wei Hao’s continuing medical treatment, please send a donation via paypal (the link is on our home page) or you can send a check to the US address (also found on our website under “How you can help!”). If you are in China and prefer to wire a donation please send me an email at foundation@ufh.com.cn and I will send you our Bank of China account details. All donations are eligible for tax deductions so please let us know if you need an official thank you letter.

Thank you,

Sarah on behalf of UFCO

We are currently planning for the coming year and are excited to let you know that we will soon have an updated website and more fundraising events to share with you. You will be able to access newsletters, meet our staff and board of directors, purchase our “Best of Beijing” cookbooks, meet more children we have helped and more! Also, our CHERP page will be updated more regularly as will our news section. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to bring you this new website.

Please note that our banking information has changed and has been updated on the “How to Get Involved” section.

Have a wonderful New Year!