Our world has become smaller as globalization has brought every corner of the globe closer. The internet, modern travel methods, instant communication and world-wide television allow us to be aware of good and bad things happening anywhere on the planet. We can see poverty, bloodshed, starvation, and mistreatment on our televisions every day. It is not just poor countries that are victimized by these terrible issues but also those that are financially stable and even wealthy countries. These life-controlling issues can be caused by aberrant weather patterns, overpopulation, poor management of resources, the lack of funds to help sustain persons in jeopardy and even cultural protocols that abandon the poor and vulnerable.

The age-old maxim, Charity begins at home, while valid on the surface, is only partially true. It should read that Charity begins at home and extends to all of our neighbors on planet earth.  Wealthy countries, such as the United States, China, Germany and other European countries, the Middle East oil producing countries, Japan, South Korea and numerous others all play a role in helping the poor and downtrodden of the world. The United States has moved forward on feeding children going hungry in the United States and other countries. China has increased its help to children who are orphans, having been abandoned when their parent(s) are incarcerated, and initiated studies as to how to find and help these children. For many years, the United Nations has supported and increased the viability of UNICEF, and numerous other countries are helping out their fellow humans from one corner of the globe to another. But more is needed.

As a young man, a typical American High School student, I have become aware of the plight of certain children in a foreign land. No charities exist that are solely committed to helping these children and, with over 170,000 of them in China alone, their needs are tantamount. I am lucky, I have visited China twice in the past few years and have come face to face with the orphan children of incarcerated parent(s), ranging in age from infants to teens. I have seen the desperation in their eyes and the yearning for their own families. As a young man of Chinese heritage, I developed a special bond with these children, and as an American I hope that I can bring together fellow Americans to help these children. The Chinese government has endeavored to keep track of these children, but many have simply been released to the streets. The authorities in China have done a wonderful job in getting as many as possible into orphanages so they can be properly fed, educated and medically treated when they are ill.

At times, I have even found myself feeling guilty over these children. I was born in America and have the great cultural history of China in my DNA. I have parents who have helped give me every opportunity in life. I have many friends with whom I love to play tennis or ping-pong, or simply go to the mall. But then I think of the children in China who may need to sift through rubbish bins for food, seek out used clothing and cannot even get medical care nor an education. These Chinese children did not place themselves in this position. They were put there by the misdeeds of their parent(s).

As an economic powerhouse, China is no different than the other such countries in the world in their quests to help the poor and abandoned. The most difficult job is to find these children and provide them with care. When you have a country as large as China, with its 1.4 billion people, it is not difficult to have problems in the accounting of certain people, especially children. In the United States we have approximately 12 million living in poverty while China has an estimated 100 million living in poverty. From this large number comes the disenfranchised children, orphaned either by the death of their parents or from some other extraneous situation, such as incarcerated parents. When I was visiting China, I was informed of a story of one family that inspired many people to help in caring for the children of incarcerated parent(s) and caused a national discussion of the issue. In June of 2013, an unexpected tragedy befell Nanjing, China. A husband and father of one family was sent to prison. He left his two daughters, one and three years old, at home with their mother. His wife, Yan Le, a known drug user, could not care for or provide food for the girls. Sometime after their father went to prison, the girls’ withered and emaciated bodies were found in their home. About three months later, their mother was sent to prison for being the cause of the children’s deaths. Finding these children in such a deplorable condition aroused the feelings of the public.

To date, the only official number of Chinese prisoners released by the government, and disclosed by the former Chinese Minister of Justice, Ms. Aiying Wu, was approximately 1.64 million prisoners in 2012. As of 2012, these prisoners are housed in 681 prisons. Since 2012, China has made the children of incarcerated men and women a priority, but has not yet completed a fully operational system for their care in place. These children, whether in orphanages, foster care or even on the street, are in desperate need of clothing, medicines and even, in some cases, food.

The Chinese government has been keeping the necessary statistics on these children and has offered aid where it can actually directly help the children. This dire situation is enhanced since no records exist of issues such as how many children are left alone because both parents are incarcerated, or, in the cases of one parent being in prison, whether or not the sole parent at home can actually cope with the issues of the children. The Ministry of Justice of China carried out a sampling survey in 2005, which included 11,527 prisoners who had minor children at home or elsewhere. From this study it was estimated that, over the entire country, nearly 460,000 prisoners (out of the total of 1.56 million) had over 600,000 underage children . Another study, by Anhui Agricultural University, broke these figures down even further. It found that 55.1% of these children were taken care of by their other, non-imprisoned parent, 35.5% of the children were taken care of by their grandparent, and approximately 9.4% of the children were completely unattended. Applying this ratio from 2006, over 56,000 children, at the very least, were at risk and were left unattended. At the end of third quarter of 2021, the Chinese government reported that approximately 176,000 orphans exist around the country. This means that over 20,000 children are living on the streets or back alleys. They have no one taking care of them and, sadly, some die from a lack of medical care or from starvation.

Visiting China and meeting these children caused my heart to open for them and to seek a way I can help them. I have learned, by looking into the faces of these Chinese children, that they are just children, not a nationality, not a religion, not an ethnicity, not a specific culture, but just children like any others in the world, and they need our help. I know that as a teenager I do not yet have my place in the adult world, but as an American I realized that I have access to friends and families and institutions who can help. Not by sending money, because I from experience I understand that the best way to help the children is not to send money to the orphanages or even hospices where some of these children are living. Rather, the answer is simple: my plan is to solicit money to purchase medical and educational goods, and then ship them directly to orphanages. These donations can come from individuals or even companies. I understand that I will need to start in a small way, by sending a few children what they need, so that these few children create success stories that inspire others to donate, and start a cycle of good will that touches not only children in China but children in need all over the world.

There are children in every corner of the world who are victims of poverty and all I can ask for is help in providing necessities to the children in distress in China. Sending donations to these children will not only make their lives better and give them hope for the future, but doing good deeds for these children will enhance the development of ensuring they become good adults.