W
hilst motherhood is usually
an occasion to treasure,
some women and girls
find themselves in difficult
circumstances or faced with an
unwanted pregnancy. Thankfully, Hong
Kong has an organisation which helps,
with both choices and babies. Mother’s
Choice is a non-profit organisation, with
a mission to transform lives, give hope
and offer nurturing care for babies and
children needing homes. Back in 1987
the founders (Ranjan and Phyllis Marwah,
and Gary and Helen Stephens) were
moved by newspaper articles about the
alarming number of local teenage crisis
pregnancies, particularly those going
to Shenzhen for late abortions. Believing
that many of these babies could live
– provided the girls had other options
– they harnessed support from friends
and the community to establish Mother’s
Choice.
Their ongoing vision is to provide
non-judgemental support to girls facing
a crisis pregnancy, to care for children
requiring permanent homes and to
fight for every child to have a stable
family. Mother’s Choice has helped over
51,000 girls, cared for 3,600 babies and
assisted with 1,400 successful adoption
cases. The charity positively impacts
upon thousands of local lives through
five core areas – pregnant girls’ services,
child care home, foster
care services, adoption
services, and advocacy
and community
education – to build
stronger families.
Mother’s Choice takes
a holistic approach in
these core areas to
meet clients’ needs
(physical, social,
medical, educational
and legal). Pregnant
girls’ services assist girls
in making responsible choices. Children
with special needs are cared for while
awaiting a permanent family by the child
care home services. Alongside the Social
Welfare Department, their adoption
services help kids find families. The
foster care services provide temporary
homes for children whose parents can’t
adequately care for them, whilst seeking
a permanent environment. Finally,
advocacy and community education
aims to change attitudes and create
awareness. Over the years, Mother’s
Choice has partnered with numerous
schools and community groups through
their sex education programme’s
workshops and seminars, to reduce crisis
pregnancies by helping youths make
responsible, informed decisions.
The charity’s success is visible in Luke*,
a little boy with Down’s syndrome who’d
spent months in a large child-care
institution. Having been mostly confined
to a cot and fed lying down, he’d
developed respiratory illnesses and a
shadow on his lung. The charity carefully
matched Luke with a foster family who
already had a Down’s syndrome child
and assisted with appropriate feeding
techniques, daily therapy and stimulating
activities. Happily, six months later the
shadow on Luke’s
lung disappeared,
he was active and
healthy with an
identified adoptive
family!
Their goal is to
provide the best
possible care for
children such as
Luke whilst seeking
a permanent
environment as soon
as possible – either a
new adoptive family or their birth family.
For kids whose birth families can’t care
for them, the “Vitamin T” (human touch)
from staff and volunteers is invaluable,
being critical to their development. Purviz
Shroff, the longest-serving volunteer (and
now Patron), recognises that the children
aren’t the only ones who benefit. She
believes she receives tenfold what she
has given: “To live is to give, and you can
give your love in so many ways.”
Mother’s Choice appreciates the
support shown over the years to assist
and champion their cause, however they
still need help. As well as volunteering,
consider their “Everyday Heroes”
monthly giving programme to offer
life-transformative services to girls and
children in need (For more information,
visit the website:
.
org/en/donate-now/monthly-giving/
).
Alternatively, join MC Links, their network
of young professionals which creates
a community making a difference to
others’ lives. For details contact
mclinks@
motherschoice.org
or find MC Links on
Facebook. Your help could help others
make the right choice.
* Name changed to protect the child’s
identity.
advice
Mother's Choice cares for children without families and girls facing
crisis pregnancies.
Gillian Johnston
finds out more.
Charity, choices & children
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