China: “Vittorino Colombo Family Community, Xi’an”

Country: China; Xi’an city, Shaanxi Province.
Intervention area:
Institutional lenders:

Since 2012 Ai.Bi. has been present in China with a cooperation project that allows some children under the custody of the Xi’an Children’s Welfare Institution to live outside a context of institutionalization. To date, the Vittorino Colombo Family Community of Xi’an has opened its doors to 37 children, who for different periods of time have spent a part of their lives under the care of 4 caregivers whose work and commitment aim to give not just a roof but a home, a family, to these children. The children who join the project legally are in the custody of the Xi’an Children’s Welfare Institute in Shaanxi Province, but are already fully eligible for adoption.

The Vittorino Colombo Family Community, located in a residential complex in downtown Xi’an, just outside the ancient walls that divide the historic center from the other districts of the city, is spread over two floors for a total of 220sq meters, divided into a huge living room, a small kitchen, two bathrooms and three bedrooms. On the second floor there is a large terrace and a children’s playroom.

The children guests of the structure, affected by physical and mental disabilities and congenital pathologies, have the possibility of having a life as normal as possible and close to the daily reality of their peers. After joining the project, 27 of these children were taken in by a family and in all cases it was an international adoption.

Currently 7 children benefit from this project. The Vittorino Colombo Family Community of Xi’an has a maximum capacity that allows it to accommodate up to 8 children.

The 7 guests of the center attend public kindergarten. In addition to the normal lessons, the kindergarten usually organizes extra-curricular activities that are held on Saturday afternoons: writing courses, collage courses, “chemistry games” courses. Occasionally the caregivers take them on trips to the surrounding countryside.

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