DOB: 2/25/02

We met Ben this summer at an orphanage in Wuxi, a city in southern China. He seemed shy at first, but began to relax and smile during the interview and, at the urging of his caregivers, eventually stood up to demonstrate a headstand.

His caregivers seemed very fond of him and talked about how helpful he is around the orphanage, where he came into care at just a few days old. He likes to help care for the younger children, especially feeding the babies, but he tells us what he would really love are older siblings. Though he has many good friends, Ben misses his pals from the orphanage who’ve joined families through adoption. But when asked how he would feel about being adopted, his eyes immediately brightened.

“Are you at all worried about the language difference?” we asked.

“No problem,” he said. “I can learn.”

Now 8, Ben is in the 2nd grade. He’s a fast runner, loves basketball and also enjoys art projects and origami. He’s doing well in school and hopes to grow up to be a policeman – a point he reinforced for us with a straight-backed salute!

After entering care, Ben progressed well in the institution but was found to have slow motor development. Laboratory reports also noted that he is a Hepatitis B carrier. Ben would do best in a family with older child adoption experience and access to good medical resources.

Contact the Waiting Child program for more information about Ben….