Maonan

Audra is currently waiting for us at

the Maonan District Social Welfare Institue

in Maoming City

in Guangdong Province

in China

 

This picture shows all of China in pink

with Guangdong Province in red 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows all of the cities located in Guangdong Province.  Maoming City is located on the western side (in green, with arrow pointing at Maonan District)

 

 

The image below shows the districts

located in Maoming City

Maoming is located on the warm waters of the South China Sea in southwestern Guangdong Province, a 4-6 hour train ride from Guangzhou. The Maoming metropolitan area’s population is 6.7 million and the Maoming dialect of Cantonese is the local language. Maonan is a district within Maoming City.

Maoming’s location on the South China Sea makes it an important fishing and shipping port. Its subtropical climate is ideal for growing fruit, including lychees, bananas and longan (Cantonese longnan.) The longan ('dragon eye') is an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. When it is peeled, a black seed shows through the longan's while, translucent flesh, resembling an eyeball. Dried longan fruit is often used medicinally and in Chinese sweet dessert soups. In Maoming the air is scented with the smell of fruit during the May-June harvest and the countryside surrounding Maoming is lush with fruit crops.

 

The pictures below are of the orphanage itself...

 

 

This is the main entrance

 

 

This is the very room where Audra had her "party" when we sent the care package to her.  Look closely at the pictures of her eating the cake (in my "Update" post)...you'll see the same colorful shelves, white tile wall and window in the background of those picture!

 

 

 

Here is some general information I have found about her orphanage:

The Maonan orphanage was set up in March 2001 to handle the children found outside Maoming city limits, including the Maonan District of Maoming. The first girls were adopted in June 2001 to France and Spain.
There are 20 caregivers that work in three shifts. The children are cared for by age, being divided into six rooms, all on the third floor of the orphanage (above that is apartments). One room is for newborns up to 2 months old; another room is for two to six month olds, six to one year, etc. Every three months the women rotate to a different room. Thus, every child is cared for by nearly every caregiver at one point or the other.