International Children's Day

June 1, 2008

June 1st is International Children's Day, a day celebrated every year in China with great gusto. Today was no exception at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

The foyer, or Great Hall, of the SCMC, is a high-ceilinged room about the size of an Olympic swimming pool. It was a point of contention, when the hospital was in design. Our Chinese colleagues viewed it as too Western. Dr. Walsh saw it as an important gathering place. It was certainly the latter on this occasion.

Months ago, members of our Western Regional Advisory Board gathered in San Francisco to plan this day. The WRAB is a group of influential Chinese Americans, who were very important to the early support of the SCMC. They collaborated with their friends and relatives in Hong Kong (Project HOPE Hong Kong) to provide encouragement and funding.

The current Board members raised nearly $20,000 to underwrite a children's art competition, involving children in Taiwan and China (Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai). This led to 3600 entries (paintings). Those of the 250 finalists were displayed in the Great Hall on this June 1st. And, what talent was represented in each of them--and the twenty children who received awards for contributing the very best pieces!

The paintings, all 3600 of them, now will be displayed in China and the U.S. They will be available for purchase. The proceeds will be used to support additional training programs, for physicians and nurses, at the SCMC.

It's important to point out the significant role of the Board of Project HOPE Hong Kong, a national organization of HOPE at the time, in the development of the hospital. Edmund Tse and his colleagues provided funds for the hospital's initial planning and, later, its patients and physicians.

The day ended with recognition of ongoing support from FedEx, Covidien and the Schneider Foundation for the programs of the hospital. From neonatal equipment to fellowship exchanges, they are making an everyday difference in meeting the needs of children who depend on the SCMC.

This ceremony served as a reminder that the agenda of the Shanghai Municipality and HOPE partnership remains an unfinished one. For example, in a city of 18 million, there are only 20 thousand nurses. Lily Hsu, Shanghai Program Director for HOPE and Dean of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Nursing, is leading efforts to respond to this particular need--at the SCMC and beyond.