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'Every orphan comes with a story. Every journalist has a story that stays with them. And everyone has the power to make a difference. From rural Queensland to rural China, China Baby Love is the story of moving mountains, one shovel at a time. Former foreign correspondent and host of ABC TV's ‘One Plus One', Jane Hutcheon introduces us to Linda Shum, a not-so-ordinary grandmother and widow from Gympie whose compassion for China's forgotten children inspired her to create an unlikely empire. The story of COAT (Chinese Orphans Assistance Team) and Linda's quest to help orphans, many with multiple disabilities, reveals the hidden human aftermath of the One-Child Policy. A tentative visit to an orphanage in a small Chinese city turned into many over a period of twenty years. Linda's curiosity transformed into sheer determination to battle superstition, bureaucracy and a constant lack of funds, to found foster homes and a special needs school that has transformed hundreds of lives, including her own. What Jane intended as a five-minute ‘human interest' segment in a news broadcast inspired an unexpected friendship and the writing of a book that would take Jane back to China. Through the story of Linda Shum's life and work, Jane gets to the heart of some painful truths behind modern Chinese families living in a one-party state.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Maternal Warmth Lights up Little Lives
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3 June 2017; (p. 20) 'China is hard for the outsider. The best-laid plans can get lost in deep tangles of bureaucracy and incomprehension in this huge nation. So the sheer courage of a retired Australian primary school teacher who has spent years navigating Chinese bureaucracy to help disabled children is worth some attention.' (Introduction)
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Maternal Warmth Lights up Little Lives
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3 June 2017; (p. 20) 'China is hard for the outsider. The best-laid plans can get lost in deep tangles of bureaucracy and incomprehension in this huge nation. So the sheer courage of a retired Australian primary school teacher who has spent years navigating Chinese bureaucracy to help disabled children is worth some attention.' (Introduction)