'Momma Chang' provides free home to families with sick kids in Xi'an

Challenges

Once everything was ready, Chang began visiting the hospital regularly in order to invite the impoverished families of seriously ill children to stay at the home, but many doubted such good fortune, suspecting it to be a scam.

Determined, she sought help from doctors familiar with families in need to back her up and recommend the home. Within six months, Xinyu Home was filled with seriously ill children and their families.

To assist those genuinely in need, each family staying at the home must provide a doctor's diagnosis and a poverty certificate issued by their hometown's local government.

At first, Chang was able to fund the home herself with the help of her friends and family, but after a while the financial toll of renting and running the 200-square-meter property began to weigh heavily.

Xinyu Home's monthly expenses, including daily necessities and utilities, amounted to about 20,000 yuan. Although the parents of the sick children can help with cooking and daily chores, running the home remained a significant challenge, quickly depleting Chang's savings and straining her father's financial support.

At times, she even cried alone in her room, despairing at the prospect of having to close the home.

"But after crying, and then seeing these lovely children, I had no reason to complain or abandon them," she said.

As Xinyu Home's deeds became more widely known, like-minded people with a volunteering spirit started running fundraising campaigns to support it. The Xi'an government and local charitable associations also made donations. Since 2020, the Xi'an Charity Association has covered the annual rent of 50,000 yuan.

The home's running expenses are now essentially covered, and its facilities and equipment have been improved, Chang said.

In October last year, a social organization put up the money to renovate the home's rooms, including adding a reading corner, a walk-in wardrobe and a new kitchen, providing a better living environment for the children.

Chang's compassionate work has had a distinct impression on not only patients and their families, but also the medical staff at Xi'an Children's Hospital.

Liu Ansheng, director of the hematology and oncology department at the hospital, said: "The children's treatment is up to us, and their daily life is up to Chang. We can rest assured."