Kong Zhenlan, a mother to dozens of orphaned and abandoned children
Jiuji (AsiaNews/Ucanews) – For the past 42 years, Kong Zhenlan, a Catholic in China's Shanxi province, has been bringing up handicapped orphans and abandoned children along with her own kids, and that has inspired one of her sons to become a Catholic priest.
Kong's son Father Anthony Fan Changliang says the adoption of orphans is related to a local tradition in their Jiuji Catholic village in Qi County.
Before the communist revolution in 1949, the ancient Catholic parish in the village maintained a tradition of charity to help the orphans.
In the two decades that followed the revolution this noble tradition and all the charity works were stopped as religions were oppressed, Catholics say.
In the 1970s, there was an increase of abandoned children but there was no orphanage. Father Fan said that in 1977 his mother began to adopt abandoned and handicapped orphans.
The lack of medical care and children’s poor health made mortality rate quite high, said Father Fan, who was a teenage at the time. The deaths of some children and the unbearable financial burden on the family saddened him.
For a while, he said, he lost the faith. But the words of his mother made him think deeper. "To love the poor is to love Jesus. Each of the kid is a little brother, a little Jesus. When we take care of our little brothers, we are taking care of Jesus," she used to say.
Only after graduating from the novitiate did Father Fan fully understand and support his mother's mission, he said.
“We are all brothers and sisters, there is no difference," he said when asked how many biological and adopted brothers and sisters he has. "It is a blessing" that his mother is able to give love to the kids, "a love with faith, and she enjoys doing it," he said.
Since the age of 24, Kong and her husband Fan Bucheng have been engaged in this charitable activity. Now, they are both 66-years old.
Eleven of their adopted children have grown up to live independently and support their mother's charity. “We owe her a lot,” said one of them. “Without her we could not have grown up and live a healthy life”.
At present, 18 children are under Kong's care, ranging from babies and kindergarten children to those studying in technical colleges.
In addition to providing food, shelter and clothing, she also puts a lot of energy in shaping their growth in faith, health, and communication skills.
In view of her advanced age, hunchback and other handicaps, she is not officially allowed to adopt more than three kids. However, she has refused several requests by local authorities to send her kids to a state-run orphanage.
Since her action does not comply with the rules, she cannot receive financial subsidiary from the government.
In order to support her big family, Kong offer acupuncture treatment and her husband works as a farmer. In addition, she gets donation from local people, who are moved by her great love for abandoned children.
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