1997 - Jenny and Richard Bowen adopt Maya, a toddler from Guangzhou
1998 - A small group of adoptive families join Jenny to create Half the Sky
1999 - Jenny proposes the idea of providing nurturing care for orphans to potential Chinese partners.
1999 - When Half the Sky first comes to China, orphanages are overcrowded and understaffed.
2000 - Half the Sky opens its first programs in Changzhou, Jiangsu and Hefei, Anhui
2001-2002 - HTS trainers and volunteers create centers in Chuzhou, Chenzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shanghai.
2002 - HTS begins its first "Big Sisters" (later, Youth Services) program in Chengdu
2003 - Despite SARS, HTS adds centers in Shaoyang, Xiangtan, Yueyang, Wuzhou, Beihai and Guilin.
In 2003, HTS hosts China’s 1st conference on nurture for orphaned children, attracting attention from international media.
2004 - HTS creates new centers in Jiujiang, Fuzhou and Nanchang in Jiangxi Province, and Luoyang and Xinyang in Henan.
2005 – HTS is invited to China’s 1st Nat’l SWI Training Conference. CCAA director Lu Ying declares a “new era of orphan care.”
In 2005, HTS creates centers in Lianyungang, Haikou, Sanya, Yiyang, Guangzhou and, in Gaoyou, its first Family Village.
2006 – HTS opens a Family Village for children orphaned by AIDS and creates centers in Shenzhen, Yibin, Nanjing, and Tianjin.
On Children’s Day, 2006, Hu Jin Tao gives a speech that foretells China’s Blue Sky Plan to raise standards of orphan care.
2007 – The Ministry of Civil Affairs asks HTS to join in implementing Blue Sky, and planning meetings are held in preparation.
2007 - The first HTS Blue Sky Model Children's Center opens in Wuhan.
2007 – Further government recognition comes when Wen JiaBao visits HTS’ Family Village for children orphaned by AIDS.
2008 – Freak storms ravage southern China and HTS rushes food, diapers and coal to 98 stranded orphanages..
Just four months later, a massive earthquake strikes Sichuan. HTS begins relief efforts yet again.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs enters into its first national agreement with a foreign NGO and grants HTS legal registration.
2009 – HTS opens the China Care Home, a medical care home for orphaned infants and toddlers with life-threatening conditions.
2010 - At a national conference, HTS announces its future transition to become a training and mentoring organization.
2011 – As the Rainbow Program rolls out, every person responsible for child welfare will learn how to help children thrive.

Holding the Sky

One day an elephant saw a hummingbird lying on its back with its tiny feet up in the air.
"What are you doing?" asked the elephant.
The hummingbird replied, "I heard that the sky might fall today, and so I am ready to help hold it up, should it fall.”
The elephant laughed cruelly. “Do you really think,” he said, "that those tiny feet could help hold up the sky?”
The hummingbird kept his feet up in the air, intent on his purpose, as he replied, "Not alone. But each must do what he can. And this is what I can do.”
– A Chinese Folktale

In 1997, Jenny and Richard Bowen adopted a toddler from a welfare institution in southern China. From that day, they received a harsh, first-hand education about the harmful effects of institutionalizing small children: their little girl suffered from severe delays and, most worrisome, she was emotionally shut down. Vacant. But after just one year of non-stop loving attention and care from her new family, she was transformed. Truly… a butterfly emerged from that lonely cocoon.

How easy it was to make all the difference in the life of one small child!

What if you could do the same for the many children in China who wait for families – and for those who will never be adopted? It was a simple idea. Why not?

And so, in 1998, Half the Sky, named for the Chinese adage, "Women hold up half the sky,"* was born.

*Although, even today, 95% of healthy abandoned infants are girls, the issue of child abandonment and the reasons behind it grow increasingly complex as China develops. Half the Sky serves all children residing in China's welfare institutions, regardless of gender or the circumstances that brought them there.

Half the Sky

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Our Story

1997 - Jenny and Richard Bowen adopt Maya, a toddler from Guangzhou

1998 - A small group of adoptive families join Jenny to create Half the Sky

1999 - Jenny proposes the idea of providing nurturing care for orphans to potential Chinese partners.

1999 - When Half the Sky first comes to China, orphanages are overcrowded and understaffed.

2000 - Half the Sky opens its first programs in Changzhou, Jiangsu and Hefei, Anhui

2001-2002 - HTS trainers and volunteers create centers in Chuzhou, Chenzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shanghai.

2002 - HTS begins its first "Big Sisters" (later, Youth Services) program in Chengdu

2003 - Despite SARS, HTS adds centers in Shaoyang, Xiangtan, Yueyang, Wuzhou, Beihai and Guilin.

In 2003, HTS hosts China’s 1st conference on nurture for orphaned children, attracting attention from international media.

2004 - HTS creates new centers in Jiujiang, Fuzhou and Nanchang in Jiangxi Province, and Luoyang and Xinyang in Henan.

2005 – HTS is invited to China’s 1st Nat’l SWI Training Conference. CCAA director Lu Ying declares a “new era of orphan care.”

In 2005, HTS creates centers in Lianyungang, Haikou, Sanya, Yiyang, Guangzhou and, in Gaoyou, its first Family Village.

2006 – HTS opens a Family Village for children orphaned by AIDS and creates centers in Shenzhen, Yibin, Nanjing, and Tianjin.

On Children’s Day, 2006, Hu Jin Tao gives a speech that foretells China’s Blue Sky Plan to raise standards of orphan care.

2007 – The Ministry of Civil Affairs asks HTS to join in implementing Blue Sky, and planning meetings are held in preparation.

2007 - The first HTS Blue Sky Model Children's Center opens in Wuhan.

2007 – Further government recognition comes when Wen JiaBao visits HTS’ Family Village for children orphaned by AIDS.

2008 – Freak storms ravage southern China and HTS rushes food, diapers and coal to 98 stranded orphanages..

Just four months later, a massive earthquake strikes Sichuan. HTS begins relief efforts yet again.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs enters into its first national agreement with a foreign NGO and grants HTS legal registration.

2009 – HTS opens the China Care Home, a medical care home for orphaned infants and toddlers with life-threatening conditions.

2010 - At a national conference, HTS announces its future transition to become a training and mentoring organization.

2011 – As the Rainbow Program rolls out, every person responsible for child welfare will learn how to help children thrive.

Holding the Sky

Our Story

My Bright Idea!

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