"In the cities of China, tucked somewhere off the beaten path, are the buildings that house the social welfare institutions, and inside the small faces of the children left behind in the shadow of progress. Walk through an orphanage and you'll be forever changed. Newborns, newly found. Toddlers in their wheelie chairs. Older children who have been there for years and will be there years more. Little ones with cleft palates, burns and other scars visible and invisible. Totally undeserving of the world's hardship. They represent each of us at our smallest and most vulnerable. The human family is meant to fill such immense primal loneliness. A mother's embrace is needed, a father's hug, a grandparent's indulgent smile. Yet these children have lost everyone at once." - Karin Evans from the book "Mei Mei, little sister"