2007 Events South Australian Chinese Adoption Support (SACAS) Inc

31 December 2007 - A Final Word for 2007 From Your Humble Web-Site Dude
Well once again its been a very busy year for SACAS and one filled with much fun and success. There have been the many wonderful social and cultural events and our Project Committees have produced some amazing work. However for me the lasting memory of 2007 was that it was the year that my 4 year old daughter wrote her first word. And what a word it was! The word was "China" and even more remarkably it was written in Mandarin. How did she achieve this feat of sheer genius? With a traditional brush and ink as she carefully copied the example provided by Mr Wu during his calligraphy demonstration at Adelaide's Confucius Institute. I will cherish that piece of paper and I hope that she will appreciate its significance when she is older. I believe that my daughter will naturally benefit from exposure to culture, community and the collegiate support of her peers. I like to think of them as the 3-C's. Those three elements were all brought together on that special night. Culture in the form of Chinese Calligraphy and an insight into life of Mr Wu in China. Community in the form of SACAS, our new friends the Confucius Institute, and our Chinese community contacts. And the Collegiate Support of our children interacting together and having fun. As adoptive parents most of recognise that our children will face challenges in the years to come and we try to prepare them for these challenges as best as we can. However we all know that this is not an easy task and it takes effort and a lifelong commitment. Belonging to a support group like SACAS can make things just that little easier. The community that we have formed together places great value on cultural experiences and the formation of friendships and supportive networks. That is why I continue to be part of SACAS and I hope it is why you will choose to be part of our community in 2008. I wish you and your family a Happy New Year and a Prosperous Lunar New Year of the Rat.

Kindest Regards, Nigel Holden, Vice President SACAS, and your Humble Website Dude.

10 December 2007 - A Panda-Play Christmas Party
The Panda-Play 0-5 group enjoyed a fantastic and well deserved Christmas Party for their final official playgroup session for 2007. There was a Christmas tree, songs, games and lots of colourful party food to eat. The children had a great time playing pass the parcel and pin the nose on Rudolph, as well as a host of indoor and outdoor activities. They then got stuck into the Christmas food with gusto. Many of the children were also dressed in beautiful party attire including fairy wings and at least one angel outfit complete with a halo. Thank you to Jo and Kara for sharing the photographs below for use on the website. 2007 sure has been a big year for Panda-Play. We have seen most of the first class of Panda-Players graduate and move onto school. We have welcomed a whole new group of parents and perhaps the youngest children to yet join the playgroup. There has been grant funding, excursions, newsletters and public performances. The coordinators have all done a fantastic job in running and improving the playgroup with each session. But best of all there has been lots of fun and friendships formed between parents and between children that we hope will last a lifetime. Merry Christmas to Panda-Play! Ho Ho Ho!

8 December 2007 - The SACAS Christmas Picnic
In 2004 SACAS held its first ever community event - the SACAS Christmas Picnic. At the time we didn't even know if anyone would bother turning up. Fortunately they did, and in large numbers. Since then the Christmas Picnic has been a favourite event for our community and each year we are graced with the presence of Father Christmas. Our fourth Christmas Picnic in 2007 was no exception and this year courtesy of grant funding Santa had the shelter of a brand new "Magic Cave". Most of the children really enjoyed meeting him although there were one or two understandable tears. However as you can see in the photographs below it may be Santa who is crying when he gets back to the North Pole and has to explain to Mrs. Claus about the number of mothers who wanted to sit on his lap! But seriously we were very grateful that he could make the trip to Adelaide and we thank him for his generosity and good humour. Once again our picnic was blessed with fine weather, fine food and fine company. As usual there were lots of babies who were celebrating their first Christmas in Australia and/or their first Christmas ever. It always makes me think about how weird Christmas must seem to the uninitiated. As predominantly non-Chinese parents we are often puzzled about the origins of Chinese festivals and the array of exotic rituals, food and beliefs. I can only imagine what a Chinese person would make of the confused cocktail of ancient traditions, religion, and commercialism that combine to form the modern western Christmas. And lets not even mention Aussies singing about "dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh" as they cook a roast dinner in 38C (100F) summer heat. Now you would have to admit that is just plain bizarre in anyone's culture! Well it may not be Chinese culture, but the Christmas Picnic remains one of our most popular cultural events. And for good reason. It is a lot of fun and a wonderful way for our community to come together and wish each other good will for the Festive Season and into the New Year. We hope that you all enjoyed it and we wish all of our members and their families a safe and happy Christmas.

As promised the SACAS AGM proved to be a night filled with interesting information and some pretty tasty Chinese dumplings too! Reflecting a Chinese "Ying-Yang" philosophy the night was split into two equally important themes - "Celebrating the Past" and "Creating the Future". Since forming in late 2004 SACAS has achieved a great deal and we marked those achievements and thanked all who have assisted us along the way. That list of people is long. Too long to name here. Suffice to say that we are truly grateful to all of our members and friends who have played their part in making SACAS a successful community group. During the "Creating the Future" session we introduced our new Board (pictured below) which comprises of Mark Stewart, Nigel Holden, Karen Holden and Linda Turpin. We hope to fill the vacant fifth Board position in the New Year. The current President, Mark Stewart, outlined how we will continue to work towards achieving the 5-Year Plan's bold vision for SA to be the best place in the world to adopt and raise a child born in the People's Republic of China. It was recognised that this is a vision that SACAS cannot achieve alone. We need all stakeholders in the China program - including government - to raise their aim and strive to achieve world's best practice. When we get there we will then need the courage to take the next step - to become recognised as leading the world in the field. It's a bold and ambitious goal. Will we ever achieve it? Only time will tell. But what is clear is that setting such goals is in the best interests of our children and not to do so would be a tragedy. We were also fortunate to have two Guest Speakers from East Meets West join us for the "Creating the Future" session. Saran Chamberlain and Kat Hope talked about their own experiences and about East Meets West's innovative and world leading programs. They also provided some very useful insights into running successful programs for young adoptees. This was timely as SACAS used the AGM to launch it's new program for children in the 5+ age range. This now provides SACAS with a suite of programs covering Waiting Parents, Children 0-5 Years, and Children 5-10 Years. East Meets West is renowned for its amazing work with children 10+ years of age. It is our sincere hope that these wonderful programs will still exist when the majority of our children enter that age group. We therefore urge the SA Government to continue its funding of East Meets West. Not to do so would be a truly retrograde step in post-adoption support services in South Australia. The Foundation Board and the newly elected Board would like to thank Saran and Kat for speaking at our AGM. They would also like to thank our members for attending the AGM and for continuing to support our young but growing community. In just over 3 years SACAS has emerged as an energetic, driven, vibrant and fun adoption support group. We look forward to continued success in the years to come and to the day in the not so distant future when the organisation that we have built will be inherited by our amazing children.

4 November 2007 - The Circus Came to Town
A very BIG THANK YOU to East Meets West for providing free tickets to members of the intercountry adoption community to go to the Circus this weekend. It was great to see so many adoptive families in attendance - and to see SACAS Members so well represented. Mr Spin the juggler was a huge hit with the crowd, as was Noodles the Clown, the beautiful Hula-Hooping Gymnast and the Ringmaster. It was a great day out for children and adults alike. One of the big advantages of belonging to a support group is that it opens up other communities and opportunities to us and our children. SACAS has always believed that with the number of adoptions being so small it is important to mix with other groups and generate synergies that would otherwise have gone unrealized. We are fortunate in SA to have other like-minded support groups to interact with. East Meets West do a great job with children 10+ year of age and if you haven't heard about them (which I'd find very hard to believe) I'd encourage you to visit their website by clicking the picture below. And if you aren't a member of SACAS or another support group - why the heck not???!!! Get involved in the community. It's a lot of fun and your kids will thank you for it now and well into the future.

At the invitation of Playgroups SA, the SACAS 0-5 program - better known as PANDA-PLAY - attended the 2007 Playgroups at the Zoo day. And what a perfect day it was for a visit to the Adelaide Zoo. Perhaps we can thank the patron of Playgroups SA, Jane Reilly, for arranging the great weather for us? Whatever the case it was nice to see her in attendance and I know my daughter was fascinated to see that "The TV Lady" was actually a real person who took the time to speak to her and her friends! Heavens above - the Channel 10 News will never be the same again! Our children opened the event with a rendition of "Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star" in both English and Mandarin. The significance of Panda-Play being in attendance was not lost on one speaker who reminded us all of the 2009 arrival of the Giant Panda's from China. Thank you to Panda-Play Coordinator Alison Turner for making all of the necessary arrangements for the day. And congratulations to all the children, mums, dads and carers who helped make the star-belts, the moon and star banner, as well as practicing and performing the nursery rhyme in Mandarin. It was a great effort and from the crowds reaction it was also very much appreciated. We also greatly appreciate the invitation by Playgroups SA to perform on the day and we thank them for their continued support of our 0-5 Program. The early years of any child's life are clearly critical for their development and long term well-being. Playgroups provide such an amazing experience for both children and parents. Fun and play are also central elements of both Panda-Play and SACAS. In fact I often say that Panda-Play is the heart and soul of SACAS. What I mean by this is that it is our children who drive us to do what we do, and it is our children and their spirit of fun and friendship that remind us of how we should live life ourselves. As a working father I rarely have the privilege of visiting Panda-Play. I was honored to do so today and the experience only served to reinforce my opinion that we are the very blessed parents of some quite remarkable children. Take a look at the photographs below and you'll see what I mean! And if you would like more information about the Adelaide Zoo's Giant Panda's please visit their page on Giant Panda's

On the night of the full moon Elder Park was overflowing with people who came to witness the Moon Lantern Parade and the opening of the OzAsia Festival. SACAS and the wider Asian Adoption Community were by far the largest of the Community Groups and by my count we had well over 160 people in attendance. These included adoptive families with representatives from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and I believe even Cambodia. Together we also represented more diversity than all of the other community groups put together. The array of traditional costumes and lanterns was quite a sight. Arguably we received the loudest reception as we paraded in front of the stage. It was a strange and humbling feeling to receive such an overwhelming display of public support. Sadly the inter-country adoption community in SA has a much lower profile than it does in other states. I suspect that this has much to do with the impact of the media provisions contained in the SA Adoptions Act. Tonight we not only raised our profile a little - but more importantly we celebrated together an iconic festival that shared by many Asian and South East Asian countries. Let's hope that this festival continues to be a part of our lives and that it will serve to bring people together in a celebration of culture, diversity and unity. As the ancient Chinese proverb goes "Under the full moon, Mankind is one."

31 August 2007 - A Cultural Evening with Wu Changming and the Confucius Institute

At the kind invitation of the Confucius Institute of the University of Adelaide, SACAS Members were treated to a wonderful demonstration of Chinese Calligraphy by Wu Changming. Mr Wu began with PowerPoint presentations of his art and some beautiful and often amusing photographs of his life in Lijing Province, China. We were then shown a demonstration of calligraphy and bamboo painting before being tutored on the basic of the art form. Needless to say the children loved that part the best and produced some interesting work with traditional brushes and what we were warned was only "slightly water-soluble" ink.. Amazingly there were no major spills of ink and apart from a few stained fingers the kids were relatively ink free! Opportunities for our families to experience such Chinese culture first hand are rare and precious. SACAS thank Gerry Groot (Interim Director) and Glen Stafford (Executive Officer) for organising this event and for providing translation services and expert commentary on the night. SACAS also thanks Mr Wu for generously offering to display his talents to our community group and for the kind words he spoke and wrote in calligraphy about our families. This was a very special night for us all.

As you can see from the montage of photographs below everyone had a wonderful time at the 2007 SACAS Daughter's Festival Dance Party. The disco, with music kindly provided by DJ Justin Smale of Supreme Sound, is a fantastic way for our children to gain social skills, meet friends and have a great time. With the vast majority of children adopted from the People’s Republic of China being girls it is natural that the Daughter’s Festival would resonate with many Adoptive Parents. In ancient China parents used the festival to invest in their daughters craft skills and thereby securing her a quality husband. Our task as adoptive parents in modern Australia is just a little more complex. Nevertheless the Daughter’s Festival remains a good opportunity for us to come together as a community. Not only to celebrate Chinese culture but also to explore complex and sensitive issues of gender and adoption. We seek to help our children to come to terms with these issues and hopefully to lead happier lives as a result. With the help of a supportive community and the friendship of their peers, we trust that our children will have every chance of happiness. We also trust that everyone enjoyed the day and that you will all be back again in 2008 for another dancing extravaganza!

Each year the SA Chinese Adoption Community grows just a little bit bigger. And with each year this community incorporates an increasingly diverse range of people. Diversity brings with it great strength in ideas, experience and perspectives. However it also brings the risk of division. It is just so easy for us to focus on our differences. There are so many! Our motivations for adopting; our philosophies on raising children; our approach to Chinese culture; and our opinions of the adoption process. All of these can vary greatly between individual members, and those examples are just the tip of the iceberg! With so many differences it's a wonder that any of us can get along at all. The reason that we can form a supportive community is that on the whole we choose to recognise our differences but to focus on what binds us together. In our case it is that all of us are - or soon will be - families with children adopted from the People's Republic of China. Essentially that is all we have in common - but what a rare and special thing it is to share. SACAS has always held a philosophy of inclusion. We want as many people as possible to feel welcome and supported within our community. The Latin origin of the word community means "with gifts" and we consider that the diversity of our membership is just that - a gift. Every SACAS member was drawn into our community because we share a very special common interest. Every SACAS member has a gift to provide our community. So never waste your time looking for differences. Look for the gift that exists within yourself and others. Because ultimately those gifts are what build and maintain a community.

Once again it was a chilly winter's day in Adelaide when we celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival. However the MV Port Princess again proved to be a great venue for a social event. The company was great and the cruise was a fun way to pass a Sunday afternoon. We even got to see around five of Adelaide's famous Port River Dolphins. Traditional string Dragon Boat Bracelets were provided to all who attended the cruise. These bracelets were originally intended to warn off evil spirits and bring good luck! They were worn until Chinese Valentines Day when they were thrown onto the roof of ones home for the magpies to take away. What do the magpies do with them? Why they built a bridge in the heavens with them of course! What else would they do!!! *laugh* This bridge allowed two celestial lovers to meet each year at the time of Chinese Valentines Day (Daughter's Festival) in August. Just as with our own culture, these old legends remain part of Chinese life today. The belief in the superstitions may have past but they still serve to remind us of the eternal human desires for health, happiness and love. Congratulations also to the Raffle winners who won some fantastic prizes including wine and medical travel kits kindly provided by The Travel Bug. Also don't forget that The Travel Bug offers a special discount to SACAS Members!. Happy Duan-Wu-Jei for 2007!!!

Each year in early April the Chinese celebrate a festival they call "Qing-Ming-Jie". This has been roughly translated into English as the "Clear-Bright-Day". Traditionally it was a time to show respect to one's ancestors, but for the modern Chinese it has evolved into a family focused day of mass picnics. These picnics provide the perfect excuse to pursue another favourite Chinese pass-time. Kite Flying! SACAS celebrated this day with a visit to the World's Largest Kite Festival at Semaphore Beach. For information on the history and cultural significance of the Clear-Bright-Day please read below!

Once upon a time in the Jin Kingdom (770-476BC) an evil Concubine falsely accused Crown Prince Chong'er of plotting rebellion. Forced to flee for his life, Chong'er took to the mountains with his loyal followers including an official named Jie. The mountains were cold and food was scarce. In fact food was so scarce that the Crown Prince was soon close to death. To save Chong'er, Jie cut flesh off his own leg and cooked it for him. Chong'er was so moved by this gesture that he knelt before Jie and with tears in his eyes he asked how he could ever repay him. Jie simply asked that he regain the crown and govern as a just King. However, after finally ascending to the throne, Chong'er began to forget about Jie. Jie was so sad that he left to live in the mountains with his mother. Feeling guilty, Chong'er felt went looking for him but the forest was too dense. So Chong'er ordered that the mountain be set on fire to force Jie out of hiding. Jie and his mother were later found dead under a willow tree. A note written by him in blood said: "I cut off my own flesh to dedicate to you, only to wish my king will always be clear and bright. " Moved by this the King established the "Clear-Bright-Day". He also began the practice of "Hanshi" which is the eating cold food on the day before the festival. This meant that smoke or fire would never be seen again on that special day. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) this early Chinese history combined with a reverence for one's ancestors . People began to mark the day by sweeping tombs. Soon the idea that people should have an excursion into the wilderness also took hold. All of this tradition led to the current practice of having a family picnic in the great outdoors.

The annual Moonta Street Party is always a highlight of the year for members of the Chinese Adoption Community. It is a rare chance to enjoy the full spectacle of Chinese culture on our own door-step. Each year we are surrounded by sights, sounds and smells that are quintessentially Chinese. Drums and lion dances, crafts, music, dancing, martial arts and of course the delicious food. This year many remarked that the drums seemed louder than last year. They certainly startled a number of the children! We were also fortunate to be graced with the presence of at least two different coloured lions. One orange and the other pink. SACAS members and their friends were given traditional lucky red envelopes containing some Chinese confectionary and information on the Year of the Pig. It was great to see a growing number of families from the South Australian Taiwan Adoption Support Group (SATASG) in attendance. There were also smaller representations from other programs such as South Korea, Hong Kong and the various South East Asian countries. For many of us with young children the night cinema was regrettably not on the agenda as our little ones began to fade soon after eating a big lunch of Yum-Cha. However we hope that those of you who stayed for the free films found them enjoyable. SACAS would like to thank the organisers of the event, Chinatown Adelaide of SA Inc, for putting on such a great celebration of Chinese culture for South Australians to enjoy.

On Sunday 18 February 2007, the first day of the Year of the Pig, a group of SACAS members accepted the kind invitation of the Mainland Chinese Association of SA to attend their Spring Festival BBQ. And what a delightful way to start the Chinese New Year. This was the first time our two groups had met and no doubt both groups were slightly apprehensive about what to expect. However it didn't take long for the ice to break and for the chatting to start. Several of our younger children handed red-envelopes to the members of the Mainland Chinese Association of SA. Later all of our children were presented with a gift from the Chinese business community. We then enjoyed a very Chinese BBQ with dumplings and chicken, washed down with coconut juice and soft drinks. It was all very delicious and we send our compliments to the Chef's for the rare treat of some home cooked Chinese food. The feedback from our members was very positive and everyone greatly valued the opportunity. The Mainland Chinese Association of SA was only established in 2005 and is a young and blossoming organisation just like SACAS. It was established to assist the growing number of Chinese migrants to SA. If you would like to know more about them please visit their website at: www.communitywebs.org/MainlandChineseAssociation/ During the event many people spontaneously swapped contact details as it was apparent that we have lots in common and can be of assistance to each other with language and cultural matters. This was very pleasing to see and we sincerely hope that our two groups will have more opportunities to interact during 2007 and beyond. SACAS would like to thank Lily Qiu, President of the Mainland Chinese Association of SA, for her very kind invitation to attend this BBQ and for extending the hand of friendship at this wonderful time of the year.

Thank you to Laura for supplying the following article and photographs of Chinese New Year Activities underway at Panda-Play. Once again this is a great example of how Panda-Play embodies the values and objectives of SACAS. Exploring and celebrating adoption and cultural issues in a fun and accessible way. My 3-year old daughter summed things up very well tonight when she said "Daddy….it's NEARLY Chinese New Year! I'm so excited!". Check out this great story and pictures and you are bound to get excited too!

Panda Play 12/02/07 - "Celebrating Chinese New Year" by Laura on behalf of the Panda-Players!

In preparation for Chinese New Year the children were informed about the significance of the Lion and the Dragon. The children were introduced to songs relating to the Lion and the Dragon. Following the songs the children were involved in two craft activities. One of the activities was a ‘joint collage’ of a Lion’s head in preparation for the Lion Dance and the other was making a dragon puppet that can be used for dramatic play. When the children were informed of the activities they exhibited excitement and were eager to get on with the business of contributing to the metamorphosis of a Lion’s head out of junk material; paper, feathers and glue and the making their Dragon puppet. Even the babes participated in the excitement of activities with their mothers. It was a fun morning for all and the session finished with a practice of the Lion Dance around the room. Many more activities are planned for the festive occasion. Next Monday more new songs will be introduced to the children including making lanterns and good luck charms. The session will end with a performance of a Lion Dance by the children using the Lion’s head that they have helped make and there will also be a surprise gift for each child. In the final week of Chinese New Year the children will be spending the Monday morning February 26^th in China Town enjoying the many wonderful delicacies on offer. Please stay tuned for more photos!!!!!!! - Laura