The Work Of Half The Sky

Like thousands of parents who adopt children from China every year Jenny Bowen left the country haunted -- thinking about all the young girls left behind in the overcrowded orphanages. With help from like-minded adoptive parents, Bowen formed Half the Sky Foundation. Named after the Chinese adage, "Women hold up half the sky," the Berkeley- based group of volunteers now numbers in the thousands nationwide. They have built three preschools in China, designed to provide nurturing skills. The preschools combine contemporary Chinese curriculum with the Reggio Emilia method of instruction, an Italian format that focuses on active learning, individual attention and physical play. Each child's development is documented carefully with writing samples, video journals and photographs. The results go in a "memory book" -- creating a personal history for a child who otherwise might not have one.

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