On a Mission for Homeless ChildrenI had a loveless childhood. I didnt have loving parents. I didnt know how to care about others and I didnt even really know what love was. I always complained, thinking everyone owed me something, and I blamed life for not giving me what other children had. Not until I came to the Guangai Family did I truly discover love, thanks to my teachers and classmates. The teachers patience guided me out of the shadows of hatred, and now I see life as a rising sun and no longer give myself up as hopeless.”The above is an extract from an essay by Yu Deshui, a 19-year-old student in the Guangai Family (Family of Sunshine and Love), which is a boarding school for homeless children.Yu has polio and has been unable to walk since infancy. He was brought up by his ailing grandmother, who passed away when he was 13 years old, and afterwards by his father and stepmother, the latter of whom abused him. “Thirteen was the beginning of loneliness and misery,” says Yu. In 2006, unable to bear his stepmothers maltreatment any longer, Yu crawled away from home.After two years of wandering, in 2008 Yu ended up at the Guangai Family. “Out on the streets, I felt there was no meaning to my life. I was waiting for deaths release.”Yu Deshui is one of the many children who have been given a second lease of life by the Guangai Family. The organization was established by Shi Qinghua in 2004 to provide shelter for 103 homeless and disabled children. Since then, it has expanded to provide schooling and a family environment for its children, in addition to shelter. More than 300 children have graduated from the school and entered society as happy, educated and productive citizens.The Guangai Family has not only taken good care of Yu, but also bolstered his confidence, getting him engaged in the world and ridding him of despair. These days, Yu takes to life head-on. In addition to playing computer games, he enjoys writing, and the Guangai Family submitted some of his essays for a book on love and gratefulness. Yu is learning computer skills, and the school plans to put him in charge of computer maintenance. Shi says that running his big family has been hard, but seeing people like Yu get the most out of life makes his work extremely worthwhile.Reciprocal LoveShi recalls the bitter event from his past that led him to set up the school for homeless children.He used to work in foreign trade, and his wife ran a garment shop. The couple and their son led a happy life in Anhui Province. In 1997 a fire left his wife and son with major burns and Shi himself with serious injuries. To get better treatment, Shi took his family to Beijing, but they soon ran out of money. Shi and his family were forced to beg for food on the streets of the capital.On seeing their severely burnt faces, no passersby were willing to approach them, let alone respond to their pleas for food and funds. Just as the situation seemed hopeless, some homeless children who were also living rough shared their food with the Shis. Shi and his family forged a lasting emotional bond with the homeless children.Fortunately, Shi and his family got help from Yan Mingfu, then president of the China Charity Federation in 1999. Yan helped Shi in calling for public donations and media attention to the plight of the Shi family. Shi was also greatly influenced by Yan Mingfus wisdom and benevolence. Yans father Yan Baohang was a senior advisor to General Chang Hsueh-liang and adopted homeless children during wartime. His philanthropy inspired Shi Qinghua to do something for destitute children once his health improved.With help from charity organizations and numerous compassionate people, Shi and his family got the treatment and the surgeries they needed. Shi later started a retail business and settled down. “As society had shown me warmth, I decided to continue the spirit of selfless love shown to me,” Shi said. He began to take in homeless children, and his adopted family soon swelled to over 100 members.Education Is a Permanent solutionAt first, Shi just intended to offer a safe environment to street children. He housed them, cooked for them and made sure they had adequate clothing. But he gradually found that many of the children were deeply entrenched in their wandering lifestyles, and for them, old habits died hard. They lacked discipline, were illhumored, fought every day and even picked pockets. Some were friendless and suffered from serious psychological problems.In Shi Qinghuas opinion, though charity organizations provide adequate financial aid to these teenage children, they neglect to raise their spirits or teach professional skills through which they can forge independent lives.Following the maxim that “homeless children must receive an education,” Shi Qinghua established the Guangai Family, a nonprofit and non-governmental free boarding school for homeless children, many of them disabled.“I had never b