About three years ago, 6-year-old Min-sang (name made up for safety reasons) had no warning when his mother was suddenly taken from him. He hasn't seen or heard from her since. Like so many other North Korean refugees, Min-sang's mother was captured by the Chinese police and forced back to her homeland under the harshest possible conditions in North Korea as an illegal economic immigrant. As the boy stares at a faded picture of himself as a baby by his mother's side, he can only wonder if he will ever see her again.
Min-sang is one of tens of thousands of children born to North Korean refugee mothers who suffered the harsh fate of being sold by traffickers to Chinese farmers after the dangerous border crossing from their native North Korea. Min-sang's Chinese father, like so many other Chinese farmers who "buy" North Korean refugee women for around 750 US dollars from traffickers, shows little parental responsibility after the mother is sent back to North Korea. Only the boy's grandfather has shown Min-sang compassion, but his age and poor living conditions are not suitable to meet the needs of a growing boy (image).
Min-sang is one of over 15 children who have been selected by Helping Hands Korea (HHK) in the last six months to be cared for in secret orphanages in China near the North Korean border. With the vital help of the Danish European Mission and other interested Christians around the world, these children are beginning to receive the attention and sustained Christian care needed to slowly replace the sense of deep disappointment and loss that has shaken their early years. We at HHK and our wonderful partners in China sincerely thank you for your generosity and ask you to keep these precious children in your regular prayers!
