MCF's founder on why she started the charity that changes lives

All images courtesy of MCF

Helen Boyle simply wanted to give back to China for taking care of her child – she ended up founding an organisation that has now helped thousands of others

The Migrant Children's Foundation (MCF) is a social enterprise that started in 2008. They work with disadvantaged children and their schools around Beijing. Currently, they support twelve such schools, providing eye check-ups, health check-ups, Secret Santas during Christmas, school outings and more. 

We sat down with MCF founder Helen Boyle, also occasionally known as nainai (grandma), to learn more about the foundation she had unintentionally started that has now helped thousands of migrant children across Beijing.

How did MCF come to be?

It started during the Beijing Olympics. My daughter had been in China prior to this both working and studying. I came to visit her often and one day I told my husband that it would be nice to come and spend one year in China just to see her and China itself. 

My background in the UK was in education, spanning some 20 years in lecturing. So when I came to Beijing, I was curious to see what education was like in China. And that was when I came across my first migrant school where I knew I wanted to make a difference. Here, I saw that there were opportunities to utilise my experience and my knowledge.

I learned about a number of schools and approached one of the schools' headmasters and asked him in what way I might help his school and children. Soon, I had other schools asking for support.

After approximately nine months, there were about 60 to 70 volunteers who wanted to give their time and help. I had no intention of starting this foundation. I just wanted to give something in return for the help my daughter had received from her local friends and community while she was in China. I saw a demand in terms of these children needing help and from people who wanted to help but didn't know how. So this is how it started.

MCF performing at the Hilton Hotel.

By the end of the nine months, my college in the UK contacted me, wanting me to return. Instead of going back, I decided not to return but to continue to do volunteer work with the schools and children in Beijing. All that the volunteers and I have achieved to date has been purely voluntary, with the costs being met by patrons. The following year, I went back to the UK and registered MCF as a UK-registered organisation.

I always visited schools to make sure they were genuine, and I made sure to visit each one on a regular basis.  Up to now, MCF has provided over four thousand free health check-ups and four hundred children with glasses. Every week, we send out over 70 volunteers to teach over 450 kids in schools in different parts of Beijing.

How exactly do you help these schools?

I started organising health and eye check-ups. During the days when I was going to the schools myself to teach, I came across students who didn't want to stand up and answer questions or complete activities at the board. One day, one of the children told her that the reason they didn't want to write on the board was because they couldn't see well; their eyesight wasn't very clear. So this is how we started doing eyesight checks and providing glasses. 

One thing led to another. First, it was eyesight check-ups, then we began health check-ups. These health check-ups were carried out, and still are, at the Global Care Hospital in Shuangjing. It was the first time the hospital had so many migrant families around, and the first time many of those families actually visited. 

Tao Song, Fan Fan and Pang Jia Yu

Of the first 100 children who underwent check-ups, there was one who had a problem. The child was a nine-year-old boy named Tao Song who had a heart problem. The hospital wanted to do more tests, which upset Tao Song. He did not want to go for more tests; he didn't want to do anything. So I suggested to the mother, 'let's bring him back, and when he's ready, we'll do more tests'. We arranged for a re-visit six months later and he came back for a further examination. Everyone had always thought that he was a lazy boy at school because he was always tired, was always sitting at the back of the classroom and didn't want to get involved in any of the activities. Unbeknownst to anyone, the tests the hospital carried out showed he had three holes in his heart!

Tao Song started getting treated in 2013.

However, Global Care did not have the facilities to rectify this problem. So I took Tao Song to another hospital (Beijing United) and I reached out to my contact there. After I explained the situation, I said 'I don't have the money to follow this up but can you help?'

After some tests, Beijing United Hospital confirmed that there were indeed three holes in his heart and he needed an operation immediately. So, Beijing United Foundation sponsored the operation.

The operation went well, but it was discovered that Tao Song had other issues with his heart and that he needed open heart surgery. Once again, Beijing United Foundation sponsored the operation and follow-up treatment. Because of the initial health check-ups, the amazing response by the Beijing United Foundation and hospital staff, Tao Song is now leading a life that any normal 16-year-old would enjoy. 

The story of Fan Fan is one that is ongoing and reflects how MCF has made a difference to someone that was unable to live a normal life.

I first met Fan Fan at one of the schools MCF was supporting. He was five years old. His mother told me that he was incapable of carrying out the simplest of actions. The doctors had advised her there was little that could be done.

Fan Fan goes for a check-up.

I felt this was a situation that could be changed with the help of professionals. Once again, I contacted Beijing United, who used their medical services to help the young boy. They provided him with speech therapy, aqua therapy and physiotherapy. This happened when Fan Fan was only five and could not do anything at all. These treatments enabled him to not only physically, but also mentally, undertake tasks that would have been impossible for him to achieve before. He began to walk, swim and sound out a number of simple words.

From this, I made contact with a charity called Hope – Horses Offering People Enrichment. Fan Fan responded to the horse lessons with an alacrity that was both inspiring and endearing. The trainers not only gave their time to provide riding lessons but also continued (and still continue) to help develop his sensory abilities.

Fan Fan riding before receiving his horseriding certificate.

There is also the story of Peng Changyu. Initially seen by Beijing United Hospital for what was thought to be deafness, it transpired that the young boy was also losing his sight as well. The operation was financed by MCF and was performed by Dr Yang to correct his hearing in the left ear in 2017. This was followed by rehabilitation that Dr Yang provided to develop his hearing capabilities. Unfortunately, the issue of his failing eyesight is yet to be resolved.

What inspired you to give back to the community?

There were different reasons. One was, as a mother, I believe in developing and supporting children in effective and practical ways. The parents of the children at these schools work hard so that their children will have a better life and more opportunities than they themselves had access to. I hope that through my efforts and those of MCF, these aspirations will become a reality.

I also believe that, as parents, we have a duty to teach our children what's right and what's wrong, and the best way to do that is through example.

Helen Boyle and her daughter.

Finally, I believe that we no longer live in a society where we just have to care for immediate family. My daughter, from her late teens, travelled in foreign countries and relied on the good nature of strangers to provide safety and friendship.

How can you help?

Come and volunteer! Here are some positions MCF are looking for:

1. Event coordinator – we would like to invite a volunteer to help organise fundraising events to make MCF sustainable.

2. Teachers – for anyone who has the necessary skills and commitment to join MCF's team of teaching volunteers.

3. Writers – to help produce articles, blogs or newsletters.

4. Translators – to properly translate Chinese text to English and vice versa.

MCF, like all volunteer organisations, is first and foremost the sum of all of its parts. One of these parts, as one will understand from some of the stories mentioned above, is the part played by the generosity of both individuals and groups who believe in the value of the organisation's work. MCF is nothing without its volunteers who give according to their capacity.

Learn more by visiting their official website (mcfchina.org) or their Facebook page (@migrantchildrensfoundation). You can also add them on WeChat (ID: Migrant_Children).

For other ways to volunteer your time in Beijing, hit 'Read more' below. 

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