Hui-Hui's Friend Jackie...

I have always liked Jackie Chan. I originally knew of him through his Hollywood movies like Rush Hour. I found his martial arts skills amazing, and was very impressed by the physical stunts he would perform himself in his films. But other than that I didn't know too much about him.

Then on one of the most amazing days of my family's life, we were touched by the influence of Mr. Chan...

That day was September 18th, 2005: the Chinese Moon Festival, and Kai's "Gotcha-Day"! On that day Tina and I, and our first two sons, Cam and Ben, all drove from Beijing to Baoding where we recieved Hui-Hui into our family. We first met him at the Baoding Social Welfare Institute. While this is a large S.W.I. it's primarily a nursing home for senior citizens. In all it cares for around 70 to 80 orphans. The building where the children lived was showing it's age, and was beginning to be overcrowded.

One of the first things the orphanage directors told us as they gave us a tour of the facility, was how excited they were about a new building for the children which was nearly completed. This new building had been paid for by Jackie Chan. We could tell they were very proud of this, and we were very impressed. It was a large beautiful building.

After we returned home I began to wonder about this gift to the S.W.I. from Jackie Chan. I was curious what his connection to Baoding was. I started trying to Google-search his name and Baoding but didn't really find anything. So then I went to the official Jackie Chan website and I discovered that the beautiful gift of this building was just a small piece of the amazing charitable works of Mr. Chan. I was very impressed by the scope of work his foundation does.

I wanted to thank Mr. Chan for his gift to the S.W.I. Having been able to visit this facility and see the children whose lives will be affected by this gift I felt very moved. These are children who had been Hui-Hui's friends. It is comforting to know that the quality of their lives is being improved.

I looked for a way to email Jackie through his website. In the section for children I found a form children who would like to be profiled on the site could use to tell why they liked Jackie Chan. I filled it out as best I could for Hui-Hui. Here are the questions and the answers I wrote...

What is your name?
 Kai-Hui Ocheltree
 
What is your email address (required)?
 hui_hui@mac.com
 
How old are you?
 2 (I'll be 3 in December)
 
 What country are you from?
 U.S.A (formerly from China)
 
How long have you been a Jackie Chan fan?
 Since my new parents adopted me in Bao Ding last month and found out that Mr. Chan had donated the money for the new building at the orphanage where I used to live.
 
How did you discover Jackie?
 My parents have shown his pictures to me.
 
What is your favorite Jackie Chan movie?
 I am not old enough to watch Mr. Chan's movies yet, but my parents and older brothers really like Rush Hour.
 
Why is this movie your favorite? Talk about your favorite parts.
 Mr. Chan is very funny in this movie, and we like that he helps a child in this movie.
 
What do you like best about Jackie? Be specific!
 Jackie's charity work. Especially the things he has done for children in China.
 
How has Jackie influenced your life or made you a better person?
 The new building, made possible by Mr. Chan, at the Baoding Social Welfare Institute will make life much better for my many friends I left behind in China. 
 
 If you could tell Jackie one important thing about yourself, what would it be?
 My family is very grateful to the people of the Baoding Social Welfare Institute for all they have done for me. Mr. Chan's gift will make it possible for them to serve other children even better.
 
If you could ask Jackie a question, what would you ask him?
How did you find out about our Social Welfare Institute in Baoding, and that we needed a new building for the babies?

The very next day Hui-Hui received this email...

Dear Kai-Hui,

I know that you are only almost-3-years-old and probably can't read this, but maybe your parents can help out with that.

I want to tell you how touched I was to read your story. It is so good to hear that you have been adopted and are now living in the US with your loving parents. We are very happy that your friends can have a better life in Bao Ding after Jackie's contribution.

Today I showed Jackie your photo and told him your story and he was so happy. You made him smile. He wants me to tell your story on our website.

So Kai-Hui, will you ask your parents if we can tell your story on the website at jackiechan.com? We promise not to use your last name or even say what state you are from. But it's such a wonderful story and we want to share it.
Please email me back and let me know what their answer is. We hope it will be "yes."

Love,
Katharine
Webmaster

I was very impressed that we heard back so quickly, and told them that we would be happy to have Hui-Hui on the website. If you would like to see the story they put on the site you can go to www.jackiechan.com and click on "scrapbook", or JUST CLICK HERE.