MH is a volunteer organization dedicated to the sick and handicapped children by providing activities. MH was founded in 2003. Volunteers arrange clowns to perform, teachers to teach English and art and origami in Beijing Ertong Hospital and Beijing Women and Children Hospital every week. The founder and core members of MH are mainly expats living in Beijing . Gunda is one of them.

She is fascinated by the smiles of Asian people

Gunda, coming from Germany , did statistical work for the German government with a steady income before. Everything changed after a trip with her husband during her pregnancy. Their trip covered most Asian counties: China , India , Japan , Thailand , Singapore and so on. And Gunda went to Beijing for the very first time. She recalled with smile "I like Asia so much, I love the people here and their smiles. Their smiles are so beautiful and pure, which attracts me. You know in Germany , no matter where you go, people are so serious in speech and manner. Even the taxi drivers wear serious faces, looking at you cautiously and carefully. German people are too stingy with their smiles. Gunda gave birth to her child soon after this Asian trip. And the German couple also made an important decision---to live in Asia . Her husband started to seek jobs in Asia . Many companies gave them offers, but they chose Beijing .

Making the decision after reading the paper

Gunda and her family live in Shunyi mainly because the international school her children attend is located there. Her husband works for a German company and she has a part-time job, working as financial manager for a foundation. Gunda has some free time on her hands as she works only half a day. Gunda happened to read an introduction to MH in the China Daily with a contact number. She was interested and called for information. The person answering the phone was Claudia, the founder of MH. She is also from Germany . "I will leave for Paris tomorrow. If you are interested, please come over now. Otherwise-" Claudia said. Gunda went to Claudia's place right after she hung up the phone. Claudia arranged a hospital tour for her to experience how MH works.

An unforgettable day in the hospital

It was a day Gunda will never forget. The head nurse brought them to one of the children's wards. The ward was large consisting of several small rooms. There were 6-8 beds in each room. Most of the patients were under 10 year old. Sickness deprived them of their carefree smiles. Some of them were having intravenous drips, lying on the bed helplessly; some are wearing big masks; some had bandages on their heads. Gunda felt upset for the children and asked the clown to perform. The clown performed in the open space among the beds. Children capable of walking around sat in a circle to watch the performance. The clown turned the handkerchief into a walking stick, a single colour handkerchief into a multi-coloured handkerchief and made various animals with balloons. During the performance, there were a few interactive activities. Children were very active and fought to answer the questions and cooperate with the clown. One of the children even asked the clown to teach him to do magic. The ward soon was full of laughter and the atmosphere was no longer depressing. Gunda put some English words on balloons and taught the children some English. The children were so motivated that they learnt words easily. When they left, the children were unwilling to let them go. A 5-year-old boy followed them, saying “Thank you, uncle and auntie. Don't leave us!” Gunda was so moved by the children's genuine passion. She decided to carry on with the activities of MH.

Love the children, No reason to leave Beijing

Gunda and other members in MH not only organize clown performances in the hospitals. Along with The International School of Beijing, they organized the first Swimming-Game-Picnic Day in 2003 for Children living at the Children's Village, a foster home for children whose parents or caregivers are imprisoned. They also participated in a joint event in July 2004 with the American Education and Health Foundation and the Beijing United Family Hospital to hold clown performance in Jiaozuo orphanage in Henan . MH collected clothes/toys/DVDs for distribution to several orphanages around Beijing and Hebei province, funded and installed four DVD players in the leukaemia, kidney dialysis and nephrology wards and donated children's movies, books and toys. Funding for MH mainly comes from the personal savings of the members or the donation bottles placed in business throughout the city. Small change quickly adds up. Gunda has been working for MH around two years. She sends her children to school in the morning, and then goes to work. The afternoon is her time. Normally she does something for MH during this period of time. In the late afternoon she picks up the children from school and helps them do homework and play games. At night, after sending the children to bed, she meets friends or other members of MH. Gunda said she would like to live in Beijing until 2008. She loves everything about Beijing . “I cannot find any reason not to love Beijing ---there are delicious dishes, lovely people and beautiful Hutongs. I am willing to staying here for a long time.”