More than childcare, Family-Friendly Spaces shapes lives

Xiaomin turns 11 this year, she first attended Family-Friendly Spaces when she was just 4 years old. In the summer of 2022, she attended a Family-Friendly Space for the 7th time.

Xiaomin grew up in Yunnan, she is one of the “left- behind children” in China; Her parents moved away to work in a factory in Guangdong, leaving Xiaomin and her sister in the care of relatives, only being able to visit them a few times a year.

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In 2016, when a Family-Friendly Space opened in her father’s factory, he made sure to enroll Xiaomin in the summer program, allowing her to live with him and be cared for during the daytime while he was able to work.

When Xiaomin joined the program, she was very shy and did not find it easy to socialize. Over the past 7 years, through being reunited with her parents, socializing with other local & migrant children, and receiving close care and attention from the program teachers, Xiaomin has become a happy, lively and confident girl; Now, often  speaking at the Family-Friendly Spaces ceremonies & events.

Xiaomin has a sister, 10 years older than her.

Family-Friendly Spaces was not established when her sister was growing up, so she was left in their hometown throughout the year while her parents worked, only seeing them a few times throughout the year.

Their Dad told us “Xiaomin’s older sister would skip going to school and would not study, so she dropped down a grade in primary school. I feel really guilty for not being around to support her.”

When Xiaomin would go back to Yunnan, she was unhappy and missed spending time with her dad and the friends she made at Family-Friendly Spaces facility.

With the Hukou social system in China, as they are not local residents, her dad was not able to enroll Xiaomin and her sister at the local school near his factory.

In 2019, the Best Top Factory owner successfully campaigned for 20 spaces to be made available to the children of migrant workers at the local school. They immediately applied for a spot and now Xiaomin lives with them full time.

Best Top Factory also runs our After School Center program, providing all-year- round childcare services for workers.

Reuniting families, helping children grow

Xiaomin’s story is just one example of how Family-Friendly Spaces is much more than just a summer program, it reunites families and helps to shape children’s lives.

We look forward to welcoming Xiaomin back to FFS in 2023 and we congratulate Best Top Factory for their successful program adoption and leadership!

This story was was taken from the 2022 Family-Friendly Spaces impact report. You can read here.

Contact info@ethicalsupplychain.org to learn more about the program and how you can get involved.

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