by Katharine Schroeder

If you're like many people, you might wonder what ever happens to some of the orphans you've seen perform at Jackie's concerts. Recently we heard a happy story from the parents of one little girl who performed in Harbin, China in June and we wanted to share it with you.

Although it appeared that their family was complete, Carolyn and Gary Neal of Kentucky, USA had a nagging feeling that though they already had a beautiful family comprised of biological children and two little girls they'd adopted, there was another daughter waiting for them in China. So rather than push that feeling aside, they contacted A Helping Hand adoption agency in Lexington, Kentucky and went in for a meeting. While looking through a web page of children waiting to be adopted, they saw a photo of a little girl named SongSong. They knew immediately that they'd found their daughter, and with the aid of A Helping Hand they began the application process. (All international adoptions are processed through the China Center for Adoption Affairs, and although it is a stable, ethical, and predictable agency,adoption is still a time-consuming, complicated process.) Finally, they were given the necessary approvals and on July 10th, Carolyn arrived at the Harbin Children's Home in northern China. After signing some papers, she walked out of the orphanage holding the hand of a smiling little girl, now named Tasia. Mother and daughter were together at last. Tasia's old life as an orphan had ended and her new life as a member of a loving family had begun.

Carolyn's husband Gary couldn't be in China for the adoption because he was traveling for his job, so mother and daughter had some time to themselves. They spent a week in Harbin getting to know each other and then headed for Guangzhou to get Tasia's visa to travel to the United States. After they'd obtained the visa, they visited the orphanage where the Neals had adopted one of their other daughters, bringing along toys and snacks for the children. Soon they made the long trip to the US and were met at the airport by family and friends. Tasia had her first look at her new family. When her dad picked her up, she leaned back, looked into his face for a few seconds, and smiled. Tasia was home.

Tasia (center) with her new sisters, Breanna, age 6 (left) and Candace, age 5 (right).

Tasia (wearing blue dress) with her new family.

Tasia has a deformity of her right hand which will require surgery and physical therapy. Here she is in the family's swimming pool. 

Tasia is rapidly learning English. She loves to sing and teaches Chinese songs to her family.

Tasia, September 2006.

Once the family settled in, Carolyn thought back to her time in Harbin and remembered that she'd seen a photo of Tasia at a charity concert that had taken place a few weeks before the adoption. (This was the Jackie Chan and Friends Charity Concert which took place in June, 2006.) After searching the Internet, she came across a photo of the event, but it was not the same photo that she'd seen in China. So she sent a note to the webmaster at JackieChan.com asking for some help in obtaining any photos of her new daughter. The family didn't have much information about Tasia's life in China and were looking for the photo to add to a memory book. When we received the email here in Hong Kong, we were very touched by the story of Tasia's adoption and asked Carolyn to provide some more details so we could share with you.

Tasia onstage with Jackie at the Jackie Chan and Friends Charity Concert in Harbin, June 2006. (Tasia is on Jackie's right.)

A sad little face looks at Jackie as he holds the portrait of his mother given to him by the orphans.

Tasia onstage.

Thank you to the Neal family for sharing their story.

Photos ©2006 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

Family photos provided by the Neal family.

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