Team CARO

Tian Kisch (left photo) was adopted from Guangzhou, China, when she was eight months old. Her first visit back to China was in 2004, where she had the opportunity to meet her foster mother and visit her orphanage. Tian was inspired by the selflessness and dedication of the people who worked in the orphanages, and she knew she would someday give back to the people who had cared for Chinese adoptees like her. She co-organized and particpated ina volunteer trip to Beijing and Xian for Chinese adopted teens in 2009. While on this trip, Tian volunteered in several orphanages that touched her heart, and felt a strong desire to give back to these orphanages upon her return to the U.S. The mission of Kids Without Borders fits perfectly with Tan's hopes for orphanages and foster homes in China. Tian has served on the board of directors of Families with Children from China since 2007, and is currently a junior in high school.

Lanfen Kaplan (right photo) is an adoptee from Wuxi, China. Lanfen, currently a high school senior, came to America as a lost 6 years old. For Lanfen, the transition to her life in the U.S. was not easy. She struggled for many years to figure out where and how she belonged and what she could do to reconnect with her Chinese heritage. In 2006, she went back to China with her mother. For Lanfen, it was one of the most compelling experiences in her life. She quotes, "I have begun to forgive my past and make new memories." After meeting with her orphanage director, she decided it would not be the last time she would come back. One of the orphanages, Xuanhua Village tugged her heart strings, making her feel she understood the children because she was one of them. After hearing of Kids Without Borders, she decided there was an opportunity for her to start a "pay-it-forward" for children in her same situation.