Frequently Asked Questions

The Mother’s Choice Alumni Family

  • Created in 2023, our Alumni Family is a global community of people connected through Mother’s Choice whether through adoption, foster care, youth services, former staff, volunteers, or supporters. Together, we reconnect, share our stories, and stay connected for life.

    If Mother’s Choice has been part of your journey, join us to:

    • Reconnect with the Alumni family, wherever you are in the world.

    • Share experiences, knowledge, and support with people who understand.

    • Help champion our vision of a brighter future for children.

    No matter where you live in the world, you remain a vital part of the Mother’s Choice family. We can't wait to stay connected with you and help you connect with each other!

  • You’re part of our Alumni Family if you are:

    • An Adoptee: You were adopted from our Child Care Home, foster care programmes, or Mother’s Love

    • An Adoptive Family: You were matched for adoption through Mother’s Choice.

    • A Youth: You spent time in our foster care or pregnant girls programmes.

    • Former Staff & Volunteers: You served on our team or gave your time in any way.

    • A Donor: You generously gave financial support to fuel our work.

    We'd love for you to stay close to your Alumni Family! Sign up here for inspiring Alumni stories, find out about upcoming events, and help us spread our message of hope around the world.

  • Not at all! While we all share a deep love for Hong Kong, our Mother’s Choice Alumni are living all over the globe. As part of our Alumni programme, we’re mapping out where everyone is so we can help you connect locally. Wherever you are, we can't wait to connect with you and welcome you back.

  • If you're living in Hong Kong, here are some special ways to continue supporting our frontline services as a volunteer:

    Vulnerable children need families everywhere. Wherever you live today, we encourage you to look for local ways to strengthen families, or explore how you can open your home through foster care.

  • Our Full Time Volunteer (FTV) programme is built for passionate changemakers aged 18 and above who want to make a real difference.

    Past FTVs have done incredible work:

    • Caring for babies in our Child Care Home alongside early childhood development specialists.

    • Capturing vital stories as videographers on our marketing team.

    • Building connections as impact specialists on our fundraising team.

    Local volunteers commit to 40 hours a week for a minimum of 6 months, while overseas volunteers join us for at least 9 months. If you're planning a career break or a gap year, this is your chance to change life stories for children, youth, and families in Hong Kong. Learn more here.

  • Since 1987, Mother’s Choice has fought hard for children to grow up in safe, loving families. The Government funds less than 30% of our operating budget, which means we rely heavily on private donations to keep our doors open. We simply can't do this without joining hands with YOU.

    • Become a Monthly Donor

    • Organize a Fundraiser (like donating your birthday!)

    • Join our Stride for Hope sports challenge

    • Leave your Legacy

    Want to see more ways to give? Visit our website here.

Creating Connection

  • Join our community to make sure you're on the guest list for upcoming events! In 2026, Mother’s Choice is going global to celebrate you—our incredible Alumni Family. These reunions are about coming together to reconnect with old friends, meet new ones, and honour the shared stories, traditions, and love that tie us all together. Wherever life has taken you, you will always have a place in this community.

    Check out our 2026 Global Family Reunion page for more details.

    2026 Global Family Reunion Dates:

    • San Francisco - Saturday, 15 August

    • Los Angeles - Sunday, 16 August

    • New York City - Saturday, 22 August

    • Montrose - Tuesday, 25 August

    • Sydney - Saturday, 24 October

    • Singapore - Thursday, 19 November

    • Hong Kong - December (Date to be confirmed)

  • Join an Overseas Alumni chapter:
    We’re starting Alumni chapters across the globe in major cities to meet twice a year over festive Chinese holidays. If you’d like to start one or to join an existing one, please reach out to us at alumni@motherschoice.org.

    • Lunar New Year (Jan / Feb): This is a beautiful celebration of family. Gather your friends and family (dressed in red!), send us your photos, and show us how you're keeping these traditions alive!

    • Mid-Autumn Festival (Sep / Oct): Also known as the Moon Festival, this cultural holiday takes place when the moon is brightest. It's all about mooncakes, beautiful lanterns, and moon gazing. Join us by celebrating in your local community!

    In addition to these holidays, rally a team to participate in our Stride for Hope sports challenge! The more you move, the more support you generate for children and young mothers in need. Stay tuned on more details for Stride for Hope 2027.

  • If you're an adult adoptee in Hong Kong, we’d love to connect you with the local Supper Club! It’s a relaxed, informal monthly gathering where you can share life updates and talk about adoption in a safe, welcoming space.

    Living outside of Hong Kong? We can help you champion your own local group. Check out our Supper Club Guide for inspiration on how to start your own adoptee gathering.

Creating Community

Mother’s Choice Adoptees

  • Yes! We love welcoming Mother’s Choice adoptees back to our Child Care Home on Bowen Road. We want you to see firsthand just how loved you were during your time with us. Mother’s Love adoptees are also welcome to visit the Child Care Home!

    If you're planning a trip, please email us at least one month in advance at alumni@motherschoice.org so we can set up your visit.

  • For local adoptees, we host bi-annual Welcome Home gatherings at the Child Care Home. Please note that our home is undergoing renovations until mid-2027. Because of this, our bi-annual gatherings will resume in the second half of 2027. Contact us at alumni@motherschoice.org to stay in the loop.

  • We always do our best to bring staff and volunteers who cared for you or your child to meet adoptees when they return to Hong Kong. Meeting our returning adoptees is always a highlight for our volunteers and staff! Please reach out to us at least one month in advance to schedule your visit, so we can make sure everyone can join.

Welcome Home (Hong Kong)

  • Please visit our Adoption Services page. Our child welfare specialists have put together excellent resources to help adoptees and adoptive families navigate the unique themes, questions, complexities, and joys of the adoption journey.

  • In Hong Kong, searching for your birth history is called "root tracing". These files are kept with the Social Welfare Department’s Adoption Unit (SWD AU).

    • If you are over 18, you can contact the SWD AU directly to begin your search.

    • If you are under 18, you can approach them alongside your adoptive parents.

    Your adoptive parents can also reach out to the SWD AU at any time before you turn 18. Take a look at our initial guidance here or connect with our Adoption Services team for support.

Additional Resources

Mother’s Love Adoptees

  • In 1992, Mother’s Choice went to Nanning, China in response to the infant abandonment crisis. In 1995, Mother’s Choice staff Kit Ying Chan founded “Guangxi-Hong Kong Mother’s Love Orphanage,” the first joint venture between Hong Kong and China. Here, she pioneered a professional model for residential child care services, introducing foster care and specialized care for children with special needs. From 1995 to 2005, 1,500+ young people were adopted from Mother’s Love.

    While the orphanage has since closed its doors, the global community of staff, volunteers, supporters, and adoptive families continues on through Mother’s Choice.

  • In 1987, Kit Ying Chan joined Mother’s Choice as our first local Hong Kong volunteer. In 1992, she joined the team that visited Nanning, China. After her visit, she couldn’t unsee what she witnessed which sparked the beginning of nearly two decades of work with abandoned babies in China. In 1995, Kit Ying Chan founded Mother’s Love and cared for many of you when you were babies.

    You can hear her experience—alongside stories from a Mother’s Love adoptive family—by watching our 2023 Family Reunion video here.

  • In 2019, Mother’s Love founder Kit Ying Chan published a book, Hidden Treasures: A Letter to the Children of Mother's Love, Guangxi, China, about her experiences in China. This book follows her remarkable journey including:

    • the first baby she picked up and nurtured back to health

    • facilitating the first intercountry adoptions in Guangxi

    • founding and leading Mother's Love, a home for abandoned babies

    • modeling best practices and training child care workers in state orphanages across China

    • the final closure of Mother's Love in 2011

About Mother’s Love

  • This is a meaningful step in your adoption journey and should also be an exciting trip to visit your home country! We recommend you start planning for your trip at least 6 months in advance. Some things to consider:

    • Visa Requirements: Check the specific needs of your country or any visa-free policy options.

    • Transportation and Housing: Book your flights in advance! Train tickets within China only open ~2 weeks in advance, so set an alert to arrange these closer to your travel date. You will have plenty of affordable hotel options to choose from, so these can be booked later as you finalize your itinerary.

    • Itinerary: What do you hope to see and do while in China? You might consider visiting adoption-related sites such as the old Mother’s Love orphanage, your finding place or the local police station for DNA testing. If you would like to meet with former Mother’s Love caretakers or search for your birth or foster family, please reach out to us at alumni@motherschoice.org, and we can help you get started.

    • Chinese Holidays: The busiest time to travel in China is over Chinese New Year (late January to February) and Golden Week (October 1-7). We recommend not traveling during these times to avoid the crowds.

    Still have more questions? What’s the food like? Which apps do I need to download? Don’t hesitate to reach out, and we are happy to provide support or recommendations where we can!

  • If you are a Mother’s Love adoptee returning to Nanning, you can find the location of the original site below. While the original building has been rebuilt as the Guangxi Tuiyi Soldier Rehabilitation Centre, the ground remains a special part of your story.

    📍 Address: 48-1 Xiangzhu Boulevard (Xiangzhu Blvd), Qingxiu District, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530002 (near the Guangxi Medical Plant Botanical Garden)

    You are also welcome to visit our Child Care Home in Hong Kong! We would love to host you, so please reach out to us at alumni@motherschoice.org to schedule a visit.

  • Even though Mother’s Love closed its doors in 2005, you are always a treasured part of our global Mother’s Choice family. We can connect you to a vibrant, lifelong network of fellow adoptees and families through international reunions and shared stories.

    Some Mother’s Love adoptees have also volunteered full time at Mother’s Choice to reconnect with their personal history:

    • In 2023, Mother’s Love alumnus and former Full Time Volunteer Xiangxia Van den Ham filmed her journey back to Nanning to find her foster family in the documentary In Search of Mother’s Love. Watch the trailer here.

    • In 2024, fellow alumnus and former Full Time Volunteer Zoe Guttendorf shared her own experience returning to Nanning and reconnecting with her foster family. Read her story here.

  • We always do our best to bring staff, volunteers or fellow adult adoptees to meet any Mother’s Love adoptees who visit Hong Kong and / or Nanning. Please reach out to us at least one month in advance, so we can arrange a meeting with founder Kit Ying Chan in Hong Kong or dinner with Mother’s Love caretakers in Nanning based on availability.

Welcome Home (China)

  • Because Mother’s Love was a joint venture with the Chinese government, all official adoption records (like your birth and adoption certificates) are held within China, not with Mother’s Choice. We recommend starting by contacting the adoption agency your family used during the process. If that doesn't work, you can request these files by contacting the Guangxi Civil Affairs office or the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) in Beijing. For extra support, take a look at the guidance on viewing records provided by ICSA here.

  • Because there are no official government records regarding birth families for Mother’s Love adoptees, Mother’s Choice doesn’t offer official root tracing services for China. Today, the most reliable way to search for birth family is through DNA testing. Please visit our China Birth Parent Search Guide for tips and support on how to start.

  • Many Mother’s Love foster families still live in Nanning, and we're thrilled that more adoptees are finding opportunities to reconnect with them. While we can't guarantee that all foster families can be found, we're here to help you begin this search. Reach out to us directly at alumni@motherschoice.org to get started.

  • You do not have to navigate this path alone. There are dedicated organizations and communities that have compiled resources to support Chinese adoptees in their birth family search journey:

    If your family worked through Holt International, you can also try initiating a birth search through Holt’s post-adoption services department.

Additional Resources