Our Story

At the age of 19 David Gotts gave up his job as a junior banker in England, donned his back pack, and travelled to China with a fairly ambiguous aim – to help those in need. He wasn’t sure how this would work out but knew that if he went in search of those needing help, he would find them. And he did. A visit to an orphanage with a friend enabled him to see first hand the conditions in which many babies and children lived. As he walked through the orphanage it became clear that many were in desperate need. It took a very personal experience on the second day to make him realise this was real, not like watching a TV show.

David questioned God – ‘Is this the way it should be? Who will come and make a difference?’ God challenged him. ‘David, I’ve shown this to you. You can make a difference.’

Many of us would have simply been disturbed and frustrated, but David chose to do something about what he’d seen. He had no skills or training but chose to make a difference, in his own small way, to the lives of these children. In 1993 David established International China Concern (ICC). His vision - to establish and model great care for the disabled and abandoned. ICC began with teams of volunteers that traveled to China for a few weeks to simply love and care for those in need.

David was amazed at the speed at which others ’caught the vision’. Offers of help came from across the world. He remembers with pride how a group of Australian’s offered their time free of charge to renovate the first children’s home.

ICC went on to establish two joint venture care centres in Hunan Province and established training programmes for Chinese social welfare employees across the nation. An agreement between Hunan Provincial government and ICC has opened the door to train hundreds to care for and rehabilitate children with disabilities.

In China, there is a move to work in partnership with organisations such as ICC to improve the conditions in which the abandoned live. Permission was granted in 2004 to develop community based residential care or group homes. ICC plans to establish many more in the future, and will also offer support services to families with special needs children and young adults.