Compassion Net International, the organization founded by Centennial Hills resident Mary Willette in 2002, took a huge step in its work with hearing impaired children in China this year when it opened the New Hope Recovery Center on April 16 near Fuzhou, the capital city of the Fujian province.

The new school offers an auditory oral language acquisition program for children ages 3 to 7. The residential program is designed not only to provide its students with access to hearing aids, testing, care and education that they might not be exposed to otherwise, but it also helps students transition into a traditional elementary school environment.