The exchange of sponsor letters was beyond successful. Less than half of the children here have sponsors so to avoid jealousy and/or pain we held the sponsorship presentations privately and in small circles. The children, young and old, are elated. It is a joy that I may not have been fully prepared for. The lights on their faces have been so bright. Their shoulders have pulled back and their chests puffed out. They have been seen. Noticed. They have found themselves in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They are the treasure. Priceless.
It blesses me and it scares me. I want more than anything for every one of these precious children to have sponsors. Of course the financial support that is provided by the sponsors is a great aid in providing for food, school fees and covering the costs of keeping up the buildings that they live in, including rental and maintenance fees – but to the children I can see that what matters most is that they get to make friends and share letters and photos. This makes them so joyful and I don’t want their joy to be broken. And yet I have no control.
If every child here were to become fully sponsored – these kids would be in a far better position than they are today. Their crops could be expanded, their chicken project could be greatly expanded and their peanut butter production could triple. Every child here is learning a skill, being framed for production and every child here understands the fruits of labor. They really work! And best of all, they are being taught to give 10% of what they receive to help other orphans in the area – even if that 10% is incredibly difficult to part with.
Separate from sponsorships we have two immediate goals:
1. To purchase 55 heavy warm winter blankets before June. Their winter season is setting in and they typically remain very cold at night and most of them struggle with constant colds and flu. The blankets are too heavy to travel with so we must purchase them here. They are $30 each. We need to raise $1,700 for blankets asap so that they may be purchased before winter sets in.
2. The orphanages have the space and capacity for a commercial broiler chicken project. They can produce 1,000 chickens every 7 weeks with the right equipment. The first part of that project is a water tank for a cost of $7,000. The entire project is $30,000 but after one year it can begin to turn a handsome profit to help improve and repair structures, expand one of the orphanages and cover rentals. The goal is to contract with the government to provide chickens to prisons and other government entities. (btw – they are already producing chickens on a smaller scale at approx 100).
We are praying for partners to help raise these funds. Will you consider partnering with us? Stay tuned for more info.
