2013

Yearly Archives

  • Girls Home expansion fully funded, work on next phase already underway; thank you!

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Girls who were once orphans trapped in child labor, now free, safe and full of hope at our India Girls Home.

    This summer we had announced that, due to increased enrollment at our Girls Home, we needed to expand our facilities and improve security. Slowly but surely over the course of the last few months, funds were provided and just last week we met our goal of $43,500. The girls received it as quite a Christmas present and are very thankful for your support.

  • Uncooperative landlord leaves Uganda orphanage in urgent need of new home

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Girls at our orphan home find joy in the loving environment that’s given them a new hope.

    Recent developments at our Uganda orphanage home have left our faithful native directors in a bind. They’ve adopted several children as their own, providing what little space they have in their tiny rental home. These children all have their own amazing stories of survival in the midst of the AIDS crisis, most of their parents falling victim to the disease and left without much hope for survival.

  • Myanmar rice harvest yields 33 tons to feed 100 orphans, staff for a year; excess to be sold

    by Comments are off

    Photo: One of the orphans plays in the rice straw from our recent harvest.

    We’re very pleased to report that the second harvest at our Myanmar rice farm was a huge success. The crop yielded approximately three tons of rice per acre at the 12 acre farm, or approximately 30,000 KGs. We’re extremely overjoyed with the result. It’s a vast increase over last year’s harvest thanks to improved efficiency, higher quality fertilization and better irrigation techniques employed by our native team.

  • Sustainable approach allows for the rescue and rehabilitation of orphans in Nepal

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Girls rescued from child labor and malnourishment are now safe and thriving at our orphanage home in Kathmandu.

    This year in Nepal, thanks to your support, we’ve been able to rescue 3 more orphans from child labor, bringing our enrollment up to 23 children. Orphan children in Nepal are some of the most at-risk children on the planet, with the human trafficking crisis striking deep into the heart of this nation that is considered the poorest in all of Asia. Over 30% of Nepalese live on less than $12 per month.

  • Philippines typhoon relief effort takes a depth and distance approach vs. broad and brief

    by Comments are off

    Photo: A widow being cared for by our native team is happy to receive fresh groceries and clean water as she recovers from Typhoon Haiyan.

    Our native team is coordinating local relief efforts in response to one of history’s most powerful storms ever recorded. The storm made a direct hit across Cebu Island, where several of our programs are based, including our main campus. Rather than take a broad approach, we’ve instead opted to care for 21 families and 16 widows severely affected by the storm, so we can more effectively ensure a long-term beneficial use of relief funds.

  • Uganda rural school experiences much success, and… a visit from the President!

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Children at our main Uganda campus were among those gathered for a very special presidential visit.

    Our Uganda campus, located in a remote part of southeastern Uganda, experienced a very rare and special visit. The President of Uganda and his entourage landed their helicopter in front of our campus, local leaders gathered to greet him, and our high school choir presented him with a set of cultural songs and choreography. Our native staff, teachers and the students were all elated by the honor of his visit, an experience they will never forget.

  • Nepal: Farmland produces bumper crop of vegetables, keeping fresh food on orphans’ tables

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Orphans rescued from child labor and extreme poverty, now happy and enjoying daily fresh-cooked meals made from organic ingredients grown on our own farmland.

    In Nepal our native team is equipped with a farmland consisting of a goat house and terraced fields where they grow various vegetables, potatoes and herbs. The most recent crop they’ve experimented with is corn. Their recent 1000 lb. (450 kg) harvest of corn will not only feed the children but also the goats at the goat house, further improving the profitability of the operation. The farmland yields a consistent delivery of fresh, organic vegetables and herbs used in the cooking at our orphanage and human trafficking rehabilitation home.

  • Philippines team among first responders in devastating aftermath of Super-Typhoon Haiyan

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Children on the island of Cebu who are among the estimated 500,000 now homeless.

    Thanks to a steel-reinforced rebuild of our Philippines main campus two years ago after a similar cyclone nearly destroyed our entire facility, our native team remained safe and dry during one of the strongest storms in recorded history. This allowed for our team to be among the first responders to the heartbreaking devastation the storm left in its path. Our team is headquartered on the island of Cebu, one of the most severely affected islands in the path of the storm.

  • Philippines: at-risk mothers and their children empowered by crafts business program

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Thanks to your support, his mother earns a good income through our crafts business program, ensuring his proper nutrition and a brighter future.

    Now in the third year of our craft-making business empowerment program in the Philippines, we continue to see great progress and success among the women enrolled. We originally trained 25 widows and single mothers in various weaving skills. Of the original group, 19 have remained in the program and are seeing significant income generation, and a handful of new trainees are quickly seeing success as well.

  • Myanmar: A story of sustainability leading to smiles through education!

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Boys at one of our Myanmar orphan homes are happy to receive new school supplies purchased with profits from our farmland enterprise!

    In Myanmar, our farmland enterprise efforts are empowering orphans who have come from child labor situations. Recent profits from our rice farm and piggery ventures provided the orphans with new school supplies and umbrellas for the rainy season. It’s this model of sustainability in action that makes our programs more than just a rescue operation.

  • Survivors for Survivors: Human trafficking survivors’ seamstress program puts clothes on orphans

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Human trafficking survivors at our rehabilitation home have learned how to make clothes for our orphans! The shirt she’s wearing is one of the items they’ve learned to make.

    Creating a cycle of hope. The young women of our human trafficking rehabilitation home, mostly teenage girls, are being equipped with many skills, one of which is seamstress work. It occurred to our Nepal director one day as he was preparing to buy new clothes for the orphans that the girls should spend some of their class time trying to make the clothes.

  • India: Scholarship program protects orphan girls from potentially deadly arranged child marriages

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Once trapped in lives of child labor with little hope, now rescued, safe and thriving at our India Girls Home.

    Problem: Almost 50% of arranged marriages in India involve girls under the age of 18. Motivated by extreme cultural pressures, relatives of our Indian orphan girls try to claim legal rights to withdraw the girls from the orphanage as early as age 12 or 13 so they can arrange for their marriages.

  • India girls home expansion to unexpectedly benefit at-risk widows

    by Comments are off

    Photo: These orphan girls recently rescued from child labor situations are now safe, and well on their way to recovery at our India girls home.

    For nearly 20 years now, our India orphan care program has been rescuing orphan girls from human trafficking and child labor situations, rehabilitating them in a safe environment provided by a loving staff, and restoring their future to a bright path ahead with a solid education. In response to increasing reports of abductions and missing girls, we launched a recent campaign to find orphan girls in child labor or bonded servitude situations.

  • Kathmandu, Nepal: Slum outreach program off to strong start with 45 children enrolled

    by Comments are off

    Photo: With your support, we’re helping children of this slum colony overcome extreme poverty in a way that’s sustainable and empowering.

    In a slum settlement positioned on a flood-prone riverbank in Kathmandu, Nepal, there is now great hope for 45 children. These children would never have had such hope before. It’s the hope of a better life—of a life with much less risk of human trafficking or child labor. Our program, modeled after our "Children’s Hope Center" in Hyderabad, India, is offering children of this colony nutritional support and the supplies and fees they need to enroll in local schools.

  • Nepal human trafficking rehabilitation home benefits from upgraded classrooms

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Rescued from human trafficking, she’s now safe at our rehabilitation home where she’s learning how to make clothes and crafts to gain financial independence.

    Thanks to recent donations along with profits from our native-led farmland enterprise in Nepal, we were able to double the amount of sewing machines in our seamstress classroom up to 12. We were also able to finally outfit the crafts and knitting classroom with desks and benches. These major improvements will greatly aid in the learning process as the girls work through the courses.

  • Uganda medical center expanded to include pharmacy, 10-bed clinic

    by Comments are off

    Photo: These children were among the hundreds who came for a free checkup at our newly expanded medical center.

    Thanks to a local government grant along with profits from our farmland enterprise, your donations were doubled to allow for the construction of an expanded medical clinic on our Uganda campus. Land we purchased last year was used for the expansion. The facility now includes several examination rooms, offices, pharmacy stock room, and a 10-bed outpatient clinic.

  • Uganda primary school presses on with success in spite of difficult circumstances

    by Comments are off

    Photo: Boys at our primary school enjoy a good education and nutritious meals made from ingredients at our nearby farmland.

    At our primary school in rural southeastern Uganda near the Kenya border, every school day over 200 children gather. It’s the only school easily accessible in the area. Here they receive nutritious meals and the loving instruction and care from our dedicated teaching staff. However, we are overwhelmed with the numbers of children, each class having about 35-40 in attendance.