An Angel Cottage Update

Since posting 2 weeks ago about the desperate need for more Angel Cottage funding, donations have been coming in steadily. In such hard economic times, the outpouring of support for this project is wonderful to see. Approximately $1,100 has been received and numerous names have been added to the list for bricks. Beatrice tells me she will be able to start making bricks at the end of this month. I can't wait to see names on the walls!

Many of you have not only made a donation,but have also passed the word along to family and friends about this great need. One example is of a couple who decided to look through their checkbook and make a donation equal to their largest Christmas present, and challenged their friends to do the same. Because of this great idea, hundreds of dollars was raised for Angel Cottage.

Just this week, Beatrice send me another story highlighting this great need. I'm going to post the story of Peter below. Feel free to pass this story on to anyone you know. We need less than $26,000 to complete this project. I know this seems like a lot of money, but just a month ago more than $40,000 was needed. Every single dollar makes a huge difference in the lives of these children. I'm so grateful to each and every one of you who has supporting Angel Cottage and the children who live there. They have a bright future because of your support.

"Peter walked in at Humble Hearts (HH) just at about 4pm when everyone was preparing to go home. He was in the company of a lady aged about 58 who introduced herself as a social worker. She then narrated on how she had met the lone Didi on the streets of Nairobi three and half years ago and took him to a government rehabilitation center where she works. Many of this government run centers are in pathetic situation and corruption is the order of the day.

The Center works hand in hand with police who bring them children that are lost or runaways some of the children end up being united to their parents but also most of them don't. The high rates of street children has lead to the home being over crowded all the hearing children in the center of 250 are taken to a school near the center except for Didi who could not cope in the hearing school due to his disability.

For the three and half years Didi has always been left in the center helping with the delaying chaos, longing for a day when he too will be able to go to school like other children.

Peter Didi became his nickname since those who found him and live with him don't know any sign language and neither does his.

The social worker was told about HH by a friend and she promised herself that she was not going to take NO for an answer, she said all the children living in the center came out to escort Didi to his new school and would be very sad if he was turned away.

No words could convince the two that AC was already full, they were willing for Didi to sleep in the class but attend school as the center could not afford his daily fares to school and back to the center.

Didi who we suspect could be about 15 years is now leaving at AC we have found him a mattress, blanket and sheets and he is now sleeping on the floor.

Didi looks very happy to be among other deaf children and really wants to learn sign language."

Momentum

Throughout 2008 you heard us talking over and over about the need to build Angel Cottage. This is a huge project that feels like it's been around forever. Dozens of deaf children are waiting for this new home so they can not only attend school, but learn a language, be valued, and see a life completely different than they one they currently living.

2008 was hard for all of us. Overall Angel Covers donations and sales were down by 34%....about the same amount we have all lost in our 401K's and other accounts. People are struggling to pay for food, gas, and other necessities. Fund-raising for Angel Cottage stalled and the construction almost completely stopped.

But then December 2008 came around and so many people donated saying they believe the true meaning of the holiday season was to give to those who have even less than they do. More than $12, 500 came in for Angel Cottage in December. Dozens of individuals and businesses purchased their holiday cards through us and our greeting cards were given as numerous gifts. Because of these purchases, another $2,250 was raised for Angel Cottage.

As I have been opening more and more donations for this extraordinary project, the word that keeps going through my head is momentum. We have been given a huge gift in the past couple of weeks. Currently less than 1/3 of the total cost of Angel Cottage is needed. Dozens of names have been added to the list of bricks to be made. To those of you who have supported this project, you have my sincere thanks and appreciation.

Please helps us keep up this great momentum. Spread the world to everyone you know. Every single dollar makes a huge difference in this project. Gas prices are down, the holidays are over....please consider making a donation to this project. Help us get Angel Cottage built! If all of the funds were raised today, Angel Cottage could be completed in 2 months. Wouldn't it be amazing to think of 55 deaf children moving into this beautiful new home before school starts in May???!!!!

The waiting list of deaf children currently been locked away at home, not allowed to attend school, unable to communicate with their family or peers, is long. Please send this to anyone you know and help us change their lives from one of complete isolation to one of laughter, love, and fun as soon as possible.

http://www.angelcovers.org/angelcottage.html

My Christmas Wish

I came home from work a few days before Christmas to discover the ginger bread houses the kids had worked on that day. The boys decided to make their own style of home instead of being confined to the directions on the box. This is the result of their labors. We have probably the most unique gingerbread house there is.

Their house reminded me so much of Angel Cottage in Nairobi. It is a home that is incomplete. It has no roof. It cannot be lived in yet. Angel Cottage has been on my mind a lot recently and the need for completion was hammered home by an e-mail from Beatrice. Trying to be such a wonderful steward of money that has been donated, she has been purchasing items needed for construction as money comes in and at the best prices available. She was able to get a wonderful deal on some bags of cement that will be needed for the slab that will be the roof. The bags of cement are being stored. Her e-mail brought to our attention that if we store these for too much longer they will become unusable, as moisture will inevitably cause them to harden. It is very difficult to find a dry place to store these with the rainy seasons, and climate in that area. The thought of going backwards on this project was really devastating. We just can't go backwards.

Angel Cottage to me is an example of all that Angel Covers works towards. Yes, it will be a home for orphans and deaf children, but it is more than that. Right now there are deaf children that are being turned away because there isn't enough room in the current Angel Cottage. That means they also aren't in school at Humble Hearts because it is too far and too dangerous for them to walk on a daily basis. What it really means is they aren't in school at all, because there aren't other deaf schools that children from the slums of Nairobi can attend due to the costs. Instead they remain at home. They don't know sign language. Their families don't know sign language. They have no way to communicate to the world around them. Their families incomes are so small, that they most likely don't eat on a regular basis. In many cases they may be abused, as the families don't know how to communicate with them and get frustrated with these children they consider an embarrassment. This is not the way children are meant to grow up.

Angel Cottage would change all of that. It would mean a place to live where they are understood. A chance to learn how to communicate with the world around them. A chance to receive an education. A chance to have three meals a day, and a chance to be cared for medically with things that could normally not be afforded. It is the holistic program for children that Angel Covers strives to help create. But it has been slow. The poor economy here has not helped. My Christmas wish is that Angel Cottage will be completed in the first six months of 2009.

My jaw fell open two days before Christmas when I received news of a donation for Angel Cottage. It was a wonderful donation from a very kind individual that will allow the slab for the roof to be completed. Not going backwards on the project, but forward! It took me from feeling somewhat defeated to being excited and energized about it again.

I need your help. Spread the word. Donate a couple of dollars if you can. Make it your New Years resolution to help see this project completed.

Christmas day was wonderful. I enjoyed time with Kari and the kids. We gave each other wonderful things, but those items just don't fill the voids in life that we know about. This is my, not so secret anymore, Christmas wish! What is yours?

Maria's Bouncers

In June, Angel Covers was asked to accept donations for baby bouncers in honor of Maria Chapman's life. The outpouring of support for this important project was overwhelming, and recently 186 bouncers were sent to Hope Foster Home in honor of Maria. These bouncers will be used in Shaohannah’s Hope Healing Home to care for medically fragile infants.

Through such a terrible tragedy, babies will have the equipment they need to develop into healthy, active children. A huge THANK YOU goes to everyone who helped keep Maria's memory alive through the precious children of SHHH.

The babies of Huaibei

How appropriate that we received the Huaibei nutrition update at Thanksgiving time! As I sat down to a huge meal with family and friends on Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help thinking about the beautiful faces of children who have enough food because of all of you. The children of Huaibei are happy and healthy because of your support. These children are smiling more, crying less, and sick less often because they are getting hundreds of cans of additional formula and rice cereal.

Given the recent concerns about Melamine in Chinese formula, we were so relieved to learn that none of the children in Huaibei developed kidney stones. Angel Covers only purchases Nestle’s formula, which has not been shown to have elevated Melamine levels. We are so thankful that the children of Huaibei have remained safe and healthy through this terrible scare.

Additional baby bouncers were also recently sent to Huaibei. Although this isn't part of the nutrition program, the bouncers will allow the babies to be out of their cribs more often and develop fine and gross motor skills. Because there are fewer infants in Huaibei right now, the children will be able to use them even more often.

Another 11 cases of Nestles Neslac formula were purchased for the next 3 months. Combine with other formula, rice cereal, and table foods the children of Huaibei will continue to be happy and healthy. Just look at their faces! You have created these chubby cheeks and for that I will be forever thankful!

Beatrice goes home.

After a whirl-wind trip across the United States, Beatrice Anunda headed back to Kenya today. Beatrice was thrilled to have been brought to the US by the Trillium School in Oregan. Very supportive of Humble Hearts, the Trillium School has sent two groups of high school kids to Humble Hearts with their teachers to help build desks, paint walls, plant a garden, and many other things.

While in Oregon, Beatrice learned new teaching methods from the Trillium School, was able to see the ocean, and met many wonderful supporters. We were fortunate that she also had time to come to Denver. While here she spoke at a school for the deaf, met with two non-profit organizations interested in helping deaf and impoverished children, had an online chat with sponsors, meet many sponsors in person, learned about Halloween, and many other things. She was also able to see snow for the first time and went to the top of the Continental Divide...exclaiming "I've never been so cold in my life!" :-)

After leaving Denver, Beatrice had the great fortune of going to Pennsylvania for a week to visit the Scranton School of the Deaf. It was exciting to hear her be so enthusiastic about what she had learned. Seeing New York City was a huge hit too.

Thanks to everyone who talked to her through the online chat, took the time to meet her, have her in your homes, and show her this beautiful country of ours. She had a wonderful time, much was learned, and many new people learned how they too can help Humble Hearts.

A day with the giraffes

While in Kenya I had the opportunity to visit the Giraffe Center with Beatrice, her daughter Ashley, Jane and her son Niall. What fun it was to feed the giraffes and learn about these magnificent animals.

While were were there, Jane and Beatrice were able to talk to those in charge of arranging trips for under privileged children. The Giraffe Center agreed to allow 23 children and 2 teachers from Humble Hearts to visit the center for free including transportation and lunch! Additionally, the center has agreed to take children from Humble Hearts to the see the giraffes until all of the children have had this wonderful opportunity.

The first group of children, all deaf, visited the Giraffe Center last week and what a wonderful time they had. Feeding the giraffes and learning about how they live and what they eat was a wonderful opportunity. We don't know yet when the next group will go, but when we do, I'll be sure to post pictures. I hope all of the children enjoy this experience as much as the rest of us did.