Kenya, from Jacob's perspective

My 13 yr. old son is with me in Kenya on this trip. here's a blog from his perspective.


During my time in Kenya so far, lots has happened. We first went to the textbook store, to purchase all the textbooks that Humble Hearts needs. There were three big boxes of textbooks to give to the school. We then went to the school (Humble Hearts) and got to work right away. We unloaded all six suitcases that had been brought with us, and distributed: toothbrushes and toothpaste, pencils, pens, waterbottles, and vitamins to the children.

It was amazing to see how excited a child can get over a pencil, in the US, we look at a pencil as a object of no signifigance, and shrug when someone offers one to us. Yet in Kenya, the kids faces light up with the brightest smile when they recieve one.

At Humble Hearts, a man is painting a mural on the wall, it is a very nice painting, of the alphabet and most of the sign languare alphabet (not all leters are there), and two dolphins swimming in a circle. Along with painting the wall, he also painted the new playground equipment. The playground equipment is very simple, all metal swings, a slide, and a see saw (which in my opinion, is built better than some cars).

Today we went to the market downtown, where everyone has there things laid out on a blanket on the ground. there are no set prices for things, so you barter for the thing you want. The person selling the item, usually tells you the price is double or more than what it should be, So when i wanted to buy this colorful hippo, they told me it was 500 shillings (about $5).
i said i would pay 250 shillings, and after a minute or two, they let me have it for 250 shillings. The problem was, i did my math wrong, and thought they gave me 50 shillings extra in change, yet they shorted me 50 shillings, so I really paid 300 shillings. :(

Even though I have not been here very long, i am really glad I am here to help out.

Jacob

Kenya and Humble Hearts

It's been WAY TOO LONG since anyone at Angel Covers has posted a blog. Fortunately, what that means is that we've been crazy busy with so many wonderful things going on. We were thrilled to find out that we made it to the top 10 of the Gildan competition, The Mama's Wish girls have started back to school (we have 10 high school girls who need sponsors if you're interested), a new website is being built, we have a new Nutrition Director, and our Executive Director (that's me) and Humble Hearts Sponsorship coordinator (Ida) are in Kenya. While that sounds like a lot, I know I've missed listing many things.

Having arrived in Kenya the night of October 22, we have been extremely busy getting reacquainted with everyone at the school. We are starting to cross things off our to-do list, and Ida is quickly learning how the school runs on a daily basis. Yesterday we spent time buying more than $1,000 worth of text books and Bibles to support the curriculum. We were thrilled to learn that currently, every primary student has a set of textbooks all his/her own and the secondary students have one set for every 2 students. These statistics are a rarity for Kenya, where frequently there are only enough books for every 4 or 5 students to have a set. We've put Jacob (my 13 yr. old son who also came) to work making sure all of the new books have the Humble Hearts' stamp and a book number in case they are lost.

We learned yesterday that there is a severe bed shortage. Many of the older primary and secondary students are sharing a bed, as are quite a few of the boys. Unfortunately, we also learned that the price of new, steel, beds like we had made last year has drastically gone up. Three-teerd bunk beds like those purchase last year have gone up from approximately $150 to $250 as the cost of steel has sky rocketed. We will be exploring options this weekend and hope to at least help this problem. I know I wouldn't want my children sleeping on the cold concrete with a very thin mattress as many of these kids are doing.

Much of today (Friday) was spent with approximately 15 students creating beautiful art work for the upcoming holiday cards. They have created amazing pictures of birds, animals, flowers, and holiday scenes. Soon you will find these pictures on our website so stay tuned!

We have a very busy week ahead of us, so stay tuned. I will do my best to post an update every day.

Kari Fillmore
Executive Director

Gildan, a clothing company many of you may know, is running a FaceBook campaign called, “I Support”. They are looking for people to nominate their favorite, most worthy non-profits. The top ten will be considered for prize money. As you all would agree I’m sure, Angel Covers is worthy and could really use the money for our current programs. We are currently in 9th position and have to remain in the top ten to be considered for any of the prize money. The key is that nominations count far more than "votes". Please get all your FaceBook friends to do the same by the end of August.

All you need to do is go to this link: https://www.facebook.com/genuinegildan?sk=app_10531514314 click on “nominate your charity” and nominate Angel Covers. Below are a couple of sentences you can cut and paste to make it even easier. Or create the nomination in your own words! It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes.

Thanks for your support.

Angel Covers is a volunteer run organization dedicated to caring for orphaned and destitute children around the world. We believe that each and every child deserves access to quality medical care, education, nutrition, and housing. We are proud that since the founding of the organization at least 97% of our donations have directly benefited the children and programs with which we work.

Real Hunger

Real hunger is an experience I have never had. I can only try to imagine the hopelessness of needing to feed my family with nothing left at home while drought and poverty block all attempts to get more food. For miles, as far as can be seen, there is little relief. Prices for simple items such as beans and maize sky rocket beyond reach. Desperate neighbors steal from meager gardens. Schools close because even the government hasn’t the means to conjure lunch food where there is none.

This is a picture of much of Kenya today. Even Humble Hearts School, having planned ahead by trying to develop self-sustaining farm projects, is facing the challenge of caring for the children amidst these complicated problems. Beatrice writes:

Can you believe that maize has gone up to 6,000 shillings a sack?! Many schools and homes are finding it very difficult to feed children. There are schools even thinking of closing until they can get enough food. I visited the farm where we had grown maize and had thrown in a few beans. We were able to harvest four sacks which will last us two weeks, though we had to rush to harvest them since people were stealing them from the farm. There is so much hunger in Kenya right now; we were among the few people who planted early so our beans were ready before the others. The maize will be ready in September -we are hoping to harvest at least 50 bags. We intend to sell half to support the farming and feed half to the children. It will be a great relief when we can harvest the maize from the farm.

Each week, Angel Cottage and Humble Hearts School must reevaluate and ration their resources in order to feed the children who are in their care. The teachers and families helping are always willing to labor tirelessly in order to harvest and prepare whatever can be gathered to feed the children. I am humbled and amazed by their persistence and dedication! We need more help, however, over and above the financial commitment our wonderful sponsors continue to send. The children for whom we care and guide toward a better future -need food. It’s that simple. They are hungry and need nourishment to survive, let alone grow and thrive. Please help. A monthly donation commitment or a one-time offering for this purpose can do so much toward making sure Humble Hearts will not have to tuck hungry children into bed at night, or God forbid, close its doors. Across this globe, there is provision for people in need. Please consider extending a portion of your abundance to meet a portion of their great need. Thank you!

Ida McManis

Humble Hearts School Sponsorship Coordinator

http://angelcovers.org/donation.html

Ways to help and not spend anything!

So often people think they are not able to support an organization unless they are able to write a check. While checks are always nice there are so many, equally as important ways you can help children around the world. Several have materialized in just the last 2 weeks. Please take a moment to consider changing the lives of children around the world with just a few minutes of your time.

Great Nonprofits is having a campaign asking for the public to review non-profits they love. The Children’s and Families Campaign will recognize any non-profit having 10 or more positive reviews by April 30. That’s where all of you come in. We need your help to get as many reviews as possible about Angel Covers and the work we do. Just follow the link and type Angel Covers into the non-profit finder at the top.

Ever heard of Gildan sportswear? I bet you have a t-shirt made by them in your closet. I know I do. They are having a contest and the top 5 non-profits with the most votes by June 30 will win $10,000 or more. Amazing! You may vote every day and if you'd write a story about your experience with Angel Covers, your vote counts even more. Please consider bookmarking the link to the Gildan contest and vote every day.

Recently two elementary school held book drivers for the wonderful children of the Humble Hearts School. More than 2,000 books were collected and will be sent on a shipping container to the school along with numerous other supplies. Would you consider holding a book or school supply drive for the children of Humble Hearts? We can provide you with planning information and fliers, which you can tailor for your specific school. What a great way to help children around the world and teach others about serving others.

These are just a few of the many ways to make a difference in the lives of children around the world without spending your hard-earned money or having to find any more time in your day. Your votes, your reviews, and your organizational skills will provide invaluable support for so many children. Please take a few minutes to check out the links above. Your support is priceless.

Kari

A Success Story!

Three years ago Angel Covers was asked to support Juilus Fenta and his dream to become a nurse practitioner. Since graduating from High School graduation in 1998, Julius had been dreaming of being able to provide medical care to his village of 15,000. With no medical professional in the area, villagers have to walk more than an hour for any kind of medical care.

We were thrilled when three generous women stepped up and agreed to sponsor Julius throughout nursing school. They have stuck with him, supporting him and joining him in his successes. In January, we learned that Julius was done with all of his schooling and internships and was able to register as a nurse practitioner. Upon returning to his village, he began researching how to best support his village with this newly gained skills.

Julius' sponsors have recently agreed to provide the start up costs for a new clinic! Because of the generosity of these amazing women, 15,000 people in the village will no longer have to walk for an hour or more to receive basic medical care. Women having complications giving birth, will have immediate medical care for themselves and their new babies. Sick children will not go untreated because help is now just down the road.

Julius is a perfect example of why Angel Covers began. Every person has the potential to do great things. We all need support and someone who believes in us. Julius has amazing sponsors who have believed in him for 3 years and their faith in him has changed an entire village.

If you'd like to help with start up costs for Julius' clinic, or support another child in our of our programs, please contact us anytime. Julius is proof that numerous lives can be changed by just a few.

Forever grateful,

Kari

Giving and Giving with little effort!

Valentine’s Day is almost here!

Wouldn’t it be great to tell someone you love them AND help us provide support orphans in China at the same time? We’ve teamed up with Causes for a very special Valentine’s Day opportunity. If you buy flowers/chocolates/your Valentine’s gift through our cause, our nonprofit gets $10 for every purchase! The flowers and gifts are the same price to you but you can feel great about the fact that your gift is also going to support projects like our nutrition program in Huaibei, Anhui, China. More than 40 orphans receive extra formula each month because of the Angel Covers nutrition program. Your Valentine will love your gift and the gift to the children!

It’s really simple – just use this link to buy your Valentine’s Day gift and $10 will automatically be donated to us:


http://www.causes.com/valentines/16135?ref=com16135

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Angel Covers