March/April 2005
Update
If I can stop one
Heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching,
or cool one Pain,
Or help one fainting Robin
into his Nest again,
I shall not live in Vain.
--Emily Dickinson
Our March Madness fundraiser has just completed as I write this newsletter. It has been a lot of fun receiving e-mails about a pink flamingo toilet seat. I
think the number of
people who
wanted to win is just about equal to the number of people who
definitely don't want to win. The hope was that we would be able
to raise enough money to purchase the land where the the
latrines need to be built. We are over halfway there, raising
approximately
$1300, but still have a ways to
go. If you would still like to help us create sanitary conditions
for the 700 children at the Galilee Primary School and Waddington High
School just mark your
donation for latrines. We want to thank everyone that helped
us with March Madness, and thank all of those that have donated.
We know that the children will benefit from our little bit of fun!And now, the drum roll please.....The proud winner (I think) of the pink flamingo toilet seat is Morrie in Kansas!!!! We hope he will find a proud place for this wonderful piece of art work in his home. :-)
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China
We were very excited
to be invited to Colorado Springs in early
March. A group of families who have adopted from China get
together once every 3 months. In March they held a blanket drive
and donated the blankets to Angel Covers. We were absolutely
surprised at the amazing success of their blanket drive, and were
thrilled to think of all the children who will be kept warm.
Over 350 blankets were collected or made. 50 of these blankets
have been sent to Guatemala and the rest are on their way to
China. We want to publicly say thank you to this wonderful group
of families for all of their hard work! Additionally, in February we sent $1200 to Love Without Boundaries to purchase blankets in China. Through this partnership $10 can buy 5 blankets. This means that 650 kids will be a little warmer now! Thank you to everyone who has supported this program.
If you haven't already heard, we have a new set of CCAA Pictures. These could a be great addition to your child's lifebook. Since we announced these in early March, the response has been phenomenal. Donations we receive for these pictures are used to purchase baby bouncers. It is great to think about the number of babies who can be out of cribs in China. Through Project Tigger we have purchased over 2000 bouncers and will continue to provide these to orphanages in China that need them.
We are also thrilled by the numbers of parent groups from various orphanages who are working to raise funds and purchase new cribs. Parents from the Gutian orphanage are the latest to start raising funds. If you can help us get cribs for the babies in Gutian please mark your donation "Gutian".
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Kenya
There has been so much happening in Kenya. We were able to get beds and basic supplies for
Angel
Cottage, the painting and other details have been completed. The
children have been
extremely happy to have a home where they are understood and well cared
for. Humble Hearts also continues to grow. Two new students
have arrived and nine more are expected to start with the new
term. We have been able to purchase books, desks and
blackboards for the school and uniforms for the children.
The chicken project is being completed, which will generate food and
income in
the near future. We are also exploring the possibility of a 
second
income generating project. We have sponsors for several of the
children, but many are still available for sponsorship.
Sponsoring a child will make a tremendous difference in their
lives. Because of the changes that have been made possible
through
these sponsorships, the director writes: "The performance of the children
in class work was very good this term, all the parents/guardians have
really appreciated, one parent said he never believed his child would
make it in class until now, it really encouraged. Seeing the children
improve in which ever way is an inspiration to me, thankyou for helping
out..."
Please consider sponsoring
a child. For $20 a month, you can make
a tremendous difference in the life of a child! Thank you to
those who already have sponsored one of these great kids!As the school continues to grow, retaining the teachers becomes more important than ever. As I
explained last
month the directors and
teachers have been strictly volunteers. We are happy to report
that 5 of the 7 teachers at Humble Hearts are now sponsored!
Thank you to those who have sponsored a teacher. For
$15 a month you can also sponsor a teacher and make a difference not
only for the teacher, but in the lives of all the children that teacher
impacts. Please contact us
if you would like to sponsor one of these two volunteer teachers.So much is being accomplished at Galilee Primary School. Many desks, books, and other needed supplies have been purchased. This is making a huge difference in the childrens' scores. We still have a long way to go. There are still classrooms that don't have enough desks, and are not even close to having enough books. The teachers are hoping we can eventually get 1 book for every 2 students. For some classes a set of textbooks can be purchased for around $20. If you would like to help, just mark your donation 'Galilee Textbooks' or 'Galilee Desks'.
We have one student
at the high school who needs a sponsor. Her name is
Sylvia. Sylvia is 14 years old and lives with her sister.
Her mother died in 1997 shortly after her father died. She would
like to become a police woman in the future. If you can help by
sponsoring Sylvia for $12.50 a month she will be able to complete her
high school education. Please contact us if you can help.We are still looking for sponsors for teachers at the high school.
For $15 a
month you can sponsor a teacher.
This
will help keep quality teachers and
maintain a top level of education for children who would not otherwise
have a secondary education. If you would like to sponsor a teacher
please contact us. We
hope to have a teacher sponsorship webpage up soon.**********
What's New
The squeaky sandals are here!! Get ready for summer with a new pair of sandals. In addition to receiving our sandals, we also have some new styles of squeaky shoes. Make sure you take a look at our new shoes while you are shopping for sandals and save shipping costs on multiple pairs.
It has been a while since we have launched a new product,
but we are
really excited about our Angels! These
angels look great as a
table decoration or on a shelf. They can also be used as a
treetopper. Wouldn't your Christmas tree look wonderful with a
Chinese or Russian angel on top this year? We currently have 4
different angels to choose from. Don't forget that Mother's Day
is on May 8th. These angels would make a great gift for
mom! Order early, as you need to allow up to 10 days for the
angel to be made and shipped.Another great way to honor mom on her special day is with a gift card. Give the gift of education, nutrition, warmth or medical help. With our create-a-card option you can combine any of the other gift cards to make a larger gift, or create your own gift card for any of our programs.
We have been very excited to be working with F.I.R.E (Flagstaff International Relief Effort) on projects in Mongolia. We are working with them to help fill shipping containers which will be sent to Mongolia for distribution later this year. We want to thank everyone who has donated items to FIRE. One person sent hundreds of childrens sweatshirts and sweatpants. We have also sent many boxes of clothes and blankets. We are very excited to be helping make a difference in Mongolia.
You may have noticed on our website links to Red Thread Connections' Journey To Me website
. If
your are adopting and looking for a travel journal please take a look
at what they have to offer. Red Thread Connection wants to not
only offer a fabulous way to share your adoption journey with friends
and family, but links back to Angel Covers. They hope to help
make
a difference for those left behind.**********
Child of the Month
OK, this month we actually have three children to tell you about. Since we didn't get a newsletter out last month we hope you had the opportunity to see 5 year old Rocio from Guatemala. The good news is she has been matched with a family!
Our first two
children this month come from Liberia. The sister and brother are
9 and 6 years old. Their mother has passed away, and their father
is unable to care for them. They both attend school and it is
reported that they like to sing and
dance. The children are small for their age but are reported as
healthy and normal. To learn more about adoption from Liberia or
how to make this beautiful sibling pair a part of your family contact
Sherry at Angel's Haven Outreach
at (661) 259-2943 or by e-mail sherry@angels-haven.com.
Our
third child this month is from Asia. This adorable little boy is
2 years old. He has corneal eye disease and cataracts in both
eyes. He has a wonderful
smile and giggles when he is happy. This wondeful young man loves music
and outdoors. To learn more about him or to learn how he can be a part
of your family, contact Maury with Families Through International Adoption at (888)
797-9900 or by e-mail
mreising@ftia.org.**********
Sincerely,Some days it seems as though we
don't make much progress in changing children's lives. Other days
it seems like so much is happening our heads just spin around in
amazement. We know that step by step and focusing on one child at
a time we can make a huge difference. We have
seen it in the lives of the children who are sponsored and in larger
programs which help more than one child. Thanks
for being with us to help make life better for each child who we have
an opportunity to get to know. Your efforts and
support is definitely not in vain. It IS making a difference!
Kari
co-founder Angel Covers
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