Angel Covers:April 2006

Indeed every individual can improve this world, and working together we can accomplish even more. It is always exciting to see even little differences being made, to hear the things people want to improve, and see the caring others bring to helping the children who most desparately need someone in their lives. According to the State of the Worlds Children 2006 report by Unicef, there are 143 million children living in developing nations. 1 out of 13 of these children are orphans. Some have homes with extended family, others live in orphanages or homes that have been established to help orphans. Others simply live on the streets and fend for themselves. These are the children we so wish to touch. These are the children we want make a difference for today, and provide hope for tomorrow.

Hearing aid update...

Last month I reported to you that we were working on getting hearing aids for a young man in Xuzhou China. We are happy to report that Xiao Tian now has hearing aids. His first words were "too loud". Xiao Tian says he can hear loud noises like car horns. He can hear some of peoples conversations. The hearing aids are really helping him to understand others through sound, lip reading, and gestures. This is the wonderful letter he wrote:

Ni hao!My name is Xu Xiao Tian. When I first saw the hearing aids you sent to me, I am really excited, happy and moved, I am so thankful that you sent me the hearing aids. I want to see you very much, I really hope someday I can go to America to meet you. I think I can go to US to meet you, I like you! I asked God to give me the hearing aids. I want to say: Thank you, A Yi, I miss you, I love you all! Thank all of you!!
May you happy and healthy!

I want to thank Jeff, for all of his help in finding the right hearing aids for Xiao Tian and for helping negotiate a reduced fee for the hearing aids. This couldn't have been done without him.

More bouncing babies...

Bouncy seats continue to be sent to orphanages in China. We recently received photos of the 150 bouncy seats that were sent to the foster care program in Guizhou. These bouncers will be great for the families taking care of special needs children. The foster care program has also reported that the developmental toy sets have all finally arrived and been put together. They are currently being distributed to families. The bouncers will be extremely helpful in providing stimulation to the babies in this foster care program. The devlopmental toy sets will provide the foster families with the tools they need to work with the children. With this work we should see more of the children passing the development tests allowing them to stay in foster care longer and eventually be placed for adoption.

Blankets...

It has been so wonderful to have the blanket program continue to thrive. Between the sales of blankets and gift cards donating blankets, we have been able to send so many blankets recently. Gift card purchases have enabled us to provide 230 blankets to the Guiyang Children's Hope Foster Care program through Love Without Boundaries as well as other locations in China. Others have carried blankets on their trips. Recently we were also able to send blankets to a boys home in Zambia. It is great to see this program continue to expand to new areas and know that children are being kept warm. Thanks for helping us keep the kids warm!

Physical Therapy...

As Barb traveled from orphanage to orphange last fall, one thing that was constant was the lack of physical stimulation for the children. This was especially true in homes where children have cerebral palsy and physical stimulation is needed even more. All children need physical touch and stimulation and for the children with cerebral palsy physical therapy is extremely important. We have been working with the orphanages to make this happen for the children. The first step was the purchase of massage tables for a couple of the orphanages. This is allowing the children to be out of the cribs and receive the touch and beneficial muscular therapy they so desparately need. Our hope is to continue to develop these physical therapy programs and help the orphanages see the potential in these beautiful children.

What others are doing...

We continue to have more and more people contacting us and volunteering to do so many wonderful things for the children. In February, I told you about Alex who was running a half-marathon in Edinburgh. We are happy to report that Alex and his friend both completed the half-marathon. If running that far wasn't enough, they have continued to hold events to reach their goals for raising money to purchase mosquito nets for children at Angel Cottage and Holly House. Thanks for all the hard work we know that the kids will appreciate the nets.

From Amsterdam, Bernie runs an organization called Kuddlies 4 Kids. Bernie recently sent stuffed animals to the children at Angel Cottage and Holly House. Beatrice reported to us how excited the children were to receive the stuffed animals. Bernie has recently received many more stuffed animals, and will be sending one to every child at Humble Hearts. Thanks Bernie for your continued work and efforts!

An eighth grade class in Hawaii held a car wash to raise funds for new classrooms at Humble Hearts. The class raised over $1000. It was used to help build two new classrooms that were desperately needed for the primary students. We learned just this past week, that the teacher of this class collapsed earlier this month and passed away. Our deepest sympathies go out to this class of wonderful kids who lost the teacher who motivated them to make such a difference. We also want to thank each of them for what they have accomplished for other students.

Miles is a Boy Scout working on his Eagle Scout project. He organized donation drives and has sent us all kinds of wonderful things. His drive brought in blankets to keep the children warm, vitamins both children and infant to help with nutrition, toys and other items for stimulation and learning. It is just amazing. We were absolutely thrilled to receive five huge boxes with all of the items Miles collected. Thanks for the hard work Miles, and congratulations on completing your Eagle Scout project! Many of these items are already on their way to China, and Ukraine.

After the loss of a student at Humble Hearts two months ago, the sponsors of other students have worked to begin a medical fund with the goal of providing a basic medical and dental checkup for all students and hearing tests for students who are deaf. This past month the first group of students was taken for medical and dental checkups. Some students were found to have problems that can be treated with medication. One young man was diagnosed with a heart problem. The medications needed will be purchased and more extensive testing will be done on the young man with the heart condition. The dental checkups have found that several of the children have cavaties. Physical checkups are not a normal part of these children's lives, and yet the results of the checkups show how needed they are. Thank you to the Humble Heart sponsors for starting this process. Helping the other children is such a wonderful way to remember Sandra! The next group of students should be having their checkups soon. The entire cost of the medical and dental exam is $15. If you would like to help provide these checkups and make sure all of these great children receive treatment for conditions from ringworms to heart problems your support would be appreciated. Imagine an entire medical and dental checkup for less than what most of us would spend for copays or deductibles at our own doctors. You can change a life for $15!

Work continues at Galilee Primary School to purchase the land and buildings to eliminate the monthly rent payments. This past month many of the sponsors worked very hard to raise funds to purchase the second of four plots of land where new classrooms have been built. The sponsors raised two thirds of the money needed for the purchase and Angel Covers finished the purchase from our general funds. We are so excited to see the school owning more of their resources. It will make sponsorship dollars go even farther in impacting the school. Imagine the difference in your personal budget no rent or mortgage payment would make. This is truly a permanent way to make a difference! We will continue to work towards program self-sufficiency for all of the programs that Angel Covers supports.

We also continue to work towards a home that is owned and not rented like the two current Holly House facilities. Just as owning land where the classrooms are built makes sponsorship dollars go even further, the same is true for owning the buildings for orphanages. This month we received extremely generous donations, which will allow us to begin construction soon. The land was previously purchased, and now there are enough funds to build this desparately needed home. We can't wait to see children moving in! Thank you to the wonderful donors who have made this home a reality!

Hungry Children...

FACTOID: According to the World Food Programme, drought resulting from consecutive seasons of failed rains has affected some 3.5 million people in 25 districts in Kenya, including 500,000 school children who require food assistance.

In our last newsletter I quoted the statistic that there are approximately 155 million children in this world that are malnourished. The question remains though... what can we do? With the migration of bird flu reaching some nations in Africa, there is a fear of purchasing chickens to eat. The market for chickens being raised in the programs we help support have cut the income of schools and orphanages in half. To make matters worse, the drought that currently has a hold on Kenya has caused food prices to double. This makes it even more difficult for the schools to sustain their lunch programs and insure children are fed, and expanding these programs to feed even more children has come to a near halt. There are still many children in these schools who don't receive lunch, and with increased food costs their chances of receiving a meal at home is also reduced. It only takes $6 a month to make sure a child has lunch to eat at school. We can't feed all 155 million, but we don't have to wait to make an improvement. Set up a quarterly donation of $18 today and make a difference in providing nourishment for one child in this world. It might mean skipping a trip to Starbucks each month, but how easy is it to trade one cup of coffee a month so a child has lunch each day?

Did you know...

It is estimated that 8 out of 10 children in the world who have been orphaned live in sub-Saharan Africa. While Asia has a greater number of orphans, the majority of AIDS orphans are in Africa. Over 6000 children are orphaned each day in Africa due to the AIDS pandemic. And did you know that statistically orphans are more likely to withdraw from school and not complete an education?

Child of the month

Our child this month is available for sponsorship through our Humble Hearts program. She is not available for adoption. Gertrude is an orphan. Like so many other orphans in Africa, her parents died from AIDS. She currently lives with her grandmother who is 90 years old. The family is very poor and cannot always afford food. School is thought to be for the rich and so she has not always been able to attend due to being poor. Gertrude needs a sponsor! For $20 a month you can sponsor Gertrude through our Humble Hearts program and keep her in school. She is 12 years old and a very bright girl. Providing for her education will help her achieve her dream of being a lawyer who works for children's issues when she grows up. Can you sponsor Gertrude or any of the other students at Humble Hearts? Please e-mail Felicia if you would like to help.

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Anyone can make a difference. It takes so little. Thank you to everyone who receives this letter because you have purchased something or made a donation. It all helps the children. Some make a difference through donations, others make a difference with their time. Just changing the way we do little things like shopping can benefit the children. Where can you start making a difference today?

Have a great month!

Kari
Director, Angel Covers