January 2005 Update
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part
of the main...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind...
-- John Donne
We were thrilled to hear all of the orphanages in India we provide support for remained unaffected. Even though one is on a coast, it was also spared. We know the efforts needed to help children effected by this disaster have yet to be fully realized. Angel Covers has been establishing contacts in the region and will be working to aid the children on an ongoing basis. We look forward to partnering with others in this relief effort. We will be sending out more information in the coming weeks on the projects that we will be working on.
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China
Project Lullaby
One of the greatest requests we have been receiving recently is for cribs. As orphanage populations grow and equipment is taxed, orphanages are requesting new cribs. Over the past
couple of months we have ordered 50 cribs with a need for
more. Of the 50 cribs, 10 have been used to help start foster
care programs in Shantou, Guangdong. Another 30 have been sent to
Dingyuan, Anhui where there has been an increase in the orphanage
population. The final 10 that we were able to purchase will be
sent
to Tai'an city where a volunteer has reported a great need for
help. It is vital that we are able to keep funds on hand to
purchase cribs as the requests come in. You can make a difference
for the children by helping us to maintain this fund or donating a crib
in someone's name.Blankets
As winter has set
in the need for blankets has also been
extensive. In the past couple of months we have received
thousands of dollars in donations through our gift card program.
Thank you to everyone for your generosity. The blanket program
for China has been a recipient of many of these donations. With
the help of Love
Without Boundaries, blankets are being purchased and
sent to orphanages with the greatest needs, including one that
was reported as having no heat. For a $10 donation we can
order 5
of these blankets.Playtime
The need for stimulation continues well beyond getting infants up from their cribs. As children
continue to develop,
playtime becomes important for
physical development and continued stimulation of the mind. Angel
Covers and Love Without Boundaries teamed up to purchase 10 of these
wonderful trikes for the toddlers in Shantou. The cost of these
trikes is extremely reasonable and since many orphanages in China do
not have a grass area to play, these will be excellent in helping those
children have outdoor playtime. We look forward to ordering many
more of these in the future.***************
Kenya
Galilee Primary School
At the same time the tsunami was devastating Asia, gale force winds were cutting across areas of
Kenya. The Galilee Primary
School, which Angel Covers helps to support, suffered
damage to the classrooms just a few days before the new school year was
to begin. The roof and part of the walls of the classroom block
used for grades 1 - 5 were completely destroyed.
Thankfully, this occurred during the 
holidays. Had
school been in session many students would have been injured.
Repairs were started immediately and the new school year was able to
begin normally. The foundation was strengthened to help the
classrooms survive future winds and the size of the classrooms was
expanded to help with overcrowding.Currently, there are more than 650 students who attend Galilee Primary School.
The new secondary
school will begin its first year starting in a few days. One of
the major problems faced by Galilee is a lack of
sanitation. There is no running water and only one latrine for
the more than 650 students. This puts the students at risk for
the
same conditions that are currently a concern in Asia: cholera,
dysentery, and malaria among others. As well as the risk for
disease, without proper sanitation, girls drop out of school as they
become older. This can be avoided by providing adequate
facilities. Currently, 
Galilee does not own
the land where the latrine is built. We have put a small down
payment
in place towards the purchase of the land and the owner has allowed us
to begin construction of temporary latrines. Thanks to amazingly
generous donations just before Christmas, 4 or 5 new latrines are being
constructed and will be usable for 2 to 3 years. This
does not solve the problem but it's a wonderful start. We still
need to raise the remainder of the $2000 to purchase the land, as well
as $600 each for the construction of 8 permanent pit latrines. We
will be working towards this during the coming year.
Books for students
to study, and enough desks for all students attending Galilee has also
been a major need. Thanks to many donors additional books and
desks have been purchased for both the primary and the secondary
schools. This continues to remain a need as we work towards
providing the students and teachers with adequate materials. We
believe that one text book for every 10 students is not acceptable!As the new secondary school opens this week, there will be many new students who have scored very high on their exams and qualify to attend, but may not be able to afford the tuition. A student can attend secondary school for $12.50 a month in Kenya. If you would like to sponsor a child please contact us. If you would just like to donate to help provide a student a month or two of education, that would help provide us with more time to find sponsors. All of these children have worked very hard to be admitted to secondary school. Please help us make this a reality for them.
Holly House
Some wonderful things have been happening recently for the children at Holly House. Phiona has now had her cleft lip repaired thanks to Operation Smile. We were very thankful they were able to repair Phiona's lip and to the many people who worked so hard to arrange this.
An opportunity arose for the older children at Holly House to attend a computer camp. Thanks to the very quick response by the sponsors, they were able to attend and learn some basic computer skills. Not wanting these skills to just be lost, these same sponsors began raising money to purchase a laptop for Holly House. Thanks to a wonderful corporate sponsor, Sybase Inc., two laptops were donated for the children of Holly House. The first laptop has already made it's way to Kenya and the children and the second one will be sent at a later date.
Humble Hearts
Humble Hearts, a school for deaf children who live in poverty or are orphans, has had many changes going on. The school had to be moved at the end of December as the landlord
decided
he wanted to use it for other ventures.
Fortunately, the director was able to quickly find a new
location. Unfortunately, this will require Humble Hearts to
begin paying rent. Before they were sharing the building with a
church and the church paid the rent with no expense to the
school. Angel Covers has committed to help them meet their rent
payments while we work to establish a chicken program for the
school. The chicken program will not only provide the children
with food, but also the school with income allowing them to be
self sufficient in paying the rent. If you would like to
help Angel Covers continue to provide for Humble Hearts, you can do
this by a direct donation
for Humble Hearts, a donation to our chicken
program fund, or sponsorship
of one of the remaining students from
Humble Hearts who still needs a sponsor.Angel Covers provided Humble Hearts with the funds to have a Christmas party for the children and their families. The party was held on December 27th and was well attended. What a great time for the school to have such a party. The school year ends in November and the new school year begins again in January. Many of these children don't receive regular meals except during the school year. What an opportunity for them to have a much needed meal with their families during a time when this might not have been possible otherwise.
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With the help of Thursday's Child, we have started 40 blankets on their way to orphanages in Guatemala. Thanks Iris, for all of the help! We will be sending 100 more for the many children around the world who need them.
We have also been working on getting a shipment of blankets to India. Due the current high cost of trying to send them quickly we will instead be purchasing the blankets in India. We will actually be able to provide more blankets to the children in this way. We had planned on sending 60, but may actually be able to purchase close to 120! Thanks to Open Arms India for the help in making this happen.
The Gifts of the World Auction was a great success! As this was our first attempt, we were thrilled to see the enthusiasm of people across the country and around the world for the amazing items we offered. Of the 157 items that we listed, 134 of them sold! The proceeds from the auction will make a tremendous difference for children in many countries. We will be holding this auction again, so if you have anything you would like to donate (artwork, jewelry, etc.) please contact us.
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Before I tell you about this month's child I first want to tell you that the two little boys who were featured in November and December have found families. We were so excited to hear the news and want to congratulate their families! We wish them a speedy paperwork process and travel to be united.
This month a young
man comes to us from the About A Child agency. His name is Dennis.Dennis lives in Kazakhstan. He is a very bright young man who turned 6 in November. Without a family, he faces a very uncertain future. Dennis has Infantile Cerebral Palsy. The only effect is to his legs. He is a motivated young man who does not allow this to slow him down. He has learned to move around and even learned to walk, even though the doctors did not believe he would. Because of his disability, Dennis has lived in a children's home since he was one week old.
Soon it will be time for Dennis to leave the children's home. Normally, he would go to a boarding school type orphanage where he would receive his education and if he did well would even have a chance to attend college. Because of his physical handicap, Dennis will not be allowed to go to this school. Instead he will have to be moved to an institution for handicapped children where he will not receive an education and very little individual attention.
Dennis needs a family. If you would like more information about him, please contact Victoria at About A Child, 650-596-2816.
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The family of Dr. Wayne Hagood has teamed up with Angel Covers to start the Plant-a-Book
Memorial Fund in his name. This fund will be used
to develop libraries and reading programs for children around the
world. The goal is to provide them with books to read for fun and
pleasure as well as augment the need for textbooks. We hope to
see readers grow and blossom like the flowers in the world's garden
that they are. The first library is already being established in
Kenya at Galilee Primary School. Read the details of this
new and exciting program.Our gift card program has continued to expand and has been very popular. We will again be
expanding this
program with a couple of new cards. The first gift card will be
for the trikes we purchase in China. We will be making these
available to many locations across the country. The second new
gift card will
be for clothing purchases in China. We can purchase these
complete outfits to keep the children warm for incredible prices.
Thanks to Love Without Boundaries for finding these great
products! Watch the gift card
page. We will add these before the end of the month!***************
We thank you for your continued support, and look forward to working together side by side in this new year.
Kari
co-founder Angel Covers
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