The Education for All Fast Track Initiative is a global movement bringing countries together in support of the Millennium Development Goals of providing a free primary education to all children by the year 2015. While great strides have been made, more needs to be done than countries declaring primary education to be free. And while that isn't what the Fast Track Initiative is doing, in many cases it can feel that way. Kenya was one of the countries looked upon as successfully moving towards this goal and now offers primary education for free. As we have seen many times, the public schools have been overwhelmed with students. There are not enough teachers. Schools lack funding for buildings and textbooks. There is a huge difference between children being in school and children receiving an education. Frequently local schools implement informal fees and requirements forcing many students out of school. In remote areas of China, there are many children who never attend primary school. And in all of these areas even if primary school is completed, secondary school is beyond the reach of children who are orphans or come from extreme poverty. And yet, education is vital helping these children grow up and obtain a job that will help them overcome the poverty they are trapped in today. Thank you to everyone who helps support children around the world. Thank you for helping us to take the next steps to provide the school buildings, desks, textbooks, lunches and medical care that help these children grow physically and mentally, and provides them the hope for a different future..

Holiday Cards

If you haven't had the chance yet, be sure to check out our new of holiday cards. The artwork for the 10 different designs was created by students at Humble Hearts School for the Deaf using block printing techniques. Profits from these holiday cards will be used to help repair the roofs and put concrete on the floors of the classrooms. The artwork is beautiful! Please help the students improve their learning environment as you send greetings to friends over the upcoming holidays.

Gifts From the World

The auction is over and we have been busy boxing up and shipping all of the treasures to the winners. Thank you so much to everyone that helped find items for the auction, donated an item, helped with listing them, sent e-mails telling others about the auction, and bidding on items. All of these things take so much time every year, and it is wonderful to see it all come together to make a difference in the education of kids. Proceeds from the auction this year will go to buy textbooks in Kenya, books for libraries in China, help with the roofs and floors at Humble Hearts, and if the money stretches far enough build a new classroom. It is always a joy to be able to look at our list of needs and know that many will be taken care of. Thank you again to everyone!!

Mama's Wish Update

It is truly awesome to be able to tell you that every high school student available for sponsorship through Mama's Wish this year has been sponsored. On top of that all but one college student has complete sponsorship as well. We still need partial sponsorship on one college girl. The concern for these young women and the desire to make a difference in their lives has been absolutely incredible. And a difference is being made. Volunteers just recently returned from China and visited the students in these programs. Sponsors who haven't received an update should be receiving one soon. If you haven't checked out our blog, please visit it and read all about these wonderful programs and the other schools Laureen and Angela visited. Every girl in this program knows what a gift they are being given by their sponsor. They are so very grateful to each and every one of you.

Trees for Xuri School

During her recent trip to China, our Education Director, Laureen, had the opportunity to visit the Xuri Poor Aid School. This school is extremely poor and has been asking for help for some time. With our current programs, trying to stretch resources to cover another program has not been. The director of the Xuri School proposed a way for us to help by providing the funding to plant trees that will bear Goji berries. Within three years the trees will bear fruit and provide the school with a source of sustainable income. With the help of a wonderful donor, this project has become a reality. Enough trees for 50 acres will be purchased and planted and the school will provide a future source of income for the school. Oh, if we could only make them grow faster!

Sponsorship of Xuri Orphans

Laureen also found six orphan boys at the Xuri School who really needed immediate help. I wish you all could visit these schools. Laureen was accompanied by an individual who helped train the Mama's Wish Students. She was so moved by the programs and the needs of the students, that after she returned home, she and her friends have sponsored five of the Mama's Wish students and five of the orphans at Xuri. We still need to find a sponsor for DuoNai. For $10 a month you could make a tremendous difference for this young man. If you can help, please e-mail Laureen.

Yushu Baitang County School

The Yushu Baitang County Central Boarding Primary School is located near Yushu County’s capital. Approximately 280 students study and live at the school.  Most of these students live in extreme poverty with little food or other basic necessities.   Love Without Boundaries and Angel Covers have worked together on many projects, including this one.  Angel Covers coordinated the purchase of the yaks in 2006, and Love Without Boundaries coordinated the installation of the water system in 2007.  Now that the school has yaks and a water system, Angel Covers has agreed to expand their education program to include individual sponsorships for this very special orphan school.  Stay tuned for sponsorship opportunities, or contact Angel Covers to be added to the wait list. You may also make a one time donation to help with the many needs of this school including, dormitories with individual beds for the children, a new kitchen, books, clothing, and so many others.

Humble Hearts Lunch Program

We all know how difficult it is to concentrate on anything when you are hungry. Most of us don't understand the depths of hunger felt by many of the students at Humble Hearts. A lunch program was established and the kids in the worst situations have been receiving lunch. However, there were almost 100 children who did not receive lunch each day throughout 2007 and many may bbnot have a meal every day at home. Thanks to a grant we have received, EVERY student at Humble Hearts will receive lunch daily starting in January. This will be true for 2008 and 2009. In addition, we hope that the grant money will be able to be stretched far enough to purchase Plumpy-Nut for the students at least once a week. Plumpy-Nut is a ready to eat meal that is packed with proteins and vitamins. It is used to help individuals who are seriously malnourished to thrive. Ideally, we would like to be able to provide a packet of this to each student on a daily basis. We hope that through one guaranteed meal a day and some Plumpy-Nut to augment those meals we will see improvement in the children's health and weight. And ultimately, we know that it will help them in their studies.

Huaibei Nutrition Program

The nutrition program for Huaibei, Anhui continues to purchase formula for the babies. Hundreds of boxes of rice cereal and bags of formula are being sent to Huaibei each month for these precious children. Full reports will be available soon and we can’t wait to see the babies looking healthier and healthier. We have received wonderful pictures of the babies with their full bottles this month! For only $15 a month one of these babies can benefit from receiving extra formula and more sponsors are needed. Thank you to all of those who continue to help with this program!

Chickens at Maranatha

The chickens have finally arrived at the Maranatha School in Uganda. One thousand chicks were brought to the school and now fill the chicken houses. This is just another step along the road of helping Maranatha move towards becoming self-sustaining. It will be fun to watch the chickens grow and provide for the needs of the children..

Gift Cards other products

With Christmas and other holidays coming soon, we just wanted to remind you of our gift cards. They are a wonderful way to give gifts that make a difference, especially for those hard to buy for people in your life. So many of the kids we work with don't receive anything around the holidays. Gift cards are a great way to provide two gifts! Need something for the kids in your life, check out our hooded towels, passenger pals, aprons and other children’s products. Profits from every purchase go to support our programs. For the more traditional gifts you purchase this year, consider doing your shopping on line. Shopping through Amazon.com or givingmall.org make a huge difference in the lives of all the children we serve because they donate a percentage of your order to Angel Covers at no cost to you.

As we head towards the end of the year and look back at the progress that has been made, we are again truly thankful for everything that has been done and for everyone who has stepped up to help. We have watched programs continue to grow and new programs being established. Children are finding nourishment, living in better health, and learning. It is wonderful to watch children thrive and hope for a better future. Thank you for being a part of this great work!

Kari
Executive Director, Angel Covers