Day 11 at Mama Harley's

Update on Mother Harley's

Courtesy of our visiting media specialists, Michael Kraus and Will Traynor, here is a quick look at Mother Harley's. As of today, shiny new metal roof covers almost half the building and the second half will go even quicker. Thank you for your prayers--the weather's been perfect, everything's gone very smoothly. More soon.

Construction Update At Mother Harley's

Gentleness?

In the Child Development Program we have been talking about the Fruit of the Spirit.  Yesterday we got to "gentleness".  I asked the kids what it meant to be gentle, and not a single child knew.  I thought this was a fluke, so I went to my next home and repeated the question.  Again, not a single child knew what it meant to be gentle.  I was a bit surprised as some of these kids are 16-17 years old.  So I came home and conducted an informal survey and asked some of our staff.  They also did not know the word gentle, except in the context of "ladies and gentlemen".

So we've had to change tactics from encouraging a behavior to totally teaching a new concept. Most of the kids in the homes are not gentle by nature.  They are rough with the smaller children, they beat on each other regularly, and they feel that they need to shout to get their point across.  The louder and rougher child gets his way.  It's a learned behavior as most of the kids haven't had good examples of gentleness.  

So we're back at the beginning: again searching for creative ways to share these character traits in a culturally relevant way and striving to raise up healthy, compassionate young adults.    

Great progress so far

As promised, here are photos of our progress so far: day one, as you can see, was all about destruction.  Day two (today) we finished the five-course middle wall, from which we'll run our rafters on both sides. More next week -- and please, keep praying for the great weather to keep on coming!

Mother Harley's is on!

With another hearty THANK YOU to all those who answered the plea for Mother Harley's much-needed new roof, from Louisiana to Dubai -- we're on our way now! I'm just back from town, shopping around for roofing and tools and so on. Tomorrow we'll start tearing off the roof above the center wall so that our masons can get busy building it up.
Please pray with us for continued clear weather (we're on day three of mostly clear skies during the day!), safety for our workers and honest dealing with our vendors, provision for the 40 displaced kids throughout the project, and that the home wouldn't be targeted by robbers. Special thanks also to our partners at Christian Aid Ministries for their generous help with transportation.

Looking forward to keeping you all updated as we move forward!

Dental Treatment at TDC

[Some of the children from Childcare Foundation with Dr. Keith and Brenda after their visit to TDC]

We shared with you a few months ago about "Tooth Day" at two of our homes. More than 50 children opened wide and said "Ah!" so that Brenda from Trinity Dental Clinic (TDC) could assess their teeth. Some of the children needed to have teeth pulled or cavities filled, while others were in desperate need of a good cleaning. Over the last few weeks, more than 20 children from the two orphanage homes have made their way to TDC to receive treatment!



There are only 3 licensed dentists for Liberia's 3.5+ million people. Most Liberians have never been to the dentist and a small infection can be deadly if not properly treated. For almost all of the children, it was their first dentist experience. A few of the children were terrified--I did alot of hand-holding--but everyone did great!



TDC graciously provided their time and services to the children at no cost! A super huge thank you to Dr. Keith and Brenda and their staff for taking such good care of our kids!

Rainy Season Prep Workshop

This last Friday, Orphan Relief and Rescue hosted a healthcare workshop entitled "Rainy Season Preparation".  Nineteen caretakers and directors braved the pouring rain to learn about illnesses and accidents that increase this time of year.  Throughout the day, participants were encouraged to embrace the motto: The Best Form of Treatment is Prevention, and emphasis was placed on how to best save the children from undue suffering.  

Participants left with a "starter" medical kit and were challenged to add to it to suit the needs of their particular home.

Directors also came together and shared their tricks and ideas for keeping their children entertained for the season.  Liberia gets nearly 200 inches of rain per year, and the majority of it falls between June and September.  Directors have to get creative with so many little ones inside all day, and ideas ranged from "Have them take a nap" to "Let them put on a show where each child performs something for the others".

Please keep the children, caretakers and the field team in your prayers as we go through this very difficult time of year!

Surprise suitcase of goodness!

It's Christmas around here! This week we received a giant suitcase of our favorite treats--granola bars, gum, jerky...all the goodness we can't get here. And for the kids, over a hundred personalized posters and cards and friendship bracelets, and a big box of matchbox cars for the boys! (And don't worry, we'll share the treats too!)

ENORMOUS THANKS to Erin Jones, Branyon, Susan, Sarah and Gary Guthrie, Adrienne, Elizabeth Jones, Nick Person, Brad Parkhurst, Blake and Rachel as well as Grace Buonamia, Rachel Young, and Becky Klein. Special thanks also to Northstar Church Middle and High School Youth Groups, and Cobb Business Women's Assosiation. 

You folks have blessed us and the kids so much!

Here is the before and hopefully the after! 

We are heading into rainy season once more and that normally means construction slows down. Not this time though, the construction team is gearing up to help out another orphanage with a new roof: the old one would be better called a strainer!

Gearing up would normally mean grabbing hammers and saws but this time of year it means we have to get creative: strapping umbrellas to our hats and changing our flip flops for waders. But it’s going to make for some seriously amazing changes in the lives of these kids who are right now sitting in puddles of water.

Soon they will be dancing in the rain and then coming inside to dry off and sleep on dry mattresses and brand new beds.

Yes, it will be hectic for a couple of weeks, and this is by far biggest roofing project we have done this deep into rainy season. Yes, the logistics are crazy: moving 40 kids somewhere, lifting soaking wet hard wood trusses, tarps becoming kites, and the access road looking like a river.

But 40 kids dry, safe and healthy are well worth me getting wet for 2 or 3 weeks.

The day the chickens moved in...

Today is an exciting day! We moved the first batch of African chickens into the chicken coop at Mother Wleh's Orphanage (many thanks to the ORR Construction Team)! You can see them enjoying their first meal - bulgarwheat, cornmeal and mangoes. So far we have 15 laying hens and 3 roosters and about 20 chicks. Next week, we will add 100 imported chicks which are being flown in from the Ivory Coast, 50 broilers and 50 layers. These imported chickens produce more meat and eggs than the African chickens but are less disease-resistant so we will be giving them a series of vaccinations once they arrive to protect them from tropical diseases.

Mother Wleh and her children will be learning how to care for the chickens, protect them during the rainy season, feed them nutritious foods, and breed them. They will also be learning business skills such as record-keeping, marketing, and how to re-invest profits back into the business. This poultry production project will not only provide food for the children's meals but a source of income for the orphanage as well. Next month the broilers will be ready for the market at the peak of the Liberian holiday season, Independance Day, when prices are the highest! The profits from the sale of the broilers will go towards sustaining the chicken project. In 5 months, the layers will begin laying eggs which will be sold in the local community providing additional income. We look forward to partnering with Mother Wleh to make the Poultry Production Program a success!

School's Out

These 5 bright scholars are finishing eighth grade this month.  They dream of becoming a doctor, engineer, nurse, and bank manager. Unfortunately, the school at the orphanage home where they live does not currently have a ninth grade.  This is a common problem in Liberia: according to UNICEF, secondary school enrollment rates are below 40% for boys, and even lower for girls.  Often schools are over-crowded, ill-equipped, and teachers under-qualified.  

Through the Child Development Program, Orphan Relief and Rescue is identifying children at risk of not completing secondary education. This fall we are piloting a scholarship program that will allow these kids to continue with their education and give them the chance to pursue their dreams.   

Watch for ways that you can partner with us to drastically change one of these lives!

Clean Water

Clean water is something that most of us take for granted. Everyday you turn on your tap and good, clean water comes out. You have access to clean water whenever you want and wherever you go. You sometimes leave it running, even when you are not using it. And you don’t even think twice when you drink it. Your water is clean and safe.

Safe drinking water here in Liberia is hard to come by. For the children at Childcare Foundation, their lives were drastically changed when Orphan Relief and Rescue rehabilitated their well back in January. After a few weeks of drinking and bathing in clean water, the children were living happier and healthier lives! However, because of the immense heat and lack of rain during dry season, many wells are dry, including the well at Childcare Foundation. The children have returned to collecting their water from the sources they used before their well was rehabilitated—unsealed wells and the creek.

Last week, I delivered a LifeStraw Family water purifier to Childcare Foundation. The purifier is very basic and easy to use, and it even makes dirty creek water safe to drink! I spent about an hour training the caretakers on how to properly use and clean the filter. The home was extremely grateful and they were excited about having clean water again. For $30, we can provide a water purifier so that children can have clean and safe water to drink!

Here is a picture of one of the caretakers, Grace, using the new water purifier.

Newsletter May 2009

Read Orphan Relief and Rescue's latest newsletter here.

Cabbage Garden

Shaded by trellises of sticks and palm thatch, these cabbage at Gold Child Orphanage are thriving. At night, the staff and children chase away crickets and grasshoppers who threaten to consume these leafy vegetables. The orphanage has also planted peanut, pumpkin, eggplant, peppers and sweet potato greens which they will be harvesting over the next couple of months!

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin soup is a favorite Liberian dish in the ORR Team house. Recently we started eating pumpkins (squash really) straight out of the garden. These squash are cooked with spices, meat, and a little bit of oil to make a stew which is served over rice. You can see Debbie, Ashley and Jennifer enjoying our first meal from the team garden! We now have over 15 pumpkins growing in the yard, one of the fruits of all our hard work. This is only possible because of hand-pollination, a technique we are teaching orphanage staff to increase the number of pumpkins on the vine. With a high rate of humidity and not enough butterflies and bees to go around, hand-pollination becomes essential to ensure the transfer of pollen and ultimately the growth of these vegetables. Pumpkins provide a high amount of Vitamin A making them a nutritious choice for feeding the children!