At the end of December a good friend of mine requested some much needed help with a project. Her sister was leaving for Africa on the 28th of December and was in need of clothing. Her sister's in-laws, who are presently serving as mission presidents in Kenya, had arranged for them to visit an orphanage that is run by a church member. It is in the slums, which is an area where death, illness, violence, starvation, unsanitary living, and homelessness plague everyone.
A man there by the name of Stephen, is caring for approximately 150 children in a very small and suffering facility. Church service missionaries are working with him to build his foundation and ability to support these children there. Recently another couple who also had been serving in that same LDS mission, flew Stephen to America where he was interviewed about his project.
Here is the link to his story if you'd like to read about it: Man funds makeshift orphanage through woodcarvings
Afer recieving this plea for some help and reading this story, I put a request on facebook for clothing that would fit kids from 0 to 18 years of age. I was amazed at the response! People just instantainously answered that call for help and suddenly clothes started appearing on my doorstep. Well I wanted you all to see what your efforts accomplished!
Today in my email inbox I recieved a heart felt thankyou, along with some photos. I couldn't look at the photos with out tears running everywhere. Can I just say... WE HAVE SO MUCH! Maybe even TOO much! And I fear some day we will have to answer for our greediness. After reading the letter and viewing the photos, I felt I needed to pass this THANK YOU along, To all of you who gave so quickly and so freely, THANK YOU.
"Dear friends and family!
We have returned from our trip to Africa and are so grateful for the experiences and relationships we developed there!! Visiting the school and orphanage was a priceless opportunity and privilege for our entire family. Steven was so happy, humbled, and grateful to receive the clothing so generously donated by YOU! I was amazed at what we were able to collect in such a little amount of time. We boxed up and packed over 250 pounds of clothing with us and delivered it to Steven. Thank you so much in providing help and comfort to his efforts in helping give these children a better life and future! Below I have attached many pictures through SkyDrive. If you have trouble viewing them, please let me know. There are many story's behind all those beautiful eyes. The school and orphanage are located in a smaller slum in Nairobi called Soweto. We were able to visit the school first where the children performed a program of singing and dancing. We then taught the students the tuti-tot, watly-acha, and then gave them each a paper doll to write their names on, decorate, and hang on a line we strung over their classroom. It was very fun and they giggled the entire time. We then visited the orphanage. They currently have 36 girls and 24 boys living at the orphanage. There are two rooms, one for boys and one for girls, that each have three bunk beds and that is where they sleep. They had more children at one time but Steven has successfully been able to place some of them with "guardians" that can help care for the children. The last picture is of a little girl sleeping that just barely came to the orphanage. She was found wandering in Nairobi and someone brought her to Steven to care for her. He normally doesn't take children so young but he says, "some just touch your heart and you can't turn them away." There is also a picture of my daughter, Ellie, standing next to a little girl named Grace and her mother. Grace is a sweet little 12 year old girl that attends the school. She lives with her mom and two aunts in a small room about 6 feet by 8 feet. It has dirt floors and they cook over a small coal stove. Steven is helping Grace and her mom get the appropriate documents needed for her to have surgery. When Grace was 5 she was raped and severely injured and has had to live with a colostomy bag and line since then. He is hoping that they will be able to move her family out of the slum into something more sanitary for her to come home to once she is able to have the surgery. These kids are beautiful and if I could have I would have packed them up and brought them home. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for providing clothing that will cover their little body's and provide them some comfort and make them feel loved from all of us."
Here are a few of the photos she shared.
                           
As I finished reading the above letter and looked through the photos, I realized one thing. I wish I could adopt every one of these kids. My prayers are with these sweet beautiful children!
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