Winter Update

Now that we are already into Spring, I feel like I should fill you in on what we have been up to for the past couple months. As you can imagine, the Christmas season is always a busy time. In the Angels of Hope program we provide funding for Christmas presents and we host Christmas celebrations in all of the orphanages. It is a busy time for them as well, as many of the orphanages participate Nativity presentations, choral recitals, and other exciting holidays activities.

In December I had the opportunity to travel to El Salvador and attend some of these Christmas celebrations. Among other items on my itinerary one of the purposes of the trip was to visit and meet a new orphanage that was recently accepted into the AOH program. It was a wonderful visit. It is an orphanage that houses and cares for adolescent boys. The boys were dressed up with their hair standing on end with great amounts of hair gel. It was obvious that they were preparing and excited for the visit as they all stood out in the entrance of the home awaiting our arrival. They had made signs Welcoming our visit and attached decorations and balloons to the walls.

I was able to meet the home administrators and tour the facility. Located on the top of a mountain in rural El Salvador this home was truly incredible. They maintain a farm complete with chickens, goats, cows and pigs as well as large plots of agriculture all maintained by the staff and boys of the home. The boys are divided into groups that are responsible for different areas of the farm. They proudly toured me around and explained which sections they were in charge of. It was clear that these responsibilities gave the boys a sense of accomplishment and pride.

We shared a special Christmas lunch along with fresh fruit and dessert. The boys enjoyed breaking piñatas and participating in drawings for some highly desired prizes (more hair gel!).

One of the teenage boys approached me and thanked me for the celebration. He said that this was the first time that anyone had come to throw them a party. I assured him that now, as a part of the Angels of Hope program, this will not be the last party that is hosted at their home. My schedule when traveling on an AOH trip is very full. We had originally only alotted two hours to attend lunch and a portion of the party at the home. It was a long drive back to the city and we had other stops that we needed to make. BUT... the boys were so much fun and so entertaining that we stayed long past our two hour time limit.

It is truly a blessing for us to be able to work with these great orphanages and these beautiful children. It is amazing how the support provided by the program can change the face of an orphanage and provided the much needed assistance to make their daily life a little bit better. This home had submitted a project request for a Tilapia Farm to be created on their premisis. I am happy to say that we recently sent down the first disbursement of funds to make this dream a reality. With the help of our partner organizations and ICDF aguaculture experts from Tiawan, we will be constructing a small tilapia farm at the orphanage that will cultivate highly nutritious fish for consumption at the home. Imagine the pride of the boys who will be trained and taught how to manage and sustain a tilapia farm project. I can't wait!