I am sorry for the delay in keeping the blog updated. To say I have been busy is an understatement this last month :)
Biba arrived in the US late August and is on her way back to Burkina today. It was so wonderful to get to spend time face to face and while I know she needs to go back to her family and life in Africa, I will miss her! We did get to spend some time discussing our projects in Burkina which was a blessing. Little AJ, the quad amputee here on a medical visa is also going home this week to his family. He is leaving with 2 new legs and equipment to help him succeed. We will be bringing him back in a year when he will get new legs and also arms! Thanks to everyone who made this possible!
First, we closed out our school sponsorship program with 63 kids sponsored. We only had 4 left so UAHH paid 1/2 their tuition. Their pictures are still on our site under Kids needing sponsors. We are hoping someone will still come forward to sponsor these 4 children. We were blessed my many sponsors buying bikes and rice for their children. Many sponsored more than one! I have the pictures and info ready to be mailed out, they will be mailed out by Friday of this week, so be checking your mail boxes! Once again, their stories were touching and I have been blessed to be a part of this program.
While here, Biba and I discussed our feeding program for the school children. We decided that we will do it 3 times a week and at lunch. They take a huge break in the middle of the day due to heat and the children will have more time during their lunch break instead of before school. We will be feeding them meat and fish along with rice or another grain each day. We had originally thought 5 days a week but by doing 3 we can feed them much needed protein also. We will also be doing a Christmas program this year. All our sponsors will be getting information on this. If you would like to be a part of this program and are not a sponsor please email me at: ann@untilallhavehomes.org. I am hoping to personally be in Burkina for the party!! I can't wait to meet all the children!
Orphanage update: We still do not have children. We are STILL waiting for the government to complete their paperwork in order for us to start. We could take children now without the license but we would prefer to wait and do it with the government blessings. We have completed all our paperwork and inspections and have been approved. Anyone who understands Africa can hopefully understand the delay their tomorrow can mean months from now. It has been hard to sit back and wait and our employees are also getting restless. Either way, we have several options in place that we may do while waiting on the paperwork. One being taking in teens with babies who are living on the streets. Biba explained that if you are young and get pregnant you must go to the father and if they won't support you than you are not allowed back in your house until you get "rid" of the baby. So I guess your choice is to live on the street or as Biba told, the young mothers (often times as young as 11 or 12) will wrap their babies up and leave them at the cemetery or put them down a well. That story just makes me so sick. So we will be helping young moms too who chose life by providing them a place to stay, send them to school and help them take care of their babies.
Other Burkina projects: We have been also talking about doing a feeding program for one of the very poorest districts in Burkina. This is a pilot program and we want to help the people take care of themselves. So we will be picking out some families to be a part of a livestock/gardening program. They will raise the animals and tend the garden and from that we hope that they will have some to eat, some to sell (to keep the projects going ) and some to give to help other families start in the program.
We will be looking for land to start our projects. One of the most pressing for me is a Christian school along with dorms for some of the kids. As the children become a Christian many are kicked out of their houses. We want to partner with these children who are making a bold life change and make sure they are taken care of if they do indeed get kicked out of their homes.
I am posting some pictures of the school program when Biba was passing out bikes and rice. These are not all the kids but some. Also there is a picture of the workers at our house. Please pray for them!
Here is a DID YOU KNOW: A brick house (not ones of mud) costs $2500 to build. This is like a luxary for these people. The land costs around $3,000. So to build a nice house in Burkina with land is only $5500.00. Isn't that amazing!
Hopefully the updates will happen more often now that the school program is closed out! Thanks for stopping by!
Where there is no vision, the people perish! Be a part of that vision!
Ann
