June 2013

“And whoever receives one

child such as this in My name receives Me.”

(Matthew 18:5)

An Angels Of Hope Update

he “big chickens” scare her, but Rushell, 9, braves the coop to gather eggs. Every day after school, Rushell changes from

her school uniform and goes into the chicken coop to feed and care for the hens.

“I like to feed the chickens,” she said.

The same is true for Jodian, 11, who gathers eggs and also helps feed the chickens. She enjoys the fruits of her labor when eggs are served on the menu.

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Chickens! A project that feeds, teaches

and helps with finances

“I like scrambled eggs. I put black pepper and salt in them,” she said.

Both girls live at Jamaica National Children’s Home, an Angels Of Hope orphanage with nearly 50 children ages 6 to 18. The chicken project, which was established by generous Food For The Poor donors, gives the home added income and a steady source of protein for the children. Eggs are served at least once a week at the home.

“That is part of their diet. They love eggs. It helps them to be stronger, it helps them to be more active and they are not as sick. They’re healthier,” said Yanique Thomas Shepherd, the deputy director of administration at the Jamaica National Children’s Home.

Perhaps even more importantly, the chicken project teaches the children responsibility and gives them a valuable skill they can use when they grow older.

“It’s more about having the children learn a skill that can help to supplement them when they leave here. They can get chickens and start raising them for themselves,” she said.

The chickens produce about 24 to 32 eggs a day. The home sells extra eggs to the local community. The project now has 100 chickens, and the added income helps with the orphanage’s expenses. The home also has a vegetable garden that the children are expected to tend. The garden yields bananas, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and yams.

“It teaches the children a sense of responsibility and ownership. The younger ones help with watering the garden and the weeding,” Yanique said.

While both projects are teaching the children skills for the future, many children at this Angels Of Hope orphanage have big dreams. Jodian studies hard and wants to help other children when she grows older.

“I want to be a doctor who treats children who have no one else to take care of them,” she said. ❋

Rushell

Jodian

“She said she loves me. It makes me feel good. I’m happy because every year she sends a letter for me.”

This is why a sponsor’s letter means so much to Stephen, 12, who lives in an Angels Of Hope orphanage in Jamaica.

Your letters are vitally important to your sponsored child. They connect you and your child, and more importantly, serve as a tangible reminder that they are loved and cared for. Children in our Angels Of Hope orphanages eagerly anticipate the day when they receive a letter from their sponsor. Their faces brighten and they smile joyfully as they hold their letters.

“It makes me feel good to know someone cares about me. When I read the letter, I feel connected. My sponsor usually gives me encouragement and tells me about God. I feel good about it because someone believes as I do and encourages me,” said Mischar, who lives in an Angels Of Hope orphanage in Jamaica.

Sponsors are encouraged to write to their children at least twice a year. The letters are a special treat for children, and the children enjoy writing back to their sponsors as well.

“I feel good about it, because you know you have someone in the world who cares about you, someone you can tell your happy and sad moments to. My sponsor inspires me and influences me,” said Shelly, who lives in an Angels Of Hope home in Jamaica.

Mischar feels bad for sponsored children who never receive letters, because a single sheet of paper with words of encouragement can work wonders for a child who feels all alone.

“They should write to their child to make them feel the same way I do, to make them feel as if they belong. Sometimes I feel as if I’m standing alone and when I get a letter, I don’t feel that way anymore,” Mischar said.

Please, take the time to write to your sponsored child. Just a few words can give a child hope and inspiration. A caring letter of encouragement to your sponsored child can be a precious investment in your child’s future.

For more information on how to write letters to your child, please contact our Angels Of Hope program by calling 954-427-2222, ext. 6633 or emailing angelsofhope@foodforthepoor.com. Thank you for caring for these precious children! ❋

Why your letters matter so muchStephen, 12,

St. Monica’s home for children

n April 2012, Father Charles Moses stood outside of a small building that served as a dorm for the girls who were living at Foundation Montesinos, a home for boys and girls located in

Titayen, Haiti. Father Moses founded the school and home in October 2008 and desperately wanted to expand to help more children.

The building that housed the girls’ dorm also doubled as a cafeteria for all of the children in his care. The boys from the home lived down a dusty hill from the girls in wooden barracks that leaked terribly in rainstorms.

At the time, Father Moses said, “We currently care for 53 children and we’d like to have 160, but we cannot. It is impossible.”

Thanks to your generosity, Father Moses doesn’t believe it’s impossible anymore.

When our team re-visited Father Moses in July 2012, your loving gifts had helped build a new school with new dorms for the girls and boys, six classrooms, a small library and a large room where

I

How you helped turn the impossible into a reality

April 2012

cultural activities take place. Your gifts also helped provide a water purification system that gives the home and school access to fresh water — a service that used to cost Father Moses $50 for three deliveries of water per week.

What was once thought impossible has turned into the reality of a kindergarten and primary school where the children are taught for free. This is a great blessing, as the only other school in the area charged the children tuition. The project has also enabled Father Moses to accommodate more boys and girls at the home, which means more children will be helped and given the chance at a brighter future.

These are the children your loving generosity helps. These children and many others like them are blessed to have you in their lives.

Father Moses said that in the future, he hopes to acquire the land surrounding the school and home so that he can teach the children about planting and harvesting. “We are going to plant many trees,” Father Moses said, smiling. “We can change the land. I want to teach the children to understand and love the land,” he said.

Just as Father Moses and his orphans hope to transform a barren landscape into something lush, you have the power to change the lives of children in need. ❋

July 2012

These children and others like them are blessed to have you in their lives.

Jamaica

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” (Psalms 16:9, kjv)

Dominican Republic

Guyana

n the Day Of Celebration, kids rule! Children roll around in the mud, eat yummy treats, splash around in the ocean, dance, play games

and just generally have a blast. It’s a spirited day for Angels Of Hope orphans, and a chance to put aside difficult pasts and enjoy simple childhood pleasures.

Since we last wrote, Day Of Celebration events were held at Angels Of Hope orphanages in Honduras, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Jamaica and Guyana. While each country holds the annual event on different days, Angels Of Hope homes from all corners of a specific country gather and celebrate together.

Thanks to kind donors like you, these orphans look forward to participating in the activities they love. Face painting, anyone? ❋

ONicaragua

Guyana

2013 Drawing ContestThe 2013 Angels Of Hope Drawing Contest is around the corner and entries are already pouring in! The children are very excited to showcase their creativity based on chosen themes. The Junior Division theme this year is “Risen Christ,” finding inspiration in Matthew 28:6. The Senior Division theme is “The 10 Commandments” from Exodus 20. We are looking forward to counting your online vote in July as you choose the most inspiring, creative piece of artwork provided by these precious children. Voting will take place online beginning in July. To vote, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/aohcontest.

Honduras

Nicaragua

6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073 • 954-427-2222 • www.FoodForThePoor.org

Messages of Hope is a publication of Food For The Poor, Inc. © 2013 Food For The Poor, Inc. All rights reserved.

A note from Robin

When we first met Ashrena in 2011, she was a

toddler who had been so traumatized by abuse and

neglect, that she wanted to shut the whole world

out. She would squeeze her eyes closed whenever

anyone approached.

Literally dropped off on the doorstep of an

orphanage you support in Guyana, Ashrena was,

at times, impossible to console. She never smiled;

she only spoke at night, and only while alone.

At just 2 years old, this precious little girl had

spent days at a time locked in a small, dark closet,

eating only scraps of bread her mother left her.

Sores and insect bites covered her tiny body.

She desperately needed love.

Thanks to compassionate donors like you, Ashrena is now a completely different child.

Today, Ashrena’s eyes are wide open. Can you imagine? A little girl, once accustomed

to darkness and fear, now stands confidently in the light and smiles with joy. Ashrena has

blossomed into a giggly kid with a big grin. Praise God!

Thank you for caring for an orphan like Ashrena with your sponsorship. Angels Of Hope

orphanages are safe havens that provide suffering children like Ashrena with unconditional

love, nutritious food, counseling, medical care and an education. Many more miracles are

possible because of your kind gifts.

God bless you for loving an innocent child.

“And whoever receives one child such as this in My name receives Me.” (Matthew 18:5)

A servant of the poor,

Robin G. Mahfood

Find us on:

2011

Ashrena today (right)