After months of fundraising, we’re extremely excited to have secured a house for all 47 children who live at Hands Together to Defend the Children Orphanage. The orphanage leaders have signed the lease and we’ve already begun preparing the house for the children and staff to move in.
Prior to the earthquake, Hands Together to Defend the Children Orphanage housed all of the children in their care comfortably in a large house. The earthquake destroyed the house as well as the the livelihoods of many of the orphanage’s supporters.
Without money and with new children who had been orphaned by the earthquake, the staff found themselves facing a nearly impossible situation. Without an appropriate house, the kids lived in two tents and two small rooms in a rented house. This crowded, unsanitary living situation led to high incidents of illness and skin infections.
As soon as we became aware of the situation, we started working with the orphanage directors to relieve the flooding that was affecting their living space, thereby reducing health risks. While this was a big improvement it was not a long-term solution, so we began fundraising for a new house where the kids could live safely.
Today, after several months of planning and fundraising, the kids and staff are preparing to move into their new home.
We’d like to extend a warm and heartfelt thank you to every one of the 57 individuals who dug deep and donated to support these vulnerable children. We’d also like to thank Burners Without Borders for their donation, Students for Ayiti for their remarkable fundraising efforts, and GrassRoots United for their logistical support.
With the help of all these generous individuals and groups, these children will now be able to live in safety and comfort for the next two years. This will give the orphanage leaders breathing space and time to work with us on a truly sustainable, long-term plan for the future.
With housing secure, we’re hoping we can keep the fundraising momentum going. We'd like to raise money to outfit the house comfortably, cover the children’s school fees, and provide money to meet each child’s other basic needs, such as medical expenses.
With your help, we can ensure that none of these children ever endure an evening without food, an illness with no doctor, or a week without school again.
Please dig deep and give whatever you can.
If you’re a UK-taxpayer you can have 25% Gift Aid automatically added to single or monthly donations made through Just Giving. If you’re American you can make a tax deductible donation here. We also accept worldwide donations through PayPal on our donate page.
No matter which donation method you use, please contact us to let us know you’re supporting this project specifically.
View more pictures of the children you'll be supporting here.
