Ecuador Refugio Spring 2016

On June 30, 2015, the Ecuadorian government announced it would no longer finance Childcare Centers. As a result, the Refugio was to close its doors permanently. St. Mark and its Friends stepped up to the plate and continued to help keep the Refugio open. We and our friends are now the SOLE HUB that keeps the Refugio open for the children. Without St. Mark there would be no Refugio for the 172 children that we now need to sponsor.

In 2016 the sponsorship program is offered in three tiers:

  • $120 per child ($10 per month) the basic cost to cover essentially the same needs as in the past,
  • $240 ($20 per month) the costs to cover the basic needs plus some special needs and the minimum infrastructure and programs to keep the Refugio open without government support,
  • $300 ($25 per month) the costs to cover basic support, special needs, the required infrastructure, and support for educational programs, vocational training, therapy, and life skills.

The sponsorships can be paid with a check, Simply Giving, or in monthly payments. The Adopt a Child sponsorship drive will be on Sundays April 17 and 24, 2016.

Prayers of thanksgiving are offered for those who have so generously given their love and concern through being a sponsor. Your sponsorship not only provides the means to purchase food, school uniforms, medical care, etc. but most importantly, it also provides a child with the comfort knowing that somewhere in a place called Virginia in a church called St. Mark there is somebody who loves them.

China Orphanage May 2015 Update

From Kelly Eckert

We are excited to tell you that baby Ray’s adoptive family found us. You sponsored Ray’s cleft lip surgery during the 2012 Cleft Exchange. Ray’s family stumbled upon our blog for this year’s exchange and remembered that their son’s paperwork said he had had his lip repair in Kaifeng, so they contacted us and asked. We are delighted that we can share the photos and medical records we have of Ray from four years ago.

Ray was adopted by a couple that live in California in 2013. He is now named Elijah, is almost 4 years old, and is doing very well. His family told me I could share his photos with you. The first is of Ray soon after his lip surgery.

Thank you so much for playing an important part in Elijah’s life. Your sponsorship has been a blessing to him and his family.

Blessings,

Kelly Eckert

Cleft Initiative Director

Love Without Boundaries Foundation
“Every Child Counts”
www.LoveWithoutBoundaries.com

April Update

Saludos a Todos,

Thank you so much for your love and prayers for the children at the Refugio de Los Suenos in Ecuador.  Your concern, and above all, your prayers have made such an INCREDIBLE DIFFERENCE in the lives of so many children.  Thanks to St. Mark these children have a place to escape from hunger, severe abuse, and extreme poverty…and they are even able to go to school.

 

This year was a record year for taking care of children.  While administratively 120 children are on the rolls at the Refugio approximately 150 attend.  In some cases we are seeing older children (6-170 bringing their 34 and 5 year old siblings with them rather than leaving them at home alone.  A total of over 250 children (Refugio children and their siblings) were taken care of during the “Community Medical Campaign” in February funded by St. Mark’s Adopt a Child program.  During these campaigns lab work is done on each child and then the child is treated for ailments ranging from multiple parasite infestation, anemia, epilepsy and malnutrition, just to name a few.

 

We are also seeing many family units coming to the Refugio.  The 4 Lema children recently arrived crying at the door of the Refugio.  The Mother died in early January and the father no longer wanted them.  The  4 beautiful Torres children were brought to the Refugio by their mother explaining that Colombian father was a drug runner and extremely violent with the them.  They didn’t even have shoes when they arrived.  The Refugio offers them a temporary safe haven.  Attending school offers them a chance at a better future.

 

Our “Special Needs” Program continues to help so many children in severe medical crisis.  Anderson Vaca is a child who was completely dysfunctional due to his inability to hear or to speak.  He now attends a special school, wears a Hearing Aide and can say Mama along with all of his brothers and sisters names much to their delight.  Isreal Chantasig’s mother no longer worries that her son will die from a rare disease thanks to the medication he receives.  Miguel Villarreal suffers from a severe case of Epilepsy.  He is now on the correct medication and no longer suffers from the humiliation of having seizures in from of his High School classmates.  Jefferson Diaz continues to be our miracle child.  He was born with multiple deformities and not expected to live very long after birth.  Thanks to St. Mark’s prayers and medical help throughout his childhood he is still with us.

 

Catechism clases continue to be a huge success and many of our children continue to be Baptized, receive First Communion and be Confirmed.  The priest is very grateful to St. Mark for the support we give hime in the form of materials for the Catechism classes.

 

While preparing packets for the “Adopt a Child” program I glance over the letters that the children wrote.  One of the questions they were to answer was what they “don’t like”.  We would assume at that age they would answer things like “doing homework” or not liking “carrots”.  It was heart-breaking to see that so many answer this question by writing that they did to like being beaten, the violence in their house, being screamed at and told terrible things.  If you take a moment to look at the display board on the Ecuador table in the Narthex you will see the SUCCESS STORIES of so many former Refugio children who suffered these very same horrors.  Thanks to your prayers and generosity these children have grown up to be CARING, PRODUCTIVE adults and RETURN TO THE REFUGIO ON A REGULAR BASIS TO HELP.  One young man is now the co-ordinator at another Refugio.

 

On behalf of the children, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for your love and concern for their well-being.  when we look at the photos of happy clean children at the Refugio it is hard to imagine the horrors these children actually face when they are not at the Refugio or in School and the terrible conditions in which they live.  Your sponsorship of a child through the “Adopt a Child” Program feeds a child who would normally go hungry, gives them a safe haven where they can play as a child, provides them with medical and dental attention, and much needed mental health therapy to deal with the severe conditions in their lives. Above all, it gives them hope for a better future by receiving an education.

 

If you are interested in renewing your sponsorship or sponsoring a child for the first time please join us on Sunday, April 27 during our “Adopt a Child” Campaign or fill out a form on the Ecuador table and place it in the shoe box located on the table.

 

For those who would like to make a one time donation please join us as well on Sunday, April 27 or fill out a form on the Ecuador table and place it in the shoe box on the table.  These one time donations go towards helping with the cost of food for the children, gas to cook with, cleaning supplies, and other much needed items to care for the children.

Ecuador - Sara

Little Sara Saico is a new child at the Refugio. When given a piece of a birthday cake she placed the paper plate back on the ground. She had never seen a birthday cake before and was not sure of what it was

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Susette Goff

 

Spring Update!

Final Update: Paul slept better than he did the night after his surgery. He was discharged from the hospital today with the first group of babies ready to return to their orphanages. The volunteers loved him and got some last hugs before he left. Thank you and your church for all you do to help yet another baby! Doesn’t he look great?

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: Here is a picture of the child we were able to sponsor.  His name is Paul, and his surgery went very well:

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Post: Things are moving and shaking in China right now because of the annual Cleft Repair Ministry that Love Without Boundaries puts on every April.  From April 21-25, children from all over China will arrive at Kaifeng Social Welfare Institute in Henan Province to have their cleft palates and cleft lips repaired.  It is a very exciting time for everyone and St. Mark is right in the thick of things, financing a cleft repair.

 

Originally, we were assigned a baby named Greg who was an infant.  It was hoped that he would gain weight and reach the 10 pound mark, which is the minimum to have the surgery.  Alas, that was not to the way it worked out.  I received an email yesterday from a LWB director saying that it seemed unlikely that Greg would make the cut off.  But she did offer me the opportunity to support another child and she even offered a more intriguing option.  The Unity Fund is set up to fund surgeries for people who can’t afford to pay for the surgeries but are committed to keeping their children.  Apparently, once the signs are posted around the town, families come out of the woodwork trying to get the surgeries their children so dreadfully need.  Since I believe in supporting this program, I gave her the go-ahead to fund a Unity Fund child. And, if we still have the funds when Greg is scheduled for his surgery, we will fund his as well.

 

On the home front, the ladies of the Prayer Shawl knitting group were busy at work, knitting homemade goodies for the Chinese orphanages which were blessed in February and sent out to Henan Province.  A big “Thank You” from the sweet children in the China orphanages!

Knitting - China