You would have enjoyed being with us on Friday afternoon! Nearly 200 kids gathered at Kindle with great anticipation. They knew what they had come for! A few weeks ago they had been promised new uniforms, and today was the day for the promise to be fulfilled. Every occasion is a chance for celebration and teaching, so we started with some songs. Then Mr Mbena, head of the Education Department who has been overseeing this project, gave a speech about the importance of taking care of the uniforms. Here are some of his comments: These uniforms are for wearing to SCHOOL! You do not wear them to dig for mice in the fields (boys like to eat these for snacks!) You do not wear them for going to market. You must not take them and sell them. These may sound like strange instructions, but all very appropriate! He also explained again how important it is for children to stay in school these days. Education will give them an opportunity for a future!

It took a few hours to get everyone outfitted, but finally the group changed from rather grubby looking kids to smart looking school boys and girls. I hope you enjoy the few photos I have attached. You will notice that there are 3 different uniforms as we have children in 3 different schools. Most of them are the blue and yellow. Some are maroon and white, and a few blue and white.

Finally, all of the children say thank you very much! Like this: “Zikomo kwambiri chifukwa cha mayunifomu atsopano. Mulungu akudalitseni!” (Thank you very much for the new uniforms. May God bless you!”)

On behalf of all the children at Kindle, I too say Thank You!

Sincerely,
Marilyn Barr
Kindle Orphan Outreach

Thanks so much to Ali Rubenstein and the Student to Student Malawi School Uniform Program!!!

For His Children is an orphanage which has been operating in Quito, Ecuador for 19 years with over 550 orphans having been cared for in the home. There are currently 45 children in the Quito home. A new home has been opened this year in the city of Latacunga, Ecuador, about 1 ½ hours from Quito, in order to help the orphans in that area of the country. Children are brought to the home by various means such as the police, who often find them abandoned in the parks, from hospitals, where the mothers give birth and leave the children, or from the court systems. Schooling is provided for all the children, including the many special-needs kids. While the new building is still under construction, the first floor is in use with 19 children. They expect to have 35 – 40 children eventually with room to increase up to about 70 children if needed. Work teams are coming from the US and Canada to help with the ongoing construction of the house. Extreme Response is offering to help them with the teams and short-term workers who desire to serve at the home. This will take a lot of the burden off the directors and give them more time to concentrate on the needs of the children. That’s what we do at Extreme Response.

by Mike Bishop

On August 30, six people from the Extreme Response Quito office went to the coastal town of Manta, Ecuador to help with a fundraiser for the Montañita Verde Children’s Home run by our partner organization Por Amor. A favorite Ecuadorian dish called Fritada (fried pork) was served with hominy and a salad. It was truly a cooperative effort between the orphanage, Extreme Response, Mr. Chancho (providing the pork), about 30 students from a cooking school, the local Howard Johnson’s Hotel and a local TV station, Manavisión. Everyone worked together to raise funds for the orphanage which cares for about 25 children. Over $3,000 was raised.

A team from Kensington Community Church of Troy, Michigan is currently on the coast of Ecuador, building a security wall around the Montanita Verde Orphanage.  They’re doing a great job with not only the construction, but also with building relationships with the children of the orphanage.  Thanks for all your hard work, team!