These are the faces of joy

I’m so happy to have met Ron Moore, owner of Oasis Personal Training Center in Phoenix. Not only is he known around the valley as Captain Fitness, but he helps organize charity events for causes that are dear and near to his heart. He heard about the boys in Kenya who needed to have an updated outdoor latrine at Ngatha International, and he wanted to do something. Even with our small network in the valley, he was all in.

He promoted to his clients at his new location off Northern and 7th and was able to introduce our work. The passionate ones endured the weekly trainings and arrived this morning at 6 a.m. to hike 3 hours, then proceeded to bike 10 miles… Ok, by the time they were done, they were hot and hungry. I found an old injury excuse so couldn’t participate, but I served them a hearty lunch after the trek.

We raised about $1000 with just a few participants and that is a great beginning in my mind. Not all donors were able to participate in the trek, but others donated. So, with this big hearted effort, we’re more than half way to our goal. It warms my heart and is a testament to what a small group of passionate people can do. Combined with the Building Hope…Together event in NYC, we’re almost to our goal of $3,500. I’d be amiss if I didn’t call out to someone to donate $1,000 and we’ll start building that latrine… anyone? Anyone? The boys in Kenya will thank you in advance!

And today, I am so touched once again thanks to our Arizona Fitness Trek Fun Raising team: Ron, his wife Katarina, supporters Carol, Melia, Ann, Yvonne, Randy and Jada. You rock! jh

Remembering the orphans today…

Every day, no matter how busy I am with life, I remember the orphans and do one thing to help make their future brighter; at least one thing every day. I met others like me in NYC last weekend. 

I was so thrilled to attend the Building Hope Together event in NYC. It was a whirlwind trip, but I was so touched with how Monique is mobilizing friends and family to remember the orphans. The photo above is of Harold Oneal performing.  The talent and venue were amazing…thank you all for remembering the orphans. We expect the funds raised will be combined with the Oasis Fitness Trek May 11 in Arizona to be used for Ngatha International’s outdoor modern latrine. We can’t do it all, but we can all do something!

I also met the most lovely people, one of the founders of Charitysub.org. We will be featured on their website in June. Charitysub.org co-founder Amy Crew contacted me and amazingly enough they are in NYC. We were able to work schedules to do an interview while I was in NYC. How amazing is that? Jim Crew, co founder and crew did the interview and we get to keep the video for future marketing… so stay tuned. It’s always amazing to me, that when I make a step forward, many doors open.

Day to Day work:

In my workspace, I use a white board to with my year-long strategy written on it for daily motivation. Rebecca Welsh, founder of Halo Foundation and partner, says I should share this whiteboard. This is what keeps me going as I go about my day to day responsibilities. It’s all about helping an orphan have a brighter future… and you are making it happen.

Today, my work involves sending $1300 raised from the Spring Fever 5K supporters to pay for the well for Mercy Homes in India. Also, I am sending the final draw request for funds to Angel of Mercy for the orphanage. They will be doing some finishing work on the inside of the orphanage. A few more things, and the home will be ready for the orphans.

This is exciting and the results of our efforts in the 12 fund raisers we have set out to have in 2013.  Your donations and support truly makes a direct impact in the life of an orphan. You are changing a life.

Making Things Happen: “Fun” Raising Fitness and Building Hope..TOGETHER!

I am preparing for a training hike this Saturday with a group of die hard “fun raisers.” I’ve got my water filled back pack, an orange and apple… a power bar… proper shoes, sun screen, shorts, shirt… I’m mentally ready and excited to hike  Trail 100  to just see if I am even close to being prepared for the 14 mile hiking biking event May 11.

Ron Moore, owner of Oasis Personal Training, is organizing the Fun Raising Fitness Event…May 11 because he wants to help the “boys”. These boys are orphans being cared for by Ngatha International in Kenya. The boys are in need of a modern outdoor latrine at a cost of $3500. This project sounds small, but it is not small to the boys in Kenya… for them it means cleanliness, hygiene and basic comfort and safety…and it means someone cares about them enough to help them build the latrine! These are not small things to an orphan. They are great life changing blessings. Just like this 7 mile mountain hike doesn’t seem like a huge undertaking to some… but for me and some of us it is HUGE! We’re doing it anyway… for the boys!

Oh… and you need to know Ron. He’s a busy dad, a husband, a business owner… Ron is also a boy’s basketball coach in Phoenix… he is  “Captain Fitness”  on a local Phoenix TV station and is being sought out by the local Diabetes Foundation to provide fitness training to new and experienced participants as a way to better their health. Ron has a big smile and a bigger heart. Ron is busy…he’s engaged… he’s passionate about helping others. Thank you Ron on behalf of the orphans.  If you want to participate in some way…donate or join Ron on the hike and bike ride…  He just wants to be able to build the latrine!

I also just booked tickets to go to NY to the Building Hope…Together event. You should come…

It is going to be so great… Monique Aiken, one of our Giving Trip volunteers and our Board secretary, is organizing the event. Her sister, the architect for Angels Home for Orphans in Cameroon will be there. Monique has a great night planned. Here is a list of the talent she’s recruited for the night to help make that happen:  

• Harold O’Neal – pianist (the most well-known of all the artists
• Patrick Breiner – saxophonist
• Shaan Mutiyaaran Di – 3 dancers from this awesome female bhangra club
• Christen Satchelle –singer
• Kevin Hylton – Mbira percussion (this is also known as the thumb piano is southern and eastern Africa)

We’ll be sharing about the projects in India, Cameroon and Kenya… with hopes of igniting your passion on behalf of the orphans. Monique will share her story, I will share mine, and Christina will show you where her passion has led. Best of all, we get to meet you!

Our goal this year is to have 12 smaller, more intimate fund raising events in 2013. We’re well on our way, but we may need you to help in some way…. If you could organize any of the following small fund raisers… contact me. Our projects include trying to raise $25,000 for the Mercy Home in India, another $3,500 for a latrine in India, and $10,000 for the dormitory for the boys in Kenya.  These would be fun, not a huge amount of work, but if you can raise $1,000-$5,000 that’s a huge help!

Motorcycle Orphan Ride
Orphan Home Cocktail Hour
Holiday Party for Orphans
Art Sale and Auction for Orphans
Bike Ride for Orphans

We all have the heart to help the orphans…. here’s a few ways to make a direct impact.

We can’t do it all, but we can all do something! jh

Oh The People You’ll Meet…

I am so blessed by the people I’ve met along the way in this work.   Monique Aiken and her sister Christina Aiken-Yulfo are among the many supporters who have come along side our mission, embracing the vision to help build hope and shelter for orphans. I’ve known Monique for 2 plus years and her love for the orphans and our cause never ends. After traveling with us to Cameroon, she accepted a postion on our board. I often call Monique our mobilizer in chief.

Monique’s heart to help has once again been activated and she’s planning a  fund raising event at Zinc Bar in New York April 19.

 She’s been instrumental over the past year in helping raise awareness and funds for Angels Home for Orphans in Cameroon. Now the building is almost complete. Her vision is expanding…and she’ snow helping raise funds for Mercy Homes India and Ngatha International in Kenya. Monique’s sister Christina is the Angels Home for Orphans architect and she will be at the event to share her heart for the children. It’s people like Monique and Christina who keep the vision alive… and then there’s Ron…

Ron Moore is owner of Oasis Personal Fitness Training in Phoenix. He heard about our partner Ngatha International, caring for the orphans in Kenya. He immediately offered to organize a Fitness Trek to be held May 11 to raise funds… because he loves kids. It’s a lot of effort and he’s got a very simple goal: to raise $3,500 for a modern latrine for the orphan boys. 

Did I mention Danielle Lewis and Magda Peronel? Both are medical students at Scottsdale School for Naturopathic Medicine and both traveled with a team of 7 to Cameroon in 2010. Their role as medical professionals served the ill and those infected with HIV/AIDs. They served more than 500 patients in three days while in Cameroon. Both are completing their medical studies, and at the same time keeping their love for orphans alive. Each is volunteering in Haiti in a few weeks and both hope to return to Cameroon once the orphans are in the home. Danielle serves on Angel of Mercy board.

It takes people from all walks of life to come along side the orphans and help build hope and a future. To make a greater impact in the lives of the orphans we serve, we’ve set a goal to have 12 fund raisers this year… and we need to more mobilizers! We can’t do it all, but we can all do something. What’s your something?

Our Partners Serve The Most Vulnerable Among Us…

I am  increasingly touched by the loving people I meet while doing the work of helping orphans. I’ve often said that orphans are God’s Children, and our partners, the directors and founders I work with, are His hands and feet doing the work of caring for his own.

Floriane Brown: Floriane is founder and executive director of Nibakure Children’s Village, Rwanda. I met Floriane as she was developing her vision and mission and today there are three homes built with 16 orphans living on a beautiful plot outside Nyamata. She is tireless, compassionate and diligent. In spite of endless obstacles, she perseveres on behalf of God’s children. She just returned from a long trip there, and will return again shortly.
Relindis Moffor: Angel of Mercy. Relindis works with women and orphans who many in the world have rejected. They are ill, they are alone. She has made it her life to support them, provide medical care and shelter for the orphans.

Rebecca Welsh: Halo Foundation: Her delight is to bring hope and a brighter future to the orphans in Kenya, Uganda and other parts of the world, including both Kansas City and Denver. She longs to see the children who are struggling in their early years, have futures that shine bright.

Mumbi Mwangi: The HIV/AIDS orphans have won her heart. She is building a solid foundation under each one as she works to provide excellence in education, medical care and a home and family environment.
Pastor Daniel Kizhakkevila, the founder and leader of Mercy Homes keeps on building and building… now there are 60 mercy homes reaching in to the lives of orphans.

Rick Barkley: Rick helps the poor become self sufficient with micro finance loans. He is the first person I called when I met the women and hear of their need in Nyamata Rwanda. I call them our women as they were the first women 200 Orphanages Worldwide helped with funds for a microfinance loan through Rick’s East African Metamorphosis Project. Florian says she met with the women and they sent me their greetings. My heart filled with joy as I believe if you help the women, you help the orphans.

There are  other partners not mentioned here, but that doesn’t diminish my respect for them and their work. Each one amazes me with their sacrifice, their dedication, their vision. I wish you could meet them and see what I see. Their compassion, their dedication and hard work is why I am engaged with them in their work..I’m helping them help them. Their big hearts and big visions are making this world a better place and I am honored to count them among my friends. I am determined to help them see their visions become reality. Won’t you help me? I need you and others in your circle to embrace the vision to help those who are helping the most vulnerable among us…We can’t do it all… but we can all do something. jh

Making A Difference

Thank you everyone who participated in our 4th Annual Spring Fever Charity 5K. It was a new route and location, and people enjoyed the beauty of running along the river. The course and time of year is challenging with new snow and old ice. But the sun was warm and the cause inspiring!

Thanks to all the participants, our sponsors, fund raisers and volunteers, we’ll be sending funds to build the well for Mercy Homes in Kerala India. I shared this at the Victory Party and everyone clapped with joy.

For this year’s Charity 5K, we invited participants to help us meet our goal by asking friends and family to sponsor. Two 2nd time participants, Seth and Greg Hanson, went door to door in their neighborhood and were surprised at how receptive people were to help the orphans in India. They raised $800 among their neighbors, school and work mates.

Seth is in high school and a busy student and athlete. In between homework and sports practice he set his goal to raise $500 for the orphans. His mom Sandy told me that while Seth was at practice, two 8 year old neighbor girls came over with their dad. They were so touched by Seth’s story about helping the orphans, they emptied their piggy banks and gave what they had.

I was touched at how many expressed their motivation to not only run and compete, but to do it for a great cause. Our website will have a recap and the times of the runners. In the meanwhile, we’ll be continuing our efforts to raise $25,000 for the home for orphans in Kerala by year end.

Will You Be Among The Frozen Chosen?

BE AMONG THE FROZEN CHOSEN!!

Here in Minnesota, it’s been cold and snowy… just in time for the 4th Annual Spring Fever Charity 5K Walk Run and Raffle. This is the event that brings out the Frozen Chosen and their friends. The weather is often brutal, but it’s Minnesota… and for some of us, the snow makes us want to go out and play.

Join us at the new location and new route starting at Snap Fitness, 305 5th Ave S. St. Cloud. The path is well worn thanks to EnduRUNce Shop’s hump day runners…

 Your participation in the Spring Fever Charity 5K, means more: You are raising funds to build a Mercy Home in Kerala India. The home will provide a roof over the heads of 10 orphans and their care givers. Your participation, your registration fee makes a direct impact in the lives of orphans.

We’ve made the 5K even better than last year with the help of our major sponsor, Snap Fitness and EnduRUNce Shop participation. 

Be Among The Frozen Chosen! Run or Walk the 5K & Help Build A Mercy Home. You can help! Spread the word…SPONSOR or REGISTER ONLINE, Follow us, Friend us whatever it takes! SHARE with your friends. Check out the race and join us!

  www.200orphanagesworldwide.org/springfever5K.html

Making A Difference

I’ve always had a mind to make a difference.

For years I sat in a church pew and waited for an opportunity to come to me. Then one day, I realized that might never happen, so I set about to create an opportunity. With the help of Jesse Bowman, my accountant and Fred Cornforth a professional colleague, 200 Orphanages Worldwide was developed and organized into a nonprofit. Step by step with my own funds, many donations large and small, and lots of support from many individuals and businesses, we’ve been helping orphans have a safe place to call home. We help people with the heart and the means, to make a direct impact in the lives of orphans.

I knew early on that I was not equipped or called to run an orphanage or to care daily for the needs of orphans. But I wanted to do something for the orphans who have so little. I knew there were organizations already in place and I might be able to use my talents to mobilize on their behalf to help them provide for the orphans in their care. So, today, we partner with organizations to help them raise funds for building projects to better serve orphans in their care. A simple vision.

Today, you and I are partners with Angel of Mercy, Cameroon, Nibakure Children’s Village, Rwanda, Mercy Homes, Kerala India, JBFC-Online, Tanzania, Haiti Outreach Mission, Haiti, and soon… Ngatha International in Kenya and Ashirvad Orphanage in Tuni, India.

I realize our work is so minor in the big scheme of things. But, we’ve set out to make a difference, and we have. We’ve helped build security walls, latrines, outdoor kitchens, dining halls, and most recently Phase One of the Angels Home for Orphans in Cameroon. You and I did this. See? We can make a difference. We are making a difference. Knowing full well…we can’t do it all, but we can all do something. Click below to enjoy the slideshow of your work.

http://www.flickr.com//photos/jmarie37/sets/72157632677557403/show/

And today… we continue… day by day, hour by hour working to make the lives of orphans just a bit brighter.

Thank you for sharing the vision! JH

Soon the orphans will have a home

When we founded 200 Orphanages Worldwide, one inspiration was the act of simply building a security wall around a school playground knowing it would bring a smile to the face of a child.  Today, I imagine the smiles of children, safely playing protected by security walls, children sleeping soundly behind a fence your support has built, and I imagine children laughing and talking with each other in the building you funded, the building they call home. 

We’re getting reports of the roof going up on the orphan home you helped fund. We’ve asked you for donations over the past few years and you’ve faithfully given. Soon you will see the smiling faces of the HIV/AIDS orphans who now have a home of their own.

Your funds have provided for clearing the land, moving earth, building the foundation, forming the block, crafting the custom designed window irons, plumbing, electricity and now the roof is going up…The orphans will soon have a safe place to call home…all because of you.

Thank you for responding to the call to give.  I hope you will know that it wouldn’t have happened without you.

 

Looking To The Next 12 Months With Joy

The end of a year brings moments of contemplation as one year closes and a new year begins. Each year starts with a blank slate and I love fresh starts.

Last year, I watched the beginning of our vision take root. Because of faithful donors and supporters, we are now in the final stages of building a home for 12 HIV/AIDS orphans. This makes me look forward to what is in store for this new year. We set our goals, we make our plans… and with God’s help we see the fruit of our labors.

When planning for a new year, I always circle back to the place I started. The work is simple: I do what I can to get the word out about our partner projects in hopes of touching hearts with the vision build better futures for orphans.  There is no greater gift that to help a young child have a future and a hope. It’s a lifelong work. It’s one I love.

This year I have been struck by the fact that I can’t do this alone.  I am asking people to consider adopting one of our projects and then help get the word out to their friends and associates. Use facebook, twitter, Linked In, any other means, a small in-home gathering, any type of event will build and expand our base. This would mean a great deal for the India project, our friends in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon and those soon to be our partners. The more people we tell about the need, the more people will respond and the  more children we can help.

We’re seeking to build our year around 12 events of some kind…big or small. We already have three fitness events, a golf outing and a few others in the works… and we’d love to add yours to our list.

Please consider hosting a gathering or event on behalf of one of our partners this year. Try to get your friends and family involved in some way. You can do as much as host a dinner party in your home, invite people to learn about one of our projects and brainstorm on ways to help our cause. As I’ve said from the beginning, We can’t do it all…but we can all do something. Just imagine the smile you’ll bring to a child’s face.

I can’t wait to see what this year will bring. God Bless Fresh Starts!

Happy New Year to you and yours.