Asha House Update

We have one more important update from our year end projects - and we are really excited to share these photos with you! There are so many of you who gave to our Home for the Holidays fundraiser when our sweet kids at Asha House were in danger of being homeless at Christmas. Their landlord was kicking them out on December 17th, and they didn't have anywhere to go!

But thanks to your generosity, our kids (and staff) had nothing to worry about. In just 20 hours, $5,665 was raised to help them renovate an old school building and turn it into a big, beautiful Children's Home!

We are looking forward to taking you on a video tour during our next visit to India, but until then - we hope you enjoy these pictures!

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Christmas in Swaziland

It's been a few weeks since our last post, and we have been busy closing our books on 2011 and looking ahead to 2012 - a year that is sure to be full of HOPE and OPPORTUNITY for our sweet kids around the world. Before we completely move ahead though, I wanted to update you all on some of the projects you made possible through your generosity last year.

We'll start with Christmas in Swaziland! In late October, we shared the sad fact that most of the children in Swaziland do not have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas. Swaziland is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, and it has been ravaged by AIDS. Over 10% of the population is orphans, and even those with family usually do not have money for Christmas presents or even a special meal on Christmas Day. The children we serve lead difficult lives, and we knew they deserved a day to celebrate!

Lucky for them, you agreed! The donations began pouring in and within a few days we had almost DOUBLED the goal amount we'd set for the Anchor Center Christmas Party! Thanks to many of you, the $1,294 given provided a very special event for some very deserving kids!

Two of our partners - Jen & Eric, sent us a description of the day. You will be amazed when you read how much your money provided!

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you've all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones. Here's a special message for you from our kids in India and Thailand. Thank you for helping us give these precious children HOPE this year!

Merry Christmas from The Sound of Hope on Vimeo.

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Give these children a HOME for the Holidays!

As you saw in the last video we posted, we've spent the last four days at Asha Mission - one of our Children's Homes in Delhi, India. We still have a lot of great stories and videos (and long-term needs) to share with you about this home, but during our visit to Asha House yesterday (our 2nd Children's Home here), we found out about an URGENT need that we had to share ASAP. (*note - if you're wondering why both homes have the word Asha in their name, it's because Asha is Hindi for HOPE.)

Yesterday, we found out that the children and the staff are literally being kicked out of the home they've been living in for the past 4 years. Unfortunately, this is a risk when you run an orphanage in a rented house (which is why our hope is to someday help the house parents purchase land of their own!) The landlord has decided to rent the property to another organization for twice the amount, and he's decided to do it quickly. The staff, all 30 children, and all of their belongings have to be out of this house by December 17th!

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Help Make Christmas Happen in Swaziland!

The vast majority of the precious children in Swaziland will not celebrate Christmas this year. 95% of them will not get a gift at all, or even eat a special meal on Christmas Day. When I think of how lavish our Christmas celebrations are in America, I'm appalled at the difference. Most families spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on gifts for their children, decorations for their home, and every kind of delicious treat you can imagine! Yet these precious children in Swaziland will go without.... unless we do something about it!

Our partners in Swazi are planning 30 different Christmas parties at the 30 carepoints they serve. The children who come to these carepoints are orphans or vulnerable children whose lives are deeply affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS. They face hardship, death, and disease on a regular basis, but at these Christmas parties, they are free to just be a kid! The parties will be a time of celebration, games, and songs for the children to participate in. Each child will eat a good meal, with some chips, fruit, and donuts as an added treat. They will also each receive a special gift, and the school age children will receive a backpack too! As you can see from their smiles below, this is the highlight of their year!

But this won't happen without your help!

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