Orphan Party Day

The party train rolled into Parakou, Benin and made a stop at our PfP office during our visit. We gave the orphans in our sponsorship program a special day and had as much fun as they did. It was the chance to give them all of the attention and love and center the day around them, something they have never experienced. After the introductions and explaining how much their sponsors loved and cared for them, the good times began to roll. Every kid loves to color, but these kids never get the chance, so we gave them a big piece of paper and crayons and let them loose. It was sad to see them react to what was in front of them, some of them did not know what to do. They did not understand or know how to be creative and create anything that they wanted. We had to show them what to do, eventually they got the hang of it. They also made beaded bracelets, had their faces painted, and received gift bags. For lunch we wanted to give them something they never get, something different, so we catered in hamburgers. This is a big deal there because most can not afford it, so they have never tried one. For the most part a burger there is like a burger here, but with a fried egg. You should have seen their faces when they opened up their lunch boxes, they lit up the room. This was also a lead by example moment because had to show them how to eat it, it was too cute! We finished the day with glow bracelets, a PfP loves me t-shirt, and their gift bags. The kids were so grateful for everything and each item or event during the day brought them new excitement. Even though giving the gifts, watching them attempt to eat a burger, and coloring was great, the incredible part was watching them respond to the attention, love, smiles, and hugs. They craved the love and affirmation that they don't get. For that day they were the center, they were what was important, they were the focus of someone's love. It was overwhelming to experience. Although the sponsors were not there in person, their love was felt from the US through gifts, smiles, and burgers.

**Check out the pictures below**

Pictures from Orphan Day

Pictures from medical clinics

village days

one of my favorite things to do when we go to benin is to visit in the village of tourou. this is our first village that we "adopted" and it has a huge piece of my heart. for the past two years it is the only village that we have worked in, until now. this trip we added sanson and badekporou, so we had the opportunity to spend time in these villages as well. a foundational belief of PfP is that there is power in relationship and visiting these villages is a key in the development of that. when you walk through the village you are stepping directly into their lives and experiencing their culture, it is awesome. it is taking time to share life. although we don't speak the same language there is a connection that takes place that can not be described. for example, when we drove into tourou for the first time on this trip a group of kids ran out to greet us. a few of the boys ran up to us motioning the hang loose and i love you hand gestures that andrew taught them last summer, andrew had shared life with them and they had hung on to it. through out the week we painted faces, which they could not get enough of. some of them were getting their faces painted, wiping it off, and then waiting in line for 15 minutes to get it painted again, and to think i hate waiting in line for 5 minutes at target, no way would i sit in a cramped line while others pushed me in the hot african sun to have my face painted, but they did and would have done it all day. it is the small things that they love and appreciate and more importantly find satisfaction in. so it is the small things that we love to do that has a big impact. sorry, rabbit trail. so we did face painting, passed out stickers, and played games. there is a sense of freedom and joy that you feel in the air as if they don't always get play time, as if for that time the burden of poverty is gone and they get to be 100% kids.

we sat together cheering tourou on to victory in the soccer tournament, kids fighting to sit as close to us as possible, they were like little african heaters. as we walked back to homes we were visiting, we would have four or five kids holding each of our hands, they would each get a finger, they just wanted to be noticed, to be loved. one of the most difficult times of the trip is telling them good bye and this time was no different. one little boy stands out in my mind, mary and i were telling them all good bye and there was this little boy about four or so years old, cute as can be. he ran between mary and i, giving us these huge hugs one right after another. it was like he was trying to get as many as he could before we left, soaking them all in as if it were his last, he could not get enough love.

a cultural difference that is glaring is the lack of affection that is given to these kids. you do not see them getting hugs and little love pats from their mothers and especially not their fathers. i can not imagine having such a distant relationship with my parents, i have always loved spending time with them and their approval, love, and affection was and continues to mean the world to me, so knowing that those kids are missing out on such an experience is difficult to realize. it is heart breaking to see them watch their mom or dad walk all around them and never acknowledge them or show them affection. but that all changes while we are there, it is hugs and high fives all around. they soak up the affection like sponges and so you give them all you can in hope that it will last until the next time you see them.

Why we are blessed

God has a very powerful way of dealing with me and my self absorbed narrow mindset. He has to do that constantly. I just got back from Benin. These trips we take several times a year for PfP never cease to amaze me and shine a big spotlight on how good we really have it. We did several programs as normal, but I want to talk about one in particular. My wife, Sarah, planned a new PfP program targeted at treating malnourished children. We brought in doctors and nurses and for 3 days in 3 different villages they saw around 800 kids ranging from 0-5 years old. This was a feeding and medical clinic where doctors and nurses would diagnose and treat medical problems in children and identify levels of malnourishment in them, providing food regiments to try to curb this malnutrition and get them back on a track. From small cuts to malaria and severe malnutrition and everywhere in between, our doctors and nurses handled everything. They and the PfP-Benin team did an incredible job.

On the last day of the medical outreach, I was outside assisting one of the nurses who was tending to foot and leg wounds of several villagers. The doctors sent for me to come inside. I grabbed Sarah and Mary and when we got inside, the doctor handed me Barushu. Barushu was an 8 month old baby boy who was tipping the scales at 4 1/2 LBS. Now most of you know Sarah and I and you know that we now have a beautiful baby girl named Pax. She is now almost 4 months old. 4 months ago I was pretty clueless on all baby things. By no means an expert now, I do know my way around a nursery. Well Pax is now almost 4 months old and weighs about 13 1/2 LBS. The doctor handed me Barushu and told me he was 8 months old and weighed 4 1/2 LBS. I looked at him and I cried. I quickly did the math and realized that my daughter is half his age and weighs three times his weight. My heart broke. All I could do was look at him and see my daughter. Barushu's mom died giving birth to him and the grandmother assumed the responsibility of his care. All he did was cry in pain because he was hungry yet is was such a faint crying whimper because he was so weak. There was no breast for him to nurse from and he was too weak to take what little formula the grandmother could find. The little guy was going to die and his grandmother could do nothing about it. We immediately sent him to the hospital for treatment. A bed at the hospital costs $3 a day. He was a really serious case so the treatment including the formula and meds he needs is maybe $5 a day. He will be in the hospital for about 14 days. so his care will cost us about $112. While he is on the waiting list for sponsorship in the orphan program we have, we will go ahead and make sure he has the formula he needs to grow into a healthy young baby. Crisis adverted for $112. I spend that on a "fancy" dinner date with my wife. Unbelievable.


The week was overwhelming. I would walk through the local medical clinics and see young children afflicted with malaria hooked up to IV's providing their bodies with the fluids and meds to survive. These were the lucky ones, as this means their parents could afford the care. Malaria in infants if left untreated is a death sentence. I had mothers bringing me their babies that had the beginning stages of malaria that couldn't afford the treatment. Two mothers in particular came to me and motioned that their babies were sick. I looked at them and they exhibited the trademark signs; lethargic behavior, sever fever etc. I took them to the nurse on staff at the local clinic and asked him to look at the children. After examination and treatment, I was presented a bill. These infants were treated for worms, bacteria infections and above all malaria. The bill was $6.79 for both of them. $6.79! I wasted that on gum and a magazine at the airport on my way there. Granted the worms are painful, the bacteria infections are bad, but malaria is the real killer. I inquired the actual cost of malaria treatment. To see the nurse and get a prescription for the malaria meds costs 200 cfa. The actual 4 day regiment to treat malaria costs 300 cfa. Today, $1 USD = 515 cfa. Yeah you read correctly, less than a buck. These problems are terrible and good at the same time if that makes sense. Terrible the children are dying due to a lack of simple and cheap treatment. Good in the fact that we are not talking $5,000 treatment per kid, but $1. It is awesome that we (meaning PfP) can really change things in some major ways for little amounts of money.


Honestly, I didn't write this blog to get you to open up your checkbooks or sponsor one of our children for $35 a month in the program we have. I am not writing it because I want to be seen as some humanitarian. I am not writing this for you to comment on our blog or facebook or wherever Mary is going to post about how God is using me mightily etc. I am not writing this to add friends to my facebook page. This isn't a sob story or attempt to pull on your heart strings for you to feel guilty and give us money. My gosh, I know you get that in a hundred different directions and we don't want to yoke with guilty givers like that anyways. This is an example of hope the best way I know how to tell it. It is written simply to show you that we can change things and that maybe just once in a while, we can use that laser beam of energy and resources and time that is so focused on the "me" and turn it instead on others. This blog is probably written more for me than it is for you. It shows me how blessed I am and we as Americans are and how selfish I can be. We picked up Pax yesterday from Sarah's parents as they watched her for the 10 days while we were gone. I looked at Pax and then to Sarah and actually told Sarah that I was concerned that Pax was too chunky and maybe overweight. Nice Jace. Real nice. There I am. Whew. I was wondering when that "me and my own" thinking would return...


Jace


**Check out the pictures below from the medical outreaches**

you are making a difference!!!

Last week in the village of Tourou, location of our orphan sponsorship program, 15 children became very sick. 4 of the kids who became sick were in our orphan program and all of the 15 had to be taken to the local hospital. The illness was so serious that 5 of the children died, but our 4 children survived; in fact, they were some of the first released from the hospital. Our sponsors played a role in their recovery. You see, our sponsors each month provide food for their child, health check ups at the doctor, and medicine to protect their stomachs against illness, parasites, etc. They are also given each month a nutrition supplement that is high in vitamins and nutrients, and they are drinking clean water because of the well that we built in that village last year. Our orphans are becoming stronger and less and less malnourished, so when an illness comes on them, their bodies are able to fight back. In this situation, their four bodies were armed with the right weapons to fight off what came against them, and you sponsors, provided the weapons. If you ever wonder if your $35 is making a difference, know that is doing more than changing lives, it is saving them!

If you are reading this and you would like to become a sponsor or know someone who would like to, we do have some children who still need sponsors. For more information email mary@projectsforprogress.com

Thank you so much for your giving, you are proof that one person can make a difference!

June Orphan Update- Mosquito Nets!!!!!!

Hello All!

We had another great event yesterday with our orphans. Once again, we were able to supply them with their monthly needs of food and medicines for malaria, stomach worms etc. School is on summer break for now so the kids get a chance to rest and enjoy the summer for 1 month. One observation our project manager noticed was that all the orphans were sleeping without a mosquito net. For the June distribution, we purchased mosquito nets for all our orphans. It is amazing how something so simple can truly save a life.

Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide. It is a leading cause of death and disease in many developing countries, where young children and pregnant women are the groups most affected. It is unbelievable how devastating Malaria is and also how treatable and preventable it is. For example and thanks to their sponsors, our orphans now sleep under nets treated with long-term mosquito repellant (prevention) and if they do get Malaria, we quickly supply the medicines for a speedy recovery (treatment). Without these 2 components, our orphans would be in the same boat as those children without any help. Check out the stats I pulled from the CDC and the World Health Organization. According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2009 and the Global Malaria Action Plan:

-3.3 billion people (half the world’s population) live in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 109 countries and territories.
-35 countries (30 in sub-Saharan Africa and 5 in Asia) account for 98% of global malaria deaths.
-In 2008, malaria caused an estimated 190-311 million clinical episodes and 708,000-1,003,000 deaths.
-89% of the malaria deaths worldwide occur in Africa.
-Malaria is the 2nd leading cause of death from infectious diseases in Africa, after HIV/AIDS.

It is interesting to note that in the Beninese culture, children that survive what is called "Palu" which is the local name for Malaria, sort of undergo a rite of passage. Many infants and children in Benin lose this battle with Malaria every year. Often times with those that survive, small marks are made on their checks to symbolize their strength and honor. While I dont condone tribal marking and cutting, in this instance, it sure beats the alternative! Thank you a thousand times to our sponsors. You really have no idea how you are radically changing the lives of our orphans.



Jace & Sarah

Some of our orphans posing for a pic....

She just got her mosquito net!

One of our workers showing the kids how to use the nets

The Nets!

Taking stomach meds for worms, parasites etc.

Haiti- Ca Ira Orphanage

I recently returned from Haiti on Tues night for the second trip there this month. It is tough to see the devastation but it is the small things that make me realize that God is there. It is the smiles on the children’s faces in the midst of hopelessness and chaos and the laughter you hear from people. It is the church services taking place among the ruins and even within half destroyed buildings. When you survey the landscape and take in the “big picture” it is easy to doubt if God is really here in Haiti. I don’t claim to be a huge world traveler but fortunately or unfortunately (guess it depends on how you look at it :)) I do think I have more experience than many in the third world. I have seen my share of tragedy, poverty and despair that goes along with the third world, but Haiti after the earthquake is some of the worst I have ever seen. Haiti was third world before the earthquake. This knocks it back to the stone ages. The little infrastructure they did have was lost. So we lost 230,000+ people in Haiti. A true disaster and a tragedy. So enormous, it is tough to wrap your mind around it. However, seeing Haiti with my own eyes and talking to the young men and women there, I know things are going to change. Without sounding flip or cliché, Haiti was literally shaken up and I see it in the mentalities and the dreams and hopes that are growing in Haiti. I spoke to many young people and each one had a common thread. They told me of their old life before the earthquake and spoke with monotone lifeless expressions. Some were students, others did small jobs for others. All knew what their life would look like. Then I asked their plans now. The pain still ran deep for the loss of family and friends. The students now see their schools and universities in rubble. Those that had jobs saw the stores and building flattened. While they had pain, you could see the hope in their eyes and hear it in their voices for a new future. That is an incredible thing. God has given me the privilege on several occasions to witness hope in someone. It is an awesome thing. Whether that be the wells we build in Africa or the adoption programs we start with orphans, hope has the same hue, the same shine and glow about a person. So I asked God again if there were hope for Haiti and He said “look at the people”. That made all the difference.

On this last trip to Haiti, Projects for Progress partnered with Victory World Church to build an orphanage for 96 children. The previous orphanage was destroyed in the earthquake where 7 children lost their lives. In 7 days, we were able to build a new orphanage and bring back some hope to the area. A big shout out to the construction crew that went down!! They did an awesome job! The favor of God was definitely on this trip and this building project. In addition Victory sent down a container of over 500 tents, 350 tarps, medical supplies, water and food that we distributed throughout the week as well as painted another orphanage we helped build last time. See some pics below.