15 Things… #11, 12, 13, 14, 15
It’s our BIRTHDAY WEEK! To celebrate 15 years of giving HOPE, we’re sharing 15 things we’re proud of and thankful for from the past 15 years. If you missed #1-5 or #6-10 be sure to read them too! But today we’d like to share #11-15!
#11 – The Community Garden in Africa
We shared a bit about our sustainability projects in #10 – but we want to share more specifics about this project we are oh, so proud of! One of our most successful sustainability projects ever, has been the Community Garden we helped establish in Nsoko, Swaziland.
This idea came from our partners managing the care points, once a well had been dug on the property. Historically, Swazi homesteads had gardens. Unfortunately, droughts & free ranging animals has made them nearly impossible in recent years. Hunger is a serious issue in this country – especially in rural Nsoko. We have seen the orange hair and malnourished bodies of starving children. We’ve heard stories of people eating weeds, or even mixing red clay with water to drink – just so they could take their ARVs (HIV/AIDS medicine – which cannot be taken on an empty stomach.) A way to grow healthy vegetables was a huge need!
Luckily, the new well was one of the best in the area, and it made a garden project possible. They just needed a secured garden plot and drip irrigation to finally make this dream a reality. We fundraised $4,500 to build a fence, add a gate, and install drip irrigation. Then we got to work with our Swazi partners to plant the very first seedlings in 2012.
When we returned in 2015, we stood in this flourishing garden and cried tears of JOY! To see a once barren plot of land filled with beautiful cabbages, tall maize, onions, and beetroot was the most incredible sight!
It’s been 13 years since this project began, and it’s STILL going! Right now, 32 families have garden plots in the Community Garden. They grow healthy food for their homesteads, trade produce, and even sell the excess. A $4,500 investment has helped these families thrive for more than a decade. This garden is a gift that just keeps giving, and we’re so proud to have played a part in it!
#12 – The Anchor Center Preschool & Little Library
We’d been providing school fees for children in Nsosko for several years before we we found out that there was a need for a preschool in the area. You see, Swazi schools are taught in English, and when students start in 1st grade many struggle, due to the fact that they don’t yet speak the language. They really needed a kindergarten year (considered pre-school there) to focus on learning English – along with their letters, colors, and numbers. Our Swazi partners knew that an extra year of preparation would help the children have much better success in their primary school years.
And so, The Anchor Center preschool was born – and became only the 2nd English preschool in the area! We provided the teacher’s salary for several years, and established a little library for the classroom too. (Before then, there wasn’t a single book in the preschool!)
Donors sent boxes of books that we took along with us directly, since books are extremely expensive and hard to find in Swaziland. We bought shelves, and filled them with the books, flashcards, posters, and puppets. Many of the children had never even seen a book before! It was truly amazing to see them holding their first books and falling in love with learning!
The video above shows a 2015 update on this preschool. To watch the completion of the little library and our first storytime with the kids in 2012, click through to the Nosko Children’s Library videos – Part 1 and Part 2!
#13 – 2 more Little Libraries
The Swazi Preschool library wasn’t the only library we got to establish around the world. We also got to set up libraries in our Thai Girls Home and The Refuge – a home for refugee children from Burma.
Public libraries are something we all take for granted in America – and access to affordable books is another. Many of the children in our care have never owned a book, or even held a storybook before. Children’s books are extremely expensive – if they can even be found to purchase in some of the areas where our children live.
We know that books are powerful belongings. They can inspire, delight, and teach so many things. A child can go anywhere and be anything in a book! So we are thrilled every time we get to set up a little library for our kids! These 2 homes got furry rugs to make their reading corners even cozier, and we got to share some of their very first story times! I’ll never forget seeing one of our girls clutching a book to her chest with tears in her eyes. These projects made such an impact for our kids!
See video of the library at The Refuge HERE, and video of the library at the Thai Girls home HERE.
#14 – Our Creative & Compassionate Donors
This is the thing we are MOST thankful for! Over the 15 years we’ve been working to meet the needs of vulnerable children around the world, we have been amazed – again and again – by all the ways our donors have helped us give HOPE.
One donor gave away the money he’d saved to buy a new tractor for his work. Another fixed and sold a project car. Others used their musical talents to host benefit shows at bars. Our friend Katie and her classmates at UAB created a whole fundraising event – featuring our nonprofit and 2 others! The Spotlight Gala was such a special night!
Another incredible friend ran 13.1 miles to raise more than $13,000 for Swazi school fees – after being diagnosed with a brain tumor! Kristin told us “my brain might be struggling but my legs work just fine!” (Hear Kristin’s inspiring story HERE – then watch her cross the finish line HERE!)
And of course there are the children. Our own daughter, Kate, had a lemonade stand to help raise money for the water tank at our Thai Girls Home. A 13 year old named Maggie emptied her wallet when she heard us speak about the needs of the kids overseas. And the 3 Gearhart girls (Zoe, Haven, & Saige) saved and saved for more than a YEAR and gave enough money to send 3 little girls to school in Africa!
We have been so moved to see others’ compassionate response to the needs of the children. We are thankful for every fundraiser, every gift, every sacrifice – whether it was $10 a month faithfully given by a precious widow woman, or the $100,000 check a donor sent to purchase our Thai Girls Home.
Even small amounts can make a big difference – and the heart behind them is truly beautiful. THANK YOU to each every person who has joined us to become “The Sound of Hope!”
and finally…
#15 – 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS!
We are SO proud to announce #15 on our list! As of today, exactly 15 years since our incorporation, we have raised more than $1.5 MILLION DOLLARS!
$1,562,906.29 – to be exact. And so much of it came from small donations given by people with BIG hearts. We’ve had almost 1,000 different donors supporting our work through the years. It really is true that little by little, a little adds up to a LOT.
Hundreds of lives have been touched, countless stories told, and so many dreams achieved because of YOUR generosity. Children growing up in the slums, brothels, and leper colonies of India, impoverished hill tribes of Thailand, conflict zones in Burma, and AIDS infected Swaziland got to finally experience safety and support – because of you! These kids came out of hopeless situations – but you have empowered them to achieve their dreams!
You’ll never know how much it has meant to these children to finally have HOPE and a bright future. Thank you for investing in their lives and partnering with us to change the world for good!
We are so PROUD and THANKFUL for all of these things we’ve accomplished together!
Stay tuned for details on how we’ll be celebrating all of this wonderful work soon!