A Letter from Maria

I got a sweet letter from Maria in Tanzania. She drew a picture in the middle of the letter of a flower and a heart with "I love you" in big letters. This is what her letter said:

"Dear my friend Heather,
Hi, How are you? Thank you so much for your very nice letter. I loved it. I am happy because I have a new penpal. I love you and your mum and father. You are my best friend. My friends at Bethany are Rehema J, Hapiness B, Edina, Bamari, Jessa, Stella, and Ntamba. I am 9 years old. My favorite time is Manchester. My favorite subject is the letter from me and you. I love you and your mum and father.
Love From,
Maria"

I think this was a letter intended for Jaden and Morgan. They had sent her a drawing and a photo. They are going to LOVE writing to Maria, and they LOVE to get mail!!

A Letter from Fatuma! Part 2

I received another letter from Fatuma! This was very exciting for me, since I had, also, already been corresponding with her via e-mail as well. She is such a sweet young lady! You can see her in the picture above in the red shirt on the right.

She wrote me a sweet letter and included 2 photos of herself (which Jaden and Morgan have already taken possession of!!) She had filled out my questionnaire, too. Here is what her questionnaire said:

I am proud to announce that I accomplished the following goals:

*I have finished primary school and I passed it. I got 133 marks out of 250.

*I have finished Unit 1, and 2 assignments and I got an A in Unit 3 and C in Unit 1. Now I am doing Unit 2, 5, 4, and 11 to complete the first year of college.

*I have finished ESO English and I passed, now I am in Level one.

*I have finished Unit 3 and 4 diary tasks and I got a 9 out of 10 marks in Unit 3, and 14 out of 15 in Unit 4. So I have left 2 diary tasks to complete the first year at college.

Here e-mails have been great! Jaden and Morgan have both wanted to talk with her as well, so they add their portion to the end of my e-mail and she responds. They are so excited that she is e-mailing them and answering their questions.

Getting Ready to Sell

Getting ready to sell the MIC items outside our home. The girls wanted to do a lemonade stand, so that is how the idea started. They are going to sell lemonade and muffins. I will be selling the MIC items, and regular household garage sale stuff. They are REALLY excited (can you tell?) The sale is Thursday Friday and Saturday, so I will keep everyone posted!

Happy Notes to India

Another package/letter is off to the Srinu sisters today. It is quite a lot to put together because there are 3 of them. I want to send all 3 something at one time, so it takes three times as long. Shana wanted to send them some bracelets, so I had to get those ready as well. Jaden drew them each a unique picture. Then, I included short questionnaires for them to fill out should the mood strike them (which with everything they are going through, I think it may not happen any time soon). Then, each one of them got a different picture of the girls and a different charm on their bracelet. I can't wait to see pictures of them with the items we sent. I HOPE that the bracelets can put at least a small smile on their faces. Stay tuned- We should have pictures of them with their items in about 2 to 3 weeks!

Be the Change You Want to See in the World!

What kind of world do you want to leave for your children or sponsor children?
Mahatma Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world" How profound! This is our motto for Make a Change as we start year number 2 of existance. What does this statement mean to you?

An article provided by "bakerthebrand" on eHow.com states:
"There are times in your life when you want change more than anything. What kind of change do you want? Most want to be the change they want to see in the world. This is a step by step manual on how to do so.

Step 1: First, realize what kind of change do you want to see in the world. Does the world need more peace? love? Excitement?
When you have figured that out, I suggest study books and people that live this stuff real life.

Step 2: Second, when you study books and people that live the type of change you want to see in the world, model your behavior after these people. Realize you are not copying them, but just modeling them to produce similar results.

Step 3: Third, once you model people who are living a life that is indicative of being a positive change in the world, you will begin to see that your behavior indeed overtime does reflect being the change you wanted to see. By completing your goal, you must acknowledge and be thankful for being able to successfully become this change."

Happy Easter!

John 3:16~ "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Happy Easter! May God watch you and keep you in his sight! We are grateful for our MAC friends, and all that you all have done to make other people's lives better!

Questionnaire from Simbwa Henry for Morgan

Simbwa Henry is Morgan's only sponsor child. They hooked up last August as pen pals, and then, we decided (or I did) that $37 wasn't much to pay to just sponsor him. Morgan has sent him drawings and letters, but we have never gotten anything back. One reason for the lack of letters is that, for example, his mother can not read or write, so there are only a handful of people to help the children write letters.

When Morgan began sponsoring Henry, she chose him because he was 4 and she would be 3 in a few months. Well, typical for Uganda and other countries such as Haiti, Henry has no birthday. However, they do know he was born in 2002, which would mean he either is or will soon be 8!! OK, maybe it's just me, but he doesn't look 8 at all to me. Maybe because he is sitting down, or maybe because since for the past few months I have been thinking he was 4 because that is what I was told.

Anyway, here is Henry's questionnaire:

How old are you: 7

What is your birth date: 2002

How many brothers have you: 2

How many sisters: 0

What is your favorite animal: rabbit

I am 33 inches tall

I weigh 25 kgs

My eyes are: brown

My hair is: black

My favorite food: matooke (bananas)

My favorite game: riding a bike

My favorite thing to do: eat

My favorite color: purple

What do people like about you: I am a good boy. I do not fight.

What things can you do very well: sing

What are some of the ways you show others you care: help them, fetch water, wash plates

Who is your best friend: Mwanguzi Joshua

What other friends do you like to play with: Onyango Erry

Playathon to raise money for Haiti's orphans 2/27/10

The playathon took place yesterday. It was a big deal getting everything ready- making space in the house, preparing the games (who knew they would all have to be put together), and helping the girls request donations for SOS.

I will start with the disappointing part... There were 31 children signed up to attend last month. I thought I would maybe be able to get even more children than that before the event was going to take place. Unfortunately, it was the opposite. One family who had planned to come was hit with planning a last minute wedding, so their kids couldn't attend. Another family has been battling a stomach virus, so they had to back out. Then, others that had planned to come and never said any different just didn't show up! Pretty disappointing, especially considering all of the time I put into it.

We went from having 31 children scheduled to attend to having only 7 show up (including MY 2!). My mother came, and 2 mothers of the other children. Most of the adults played the games right along with the children to help entertain them. Don't get me wrong, the games were fun, and the kids enjoyed each other's company... However, I felt bad that there weren't as many people as we had planned, and not much in way of donations. I guess I had set my expectations too high.

Jaden & Morgan raised a total of $47.50. They sent "thank you" e-mails out to their sponsors: Alice, Barbara, Chrystal, & Tamara. Thank you, ladies! Two people are still sending their donations in. Once I get the donations for those 2 people, I will send a check out to SOS. The money will be added in with the money that other playathons raise nationwide to purchase temporary shelters for the orphans in Haiti.

A Post from Jaden

Jaden & Morgan checking out one of the games for Saturday's Playathon

Hi, everybody. This is Jaden. How are you today? I want to say that, are you doing fine? I just want to make sure. I want you guys, if you are feeling good, then I want you to come with me and help me get the money for the kids. They lost their mommy and daddy from the earthquake. Lots of buildings fell down on their mommy and daddy, so their kids can't get in.

On Saturday we are going to see how much money, and this is Jaden speaking, and I want to say that everyone is coming to our house. If you live far away, you don't have to come, you know. My mommy and daddy are here with me. My mommy is writing what I am saying. We are going to play games for 2 whole hours. My friends and cousins are going to come to my house. And my two friends my twins Sarah and Abigail, 5 and 6 and 5.

I want to say and this is still Jaden so, I don't know what else to say, but I guess you can hear me. There are some people coming on Saturday to our house. We are going to have snacks and we're going to have a party and everyone's coming. Lots of people are coming.

I want to ask you guys, will you sponsor me, please? So that you can give me money for the kids who lost their mommy and daddy when the building fell down on them. That's all I want to say. Bye, Jaden

**This is Heather now. If you would like to sponsor Jaden in the Playathon, you can pledge by the 15 minute intervals. For example, $2 per 15 minutes. If she plays for the whole 2 hours, you would donate $16. Or you can do a flat donation of whatever amount. To sponsor her, you can mail checks made out to "SOS Children's Villages" to:

Jaden McLaughlin

P O Box 847

Anna, TX 75409

Just let me know if you have sent a check, so that I know to look ot for it. If you want to make a paypal donation, you can do that as well. I will convert paypal donations into checks made out to SOS Children's Villages.

Stay tuned- The playathon is being held this Saturday February 27th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.

Kids Can Change the World Playathon

The playathon that I spoke of a while back has been scheduled, and I am trying to have all of the children ready for the big day on Saturday 2/27. This is the letter I sent to the parents of the children:

Dear Parents and Children:
Haiti needs help! “Tents, tents, tents “That’s the word we want to get out. We need tents,” said a relief worker to the New York Times. Estimates of 200,000 tents will be needed to house thousands of Haitians until permanent housing can be built. Tents will be needed before the March rains start and the hurricane season begins in June.

How can you help? Be a part of our Kids Care Help for Haiti PLAYATHON, part of the Kids Care Helping Haiti project. With the funds our club raises, you will provide more than tents for thousands of displaced, disabled and orphaned children. Our club can provide a “pop-up “ house (The small shelter costs $1,250 and the larger one is $2,500.) for children at SOS Children’s Villages in Haiti* . One hundred percent (100%) of the funds our PLAYATHON raises will be donated to SOS Children’s Villages to purchase pop-up houses from Global Village Shelters. Hasbro will match the total amount raised through PLAYATHON for Haiti events in support of SOS Children’s Villages, up to a total of $500.000!!!

Your participation in a PLAYATHON will help children like 12 year-old Arabic Dominique. On the day of the earthquake his mother sent him outside to study, minutes before the house collapsed. Arabic says his mother never made it outside. He says "I was living in the streets until my Aunt saw me and picked me up. Then they brought me here [to an SOS Children’s Village]." He is now in an SOS Children's Village in northern Port au Prince that has been caring for displaced children for 30 years.

Kids Care Clubs across the country have already started to collect funds for Haiti and will start holding PLAYATHON events this month. A PLAYATHON is like a read-a-thon. Children get pledges or a flat donation for the amount of time they play. All checks including donor’s checks should be made payable to SOS Children’s Villages.

*SOS Children's Villages is the world’s largest charity dedicated to orphaned and abandoned children. There are 500 Villages in 132 countries for children without parental care. Currently there are two SOS Children's Villages in Haiti. Children who have been abandoned or orphaned come to SOS Children's Villages where they are integrated into a loving family environment. They are nurtured and supported by an SOS Mother and up to 15 other children in their SOS home who become their SOS brothers and sisters. Strong bonds develop within these "SOS families", and even after the children are grown and leave the village, these family relationships endure. SOS children have the benefit of a stable, loving family environment that includes the necessities of life such as clothing, meals, medical care and a high-quality education. Children remain in their SOS home until they are prepared to create lives for themselves as independent adults. To learn more about SOS Children’s Villages please visit http://www.sos-usa.org.
Kids Can Change the World, a chapter of Kids Care Clubs, is located right here in the North Texas area! We will be holding our Playathon for Haiti on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 from 1:00PM t0 3:00PM at the First Baptist Church of Anna. All children are welcome, and adult and young people volunteers are greatly appreciated! Before the event, you will need to collect pledges or donations for SOS Children’s Villages. Bring all donations to the event when you come on the 27th. I would like our group to at least be able to provide SOS with one of the large pop-up houses. The children should not have to live in tents, especially as the rainy season and hurricane season begins!

As for volunteers, I will be arriving at the church at 12:00PM to set up. Anyone who can help set up the tables & games areas should come at that time. If you would like to provide snacks/drinks, please let me know. I will need volunteers during the event to help the children (especially the younger ones), if they need help with a game, and to organize the children as they move from table to table every 15 minutes. At 3:00PM, I will need help with take down and clean up, so if you can stay after to help put the toys, tables, and chairs back where they were, that would be a HUGE help!

This will be an extremely exciting event, and it should be greatly rewarding for both the children in Haiti and the children here. Our Kids Care Club is part of Youth HandsOn, an organization dedicated to inspiring every young person to realize their power and potential to make a difference through service.

Thank you, and I hope to see you there!

Playathon to raise money for Haiti's orphans

The games for ages 3 to 5 (above) & games for ages 6 to 8 (below)

games for ages 9 to 12 (below)

My children's philanthropy group "Kids Can Change the World" is gearing up to make a difference in Haiti. On Friday, the Hasbro Playathon Kits arrived. They are packed with cool games! I am excited for the kids! Have any of you ever participated in a jumpathon? or readathon? I remember doing the readathon when I was in elementary school. We kids all met at a gym and jumped rope. People gave donations based on the number of times we were able to jump. It was a lot of fun!

This playathon is the same concept. Right now I have 30 children ready to play games. I am going to attempt to recruit more children. Hopefully, we will have 50 or more children participating. The children will collect pledges before the event. Then, we will meet on February 27 for a few hours of game playing!

The kits you see above are separated based on the child's age. They will be divided into groups of 4, and rotate the tables, so that they can play a different game every 15 minutes. It is expected to last about 2 hours (of course, it will take at least an hour to set up and take down- so 4 hours total). If you have access to the Dallas News stations (you will probably be able to access it online), I will let you know if we wind up on the news.

The fun will be off the chains!!

The best part, we are raising money to help SOS Children's Villages in Haiti. They are in need of even more funds now, as they sort through which children are now orphans since the earthquake. I don't know if any of you saw the news story about the children that were being taken out of the country by some missionaries. Well, those children are now in the custody of SOS, while the organization searches for their families. If it is discovered that they are orphans, SOS can provide them with a home in an SOS Village. This will allow them to remain with their siblings, and in their home country of Haiti. This is the work that the playathon will help fund.

My small pint size philanthropists will be helping children their own age have a home! Yay!

Kids Can Change the World

My youngest daughter turned 3 yesterday, and we had her party today (my birthday is the same day, but we won't talk about that *wink*). She had a Princess and the Frog party. Family and friends all came to celebrate with us. It is always fun to celebrate a life!

For those few short hours, as I rushed around to set up the games & make everyone happy, the world was perfect. Every one ate the food I fixed, plus cake and ice cream afterwards. Morgan opened a mountain of presents and tossed each item to the side after she pulled it out. It was raining outside, but it didn't matter because we were dry and warm completely covered from the elements inside a sturdy brick home with all of the amenities.

It is so easy, as we go about our lives doing the things we do, to forget about those "other" people. They are not there where we can see them. If they were, I imagine we would do things differently. Right? I mean how could we throw away food and indulge in all of these excesses if the children who hadn't eaten in days were watching us?

That is why, though I don't have much (by US standards), I am constantly moved to help. I have to remind myself of those children. The fundraisers give a great reminder of the needs of some of our families. I, also, am moved to read books that open my eyes to what is going on in the rest of the world.

Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and now suffering more than we can even imagine since the earthquake, has been my book focus this month. If you want to read about the people of Haiti and one woman's passion to feed the people, even when the task looks so big it is impossible, check out the book I am reading now:
"On That Day Everyone Ate: One Woman's Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti" by Margaret Trost
Another eye-opening book about Haiti involved the enslavement of the Haitian children. It is estimated that 300,000 Haitian children are slaves (known as restavecs). Jean-Robert Cadet wrote a book about his life as a restavec. You can find my post about that here

To bring this party to a helping the world type of ending, I will tell you what we did. About 2 years ago, I started a children's philanthropy organization called "Kids Can Change the World" (it came before Make a Change). The idea behind KCCW is that children learn how great it feels to help others. We do projects to benefit those is need. In 2008, while it was just getting started (and only my two girls in the group), we made gift bags for Christmas. You can see the post here. With Haiti needed the most help right now, our organization will be doing a benefit for them. While still at the party, I spoke with some of the children to see if they would like to join us in our plight to help Haiti. I was able to get 3 more helpers!

If our organization is approved for the "party", Hasbro will be sending us a box of board games. The children will go around collecting pledges from people for a "playathon". They will get $X (whatever the person pledges) for every 15 minutes they spend playing a game. The party will go on for about 2 or 3 hours, and then, the children will go back to collect the funds from what was pledged. The money will go to help Haiti's orphans (for those who know this organization, the money is going to S.O.S. Children's Villages in Haiti). It should be a very exciting time for all. It will happen some time at the end of February or beginning of March. I will keep everyone posted!

By the way, only one of the Danda children that I posted yesterday now has a sponsor. That means there are more than 15 left waiting. Check out yesterday's post to see who is left. Remember to let me know who you choose, as we will be doing a special project for the Danda children later this week.

On Vacation

I'm on vacation and have a REALLY bad internet connection. Bare with me. You will see some posts pop up by Monday night. I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope every one has a great Christmas! Enjoy your families!

Making the World a Better Place...

...only takes a magic wand and pixie dust! Poof! Morgan, Jaden & I wish everyone a very Happy Halloween! Since the pixie dust didn't work, we will just go about making the world a better place the old fashioned way- with tons of love and lots of elbow grease!

(If you would like to submit your sponsor child's story, pictures, letters, or whatever, shoot me an e-mail with everything included to: hhamilton2002@hotmail.com )

What Have You Been Up To?

I have been slow on posts- I am so sorry to disappoint! I do not have my internet connection at home right now, so I have just spots of time at the cafe. It makes it hard. I mostly try to get my "work" done while I have access to the internet. I have thousands of books to sell, so I am getting them put into lots and placing them on Ebay. It is a long process. If you are looking for books, you can check out what I have with the link in the top right hand corner. I will be adding adult fiction soon, but I want to get as many children's books listed as I can first.

When I'm not at the cafe doing that, I am spending time with my sweet fairy princesses Jaden & Morgan.

I have pictures of my sponsor kids, and letters to share. Since my time is limited here, I have to plug it in as I can. I do want to tell all of you who have been following Diego's story & helping with his fundraiser, he is SO GRATEFUL!!! It is hard to tell by his pictures. Don't let his pictures deceive you... He may look unhappy, but he is VERY happy! He doesn't feel well all of the time, and this can make him appear sad. I got the letter that goes with the pictures of his bed, and let me assure you that his gratitude is beyond what can be expressed in words. He is just such a sweet child! Thank you, EVERY ONE who has donated anything to help him!!!

The rest of his fundraiser will go to help his aunt in her business. She is older, and needs all the help she can get to take care of the debt before she is unable to work. The faster she gets the debt paid off, the faster she will get Diego's health needs taken care of (i.e. daily Pediasure, since he only has enough to last him a few months, foods that may be more expensive but will help him gain weight keep his immune system up).

I will be posting his letter soon, I promise!

For Jonathan's Fundraiser

In an attempt to help Jonathan's fundraiser, I have come up something. I was getting my supplies ready for the class I teach on Fridays, and I came across some beads that I never used (but had intended to). It gave me an idea, and Jaden, Morgan & I worked on putting 4 of them together tonight. The top two bracelets are bracelets that I made, and the middle picture is Morgan's bracelet that she made. Jaden made hers, and it is the bottom picture. If you look at the top picture, the bracelets look small, but they actually fit a child up to about 10 years old. I made another bracelet, but my husband is wearing it and he is unavailable for a picture :0) However, the bracelets can be made for the range of baby size on up to adult. I have to purchase some more letter beads because I am already out of the letter "E".

So, here is my idea... As soon as I know the proper spelling of my Ugandan girls names, I will send them each a bracelet. The top two bracelets I have made for my two CI girls (Leydi & Dulce). My idea is this, it won't be anything extra for me to put some more bracelets in the Ugandan box to ship, and if I am already sending a box to some of the CI places, I can fit the bracelets in those packages, too. If you would like me or the girls to make one for your kids, they are 50 cents each, and the money can be donated directly to Jonathan's fundraiser. There are no shipping costs, unless you want me to ship them to a place that I am not already shipping to (your house for example). However, the bracelets don't weigh much, so the cost of shipping won't be much. So, if we can sell 100 of these bracelets, Jonathan's fundraiser will be $50 closer to completion!

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4jonathan

A Supporter

Check out the pretty necklace she is wearing! I am now officially all out of stock on the necklaces! I will began making some more beads shortly. For those of you who have requested necklaces to sell for the fundraisers, please send updates when you have them, so that we can all cheer you on!!! I should have some more necklaces by Friday, on a first come, first served basis. If you missed my last post, here is what I said:

***SPECIAL NOTE: For a limited time, I will send any of you 10 necklaces for FREE!!! I will pay for the cost of supplies & postage!! The only restriction I will place on it is that the funds raised go toward the current fundraisers (right now there are 3~ Maria's, Gema's, and Jonathan's). I know if we can get these fundraisers completed, we will get to everyone else's sooner & help even more kids!!!***

NeCkLaCe/LoLLiPoP fUnDrAiSeR

Another great fundraising day! I am just happy that we sold anything, and Jaden and Morgan were thrilled every time some one bought a necklace!

Here is the total between the two days (Friday & Saturday):

14 necklaces sold = $28

10 lollipops sold= $5

Grand total = $33

I know it's not much, but it does mean that the 3 fundraisers get $11 each! Since I donated yesterday, here are the amounts that are being donated today:

Su's fundraiser gets another $8

Robyn's fundraiser gets another $8

And, my fundraiser for Jonathan gets $11

My girls are pumped at the sales, and ready to make bracelets or necklaces for anyone who would like to use them for a fundraiser. The bracelets are 1/3 of the size of the necklaces, so they only cost 25 cents if you don't add any charms. The necklaces can be made for 75 cents if they go charm-less as well. Adding the charms can add any where from 10 cents to $1.50 to the cost of the necklaces, depending on the charm. Let me know if you would like any of them to sell!

***SPECIAL NOTE: For a limited time, I will send any of you 10 necklaces for FREE!!! I will pay for the cost of supplies & postage!! The only restriction I will place on it is that the funds raised go toward the current fundraisers (right now there are 3~ Maria's, Gema's, and Jonathan's). I know if we can get these fundraisers completed, we will get to everyone else's sooner & help even more kids!!!***

And, for Robyn and Su, the donations come from the sweet work of my girls. They are very excited to participate in these fundraisers & are anxious to see the pictures and thank yous from the children they have helped!

ThE NeCkLaCe FuNdRaIsEr CoNtInUeS

I got ahold of some discount coupons, and bought some more spacers and pendants. These necklaces only cost a little over $1 to make (as opposed to $2.50!!), making for a larger profit margin!!! I am selling them again this week on Friday and Saturday, and have put tons of advertising out. I know more people will come, so I hope some of them will buy some of the fundraiser items. I will keep everyone posted as to the outcome of the sale...