As many of you know, I am a volunteer staff member at Sarah's Covenant Homes. I pay for my own rent, food, water, travel, etc. I do this because SCH runs completely off donations. We currently have about 140 special needs orphans in our care. Can you imagine that?? It costs a lot of money to keep this place running.
This is why we have a sponsorship program. When you commit to sponsoring a child at SCH, you are committing to provide them with a home, food, clean water, transportation, education, and quality care. Their sponsorship money goes towards paying the rent for their home, the cost of their food and water, the cost of their hygiene products, the salaries of their physical therapists, nurses, and ayahs. It also covers the cost of their education (mainstream or special ed schooling/private tutors).
Right now, Abby and I live in Ongole with our twelve girls. We honestly love Ongole and would live here forever if we could. But it is not the best place for our girls. There aren't any special education resources in Ongole, nor are there resources for speech therapy. Nearly all of our girls need some sort of special education ranging from programs for the blind to individualized education plans. Over half of our girls desperately need speech therapy. The good news is that SCH is in the process of moving all our kids to Hyderabad where these resources are readily available!
The plan was for our girls to move sometime in mid-2015. Abby and I really feel that our girls need to move sooner than that. So we came up with a plan and proposed it to Sarah, our director. Sarah loved the idea and is in full support and agreement with it!
So here goes! Our sponsorship campaign is kicking off with our Naomi babe!
Naomi is officially documented as being nine years old, but we think she is probably around a year younger. She has Down's syndrome. Naomi is mostly non-verbal, but she communicates her wants and needs pretty clearly. Right now she is enrolled in mainstream school, but it isn't fitting her needs. Abby and I are probably going to pull her from school soon and begin homeschooling her until we move to Hyderabad.
Naomi LOVES the beach. Swimming in the ocean is one of her absolute favorite things to do. This girl is a fish! She dives headfirst into the waves without any fear. The tides pull her under for a brief second as I hold her waist, praying she knows how to hold her breath. As her head pops out out of water, I am greeted with a cheesy grin and rolling laughter.
At home Naomi is a fashionista. She loves dressing herself, picking out her shoes, and decorating her hair with every colorful clip or bow she can find! Naomi loves tucking her shirts in and wearing high-waisted pants. She is our little Indian hipster through and through.
This girl brings us so much joy. Her smile is dazzling and her laugh is contagious.
Naomi deserves the education and therapy resources she needs. Can you help her get there? Pray about becoming one of Naomi's monthly sponsors. She needs $150 a month in regular sponsorship. You can support her by giving either the full amount, $100 a month, $50 a month, or $40 a month. You can become one of her sponsors by clicking this link!
Abby and I will continue to post blogs, videos, pictures, and updates about Naomi all this week. We are hoping and praying that by the end of this week Naomi will be fully sponsored!! If you commit to sponsoring her (or any of our kids) we want you to meet her! We will set up a Skype date for you to meet our Naomi babe as you begin this wonderful journey investing in her life.
James 1:27 says "Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
God calls us to look after orphans. I know everyone isn't called to come and actually care for them day to day like I am. But He does call us all to care for these children in some way or another. Maybe He is calling you to come alongside these girls and support them financially. I encourage you to pray about sponsorship and where your role is in our girls' lives. Pray about sponsoring Naomi (or any of our 12)! These girls have so much love to give and so much potential. They need your help to really flourish and succeed!!
The Lord makes beautiful things out of dust. He makes beautiful things out of our twelve girls. He makes beautiful things out of Naomi.
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