Orphan’s Hope Project Blog

Big, exciting news! The materials for the construction of the perimeter security wall are now on site. Yep, they were delivered yesterday. We hope the rain doesn’t keep the construction crew away and that this wall goes up without a glitch. 7 workdays from now, we hope to have an enclosed parcel of land! It’s time to celebrate!

Yep, the contractor’s engineers visited the site yesterday (the vacant parcel of land) and the construction of the wall will begin on Thursday, July 29th. Watch out Guatemala. We’re getting ready to build that house soon!

Yes, the government issued our building permit for the security wall. We got it yesterday afternoon! It’s a beautiful sight and wonderful to know that we are finally moving forward. The contractor is standing by and the wall will start going up this next week. Yes, we are happy and thrilled that we’re finally going to see some real progress. Stay tuned for pictures… hopefully next week!

We met our goal! Yes, that’s right. You heard that correctly. We have met our goal of raising $72,400 for the entire construction of the new girls’ house in Guatemala. Thanks to the Melia Family Foundation, we are making this a reality for Hogar Miguel Magone. We hope to start the 10′ tall permimeter wall in the next 7 days….. if it doesn’t pour down rain. The plan is to wait until October to start construction on the building. But…plans could change. You never know. We are excited, pleased and so ready to get the girls back.
Thank You Melia Family Foundation and NuVision. You have made this possiblity a reality!

Orlando, Florida rocked last weekend and we raised some serious $ for the orphanage. We’re going to start the construction of the new girls’ house in October 2010. The cost estimates are $72,400. The Melia Family Foundation had fundraisers galore. We had a Golf Scramble, a 5K Run and also a live auction. All the donations have not come in and yes, there will be more. As of now, we have raised about $47,000 towards the construction of the girls’ home. And that’s all since April 8, 2010. Not bad, is it? Not bad at all! In fact, we think it’s just great.
We’ll soon have the permit for the perimiter security wall on the site and we hope that construction of that wall be complete by August 1st. When the rainy season is over we’ll start the construction of the house. October is the expected start date and we’ll be ready. We are so excited that this is going to happen and that we can bring back 24 girls! Isn’t this wonderful news? We think so!

Yes, it’s July 2010… already. The Melia Family Foundation conference will be held next week, in Orlando, Florida. All sorts of things are planned and it will be a busy time. Orphan’s Hope Project, Inc. will be the recipient of all the funds raised at this multiple day event. Here’s to a big conference and a big success. Thank You Melia Family Foundation!

22 Boxes arrived on Monday morning! The UPS driver was so willing to get all those boxes out of his truck. The boxes were full of new items for the orphanage and the donations came from Prospect Mortgage.

Thank you to Prospect Mortgage. There were lots of goodies in the boxes and we will make use of these items! Some of the things are already packed up in the next shipping box and they’ll be going to Guatemala on July 16th. It’s nice to have friends that care enough to donate!

We’ve got new pictures posted, from the May/June 2010 trip…Check them out.

Yes, we were at Hogar Miguel Magone for the past 10 days. It was a challenge at times.

Pacaya Volcano erupted on Thursday night and yes, we had volcanic ash all over the grounds, buildings, cars, etc. The orphanage is about 25 miles away from Pacaya but the ash was everywere at the orphanage and in all the surrounding areas. It took a few days to clean it all up. The gutters were full of ash after the rains and those heavy gutters got cleaned out later in the week when the rains decreased.

Tropical storm Agatha came in on Saturday… bringing rain, wind, lightening, thunder and more rain… with a vengence. We stayed inside most of the day on Saturday… it was fierce. The storm knocked out the electricity at the orphanage and we were without power for about 30 hours. Got candles? And then… we didn’t have any water for part of the day on Saturday. We captured the rain water to wash dishes, pans, pots and to put water in the toilets so we could flush the toilets now and then. Yes, the boys went to bed early on Saturday night as there wasn’t much else to do in the dark.

More news later…. it’s good to be back in the US but the kids are doing fine, miss them already.

Pictures should be posted from this trip very soon. Keep checking back!

The Melia Family Foundation delegation left Guatemala this past Monday night. Yes, they had a fantastic time, bonded with the kids, played soccer and other games and fell in love with Guatemala, the villages, the villagers, our kids and the orphanage. They are hooked. Word has it that they are planning a larger group trip, for a longer period of time. This trip is tentatively planned for September or October 2010.

You too can visit our kids at Hogar Miguel Magone. Just ask and we’ll get it set up.

Thanks Melia Family Foundation! We appreciate you!