Orphan’s Hope Project Blog

I just had to say a little bit more about the freezer. A couple of months ago, a family contacted me and they were getting ready to visit Guatemala. They found me in the list of guest speakers for Rotary Clubs. Anyway, they were going to be in Guatemala and wanted to visit an orphanage or two. Would it be good for them to visit Hogar Miguel Magone ! And in my e-mail reply, I almost shouted. “Yes ! Please come visit the orphanage” After some e-mails, directions, contact names and phone numbers, they did indeed go to the orphanage. They met Karen, took a tour and later told me they were quite impressed.

Upon their return, they contacted me again and decided that they wanted to fund the purchase of a new walk in freezer, a cold room, for the orphanage. We had one…oh……yes we did. A walk in freezer had been installed about 9 months ago. It was supposed to be new. But, it stopped working after a couple of months and all the food inside it was ruined. To make a long story short…… that walk in freezer, compressor, the door and the other parts were recently determined to be about 20 years old. What a disappointment!

The family, Mike & Helen C. donated $5,000 towards the installation and purchase of a new freezer. It took a while to find a company that would build a new freezer and install it. But it all came to fruition in May. While I was there in May, I got to see this gleaming, white walk in freezer take shape and form. The old freezer was demolished and carted outside. It was ready for the scrap pile. I took a few pictures of the old compressor and you can see in this picture that it certainly doesn’t look like it worked for only a couple of months. It’s old and rusty!

The new freezer took about a week to build once they got the old components, walls, compressor, electrical connections and doors out of there. Day by day, the new one was fit into place and the three workers were meticulous. The compressor was much larger and of course, it was brand, spanking new. The wiring was re-done. The new door has an emergency release handle that is pushed from the inside (in case any boys get in there accidently). The door locks with a key and will remain locked for safety reasons. We are currently looking for metal shelves to put in the freezer. Then we can stack, sort, arrange and display the frozen food items… and use them in the correct order as they age.

Is the new freezer being used? Oh yes it is. All of our food for the orphanage is donated and now that we have a large freezer, we can accept all the frozen food donations that we get. And… if we get too much of something, we can store it until we take it to another orphanage. We do help other orphanages and we also help some of the very poor people in the little village of El Aguacate. I’ll try to get a picture of the interior with some food in it. In the meantime, here’s the outside of the freezer. It’s so white and clean and will certainly be an asset to the orphanage. Mike & Helen…. you’re great. Thanks so much.

Until next time…..
Diane

Memorial Day weekend is over. Some of us went on picnics, some of us had family gatherings, some went boating and then again, some of us took the weekend to catch up on yard work and repairs around the house. Boys Scout Troop 401 of Merrimack, New Hampshire did something entirely different. They worked for others.

Yes, these boys organized and held a garage sale for the benefit of the boys of Hogar Miguel Magone. The money that they brought in will be used to buy new shoes for all the boys at the orphanage. Isn’t that great? Instead of sitting around, they worked and did something for young boys that they will never meet.

The weather in New Hampshire was hot this past Saturday. But the work started long before Saturday. The boys called friends, neighbors and family members. They posted signs and flyers. They ran an ad in the newspaper. They had to collect and store all the numerous items that were donated. And then finally, early in the morning on May 26, they set up the parking lot for the sale. It was a highly organized sale on sweltering hot asphalt. They bargained, they sold, they sorted and they proudly wore their Orphan’s Hope Project t-shirts and their boy scout uniforms. The boys in the picture are Nathan, Joel, Tyler, Brandon, Michael, Matthew, Aaron and missing in action is Dan.

We are very thankful that these boys realize how important it is to help others. Their efforts, and those of their families, raised over $1,000. This money will buy a new pair of shoes for each and every boy at the orphanage. And that’s a good thing. The boys at the orphanage wear out their shoes very quickly. They are, after all, boys…. and they play and run on concrete, which is hard on their shoes. Most of the boys at the orphanage only have one pair of shoes at any given time. Their shoes are often second hand shoes when they get them. The new shoes will be sized to their feet at a local shoe store in Guatemala. That will be a fun & exciting outing for all the boys at the orphanage.

Nathan, Joel, Tyler, Brandon, Michael, Matthew, Aaron, Dan and all the parents and leaders that helped…. we salute you. You have certainly given of yourselves and helped many young boys have a better life. Thank You.

Yes, I know it’s a long story but it does have quite a bit of information in it…. and some recent pictures. Please take a peek at the summary of our recent trip to the orphanage. You can click here on this link or go back to the web site to view the story (under Newspaper & Magazine Articles).

Summary April/May 2007 Trip