Orphan’s Hope Project Blog

You haven’t heard from me in a while…simply because I don’t have much news to share with you.

Roger, Steve, Kristen and family have come and gone. They were at the hogar but I didn’t get any updates. I’m sure it was a hectic, busy time.

The Oakland Raiders are going to come through for us again. They’ve been scouring their warehouse and will be shipping me a box of goodies in the next few days. I’m not sure what’s going to be in the box… it’s always a surprise, a good surprise. Everyone in the office loves seeing what the boxes hold. The Raiders are going to put lanyards in there… maybe 8-10. Anyone who’s worked at the orphanage knows the importance of keys. We have keys and more keys. The lanyards are so useful. They’ll be Oakland Raiders lanyards… which means they will be nice. I’ll get some color tags for the lanyards so it will be easier to distinguish which group of keys they are. When I get the shipment, I’ll take pictures.

I wish I had more news to tell you. I wish I knew more.

Yes, that’s how many of us came to know and love Hogar Miguel Orphanage in Guatemala. We volunteered to work and live at the orphanage. Then we fell in love with the kids and the home. Many of our volunteers stay connected to the orphanage and return again and again.

Wilson has volunteered, lived and worked at the orphanage a number of times. He just graduated from college and is headed to UCSF in the fall, for medical school. Congratulations to Wilson.

Roger, Steve, Kristen and family are coming back for their 4th visit to the orphanage… all in the past year. They will be at the orphanage this next week. They have raised thousands of dollars and their help and support is very much appreciated.

Yes, this is Roger and you can see how attached the kids are to him.

Anna came back in February, with her parents. It was Anna’s 2nd trip (coming from London) and a first trip for her parents (coming from Sweden). They will all come back.

Damian lives in Canada and has lived & worked at a orphanage a few times. He recruited another Canadian, Sabra, and their last trip was in December. We appreciate them both.

Amanda is one of our big fans, coming from England. She even has her own web site and raises funds in England.

Diane W. returned a couple of months ago and is keen to come back. She loves being with the kids.

Kathy has been to the orphanage again and again, when she can fit it in with her college courses.

Lisa loves it there. She just got married and some of her friends donated $ to the orphanage as a wedding gift.

Nico was there for quite a while and eventually became the on-site administrator. When she left to pursue other goals, she eventually came back and became an English teacher for a few months. She’ll be popping in to see the kids in the next couple of months.

And the list goes on.

Please consider becoming part of our family of volunteers. Contact us for more information. It will be a life changing experience. You’ll be glad you did.

Yes, the box has been picked up. It leaves the San Francisco Bay Area today for its 3 1/2 week trip to Central America. The shippers will never let it out of their sight. Yesterday, they told me that they are also taking two new refrigerators to Guatemala. Julio, the driver, explained (in Spanish) that refrigerators are too expensive in Guatemala and it’s cheaper to buy them here and ship them to Guatemala. So, new refrigerators will be keeping our box company… along with lots and lots of other huge shipping boxes full of items for families in other countries. The shippers also take items to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

So, do you want to know what’s in the box? I guess I can tell you. Here goes. How about 16 soccer uniforms, 6 sweat shirts with hoods, 58 long sleeved and regular sleeved green t-shirts, 19 beautiful hand made blankets complete with ribbons and beanie babies, 23 large stuffed animals, 209 pairs of socks, 2 footballs, 27 white shirts, 10 pot holders, pens, vegetable peelers, a can opener, 24 Sharpie Pens, 300 chocolate chip snack bars, 9 lbs. of oatmeal, 2 huge jars of peanut butter, 4.5 lbs. of raisins, assorted school supplies (lots & lots of crayons, markers, notebooks, erasers, pencils, glue, etc), 41 dinosaur Spanish-English coloring books, 36 small flashlights with batteries, 35 toothbrushes, washcloths and about 20 wristbands. I even threw in a rain poncho at the last minute, for me. With the exception of the gently used soccer uniforms, all these items are new. The kids deserve new and they get new stuff from Orphan’s Hope Project and our donors.

And that all fit into the box. When I see the items all spread out before packing, I always think they’re not going to fit. But… they do and this time, they did. The box was full and I certainly couldn’t push it…not even an inch. We taped it up, completed the manifest and the shippers took out a hand cart and rolled it to the truck.

It’s gone. The box is gone. It’s on its way to the orphanage. That gives me a big feeling of accomplishment. The kids will be so excited to see the shipment arrive in the orphanage and they will be waiting for me to open the box when I arrive. All the items will be treasured. I want the kids to know that I treasure them, the children.

Light that griddle… I’m coming to the orphanage to make the kids pancakes!

Yes, the box is packed and the shippers are picking it up today. We expect it to arrive at the orphanage somewhere between July 8 and July 11th. There are lots of goodies in there. I’ll give you more details later. Thank you to all of you who helped us fill this box. The children will be excited to see it arrive at the hogar.

I received a great donation yesterday afternoon. This is the 4th time that I have received blankets for the kids. On earlier trips, I gifted each age group (one group at a time) with hand made blankets. The blankets come bundled up with a ribbon and each have a beanie baby on them. There’s a tag on each one, written in Spanish, that they are hand made with love. They are so awesome. Each group of boys has loved receiving them and they feel a sense of ownership with ‘their’ blanket. And yes, the blankets are theirs. They don’t belong to the entire group. They each have their own.

This time, we are going to give blankets to the girls. The girls have not received blankets in the past because the girls weren’t there in the hogar. Oh yes, these girls are girls. Their dorm room looks like a room full of girls lives there. Softer colors, stuffed animals, hairbrushes, hair accessories, different clothes and more gives their room a very different appearance that the dorm rooms of the three groups of boys.

It gives me great joy to be able to bring special things to the boys and girls at the hogar. The children deserve special ! All children do. I hope these blankets help make the girls feel safe at night, more comfortable and more loved.

Thank you Jo Ann for bringing these great blankets to me. And thank you from all the girls. They’ll have them soon.