Three Years in the Making and Orchid’s Deliver

Its time to set the table and raise your glass to the long awaited dream come true for our mission in Albania because you made it possible. Back in 2011 Orchid spent time in Tirana with Altin Qefalia; the mission director of Experiment Albania. He shared his dream of one day building a volunteer house that would make it possible to raise financial and sweat equity to make a difference in this country emerging from years under the thumb of a dictator. During those years Albanians suffered significantly especially orphaned children and the very poor of the countryside. When democracy arrived in 2000 Altin saw an opportunity to help his country and make a difference in the lives of those who had struggled most during the communist regime. This was a sustainable project that once funded would stand on its own and be able to continue without any outside assistance. It met the most basic of the Orchid criteria; Self-sustainability. Orchid promised to help and in 2012 raised just enough money to purchase a washing machine. It stood alone in the box until 2015 when Orchids like you had raised and delivered almost $10,000.00 to the cause. 

Now that washing machine has a home and it is ready to receive the result of the sweat equity that will be living there. That equity will be delivered by young men and women who come from all over the world to teach uneducated children how to read and write, build housing for those living without a roof, and transform Albania into a better place.

Of all the projects Orchids of Light tackled this may be the most impressive. It took a long time but no one lost faith and no one gave up. The dream lived on in the Balkans and it was felt here in the U.S. Orchids of Light stepped up and time and time again and sent the money necessary to raise the house up from the rubble where it began. Now it stands as a testament to commitment, fortitude and compassion. Congratulations on another miracle!

 

Parachutes of Hope program receives $5000.00 Grant

 

Orchid’s home grown Mission in Chester county PA received a $5000.00 grant in 2014 to deliver our addiction eradication program some of the funds it needs to provide life saving counseling to young people unable to afford this critical service.

Parachutes was launched in 2013 by a single philanthropists dream to bring addiction services to an undeserved section of the adolescent population of his home county. His initial gift provided the much needed resources to help break the chain of substance subservience many adolescents, especially the poor, are afflicted with today.

In 2014 Chester county saw 24 overdose deaths, with victims ranging from 21 to 79 years old. Fourteen were men and 10 were women.
Although this may sound small when compared to the national numbers one death is to many and the Parachutes of Hope program is aimed at stopping addiction before it claims another life.

A statistic that often never gets reported is how many people have a “living death” relationship with drugs. They have no direction, no hope and no chance to become the person God intended. At parachutes they receive the treatment they need to break the habit that cheats them out of life.

The Parachutes of Hope program takes aim at disadvantaged young people between the ages of 12 and 19 and puts them in a program of individual and group counseling that provides the guidance and discipline necessary to start a new life without drugs.

Services are delivered by the distinguished counselor and mentor; Lex Remillard.  Lex was honored by Caron Treatment Centers receiving the “Addiction Specialist of the Year” award in 2011. He has over 12 years of experience in the field of substance abuse including 8 years of clinical experience working with adolescents, young adults, adults.  Lex helps others through empathic motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), he is well known in the Chester County area for his nonjudgmental, unbiased and supportive counseling manner.

 

Orchid Lights Up a Solar Powered Classroom in Peru

 

It’s no secret that Orchid has a laser focus on providing renewable energy to the men, women and children of the Andes.

Thanks to the tireless work on the ground of Path of the Heart Peru (POTH) and the love and support of our board member Christine Robinson Hallenberg and all her California Orchid’s of Light sponsors, 2014 was a banner year for progress on this front.

Following in the footsteps of successes that included lighting an entire community and providing a solar  heated water system in 2012 and 2013 respectively, this year saw the erection and deployment of a solar  powered classroom complete with laptops and internet.

It was the dream of POTH to make this gift possible to the community of Tio Grande in the town of  Calca. Here there are 65 children that attend the school supported by 3 teachers and a director. The school has 3 classrooms + a storage room, as well as 1 living space for the teacher.

The project was completed on October 30th and along with the panels to power the classroom Orchid was able to deliver enough computing equipment to make a difference in the way these children are educated.

The items included five laptops and the software necessary to run them. It wasn’t long before the children were taking self-photos with the webcams and they quickly learned how to access the educational programs, and it was difficult to get them to stop doing the multiplication games on the computers!

According to POTH this project will bring a great value to the community of Tio Grande, and the children will now have access to technology to enhance their learning.

Our on the ground man around the Sacred Valley Washi Gibaja Tapia was there to usher in a new era for this community.

As in projects past “Washi”  sent back explicit details on all the expenses incurred to make this dream a reality. It may come as a surprise that all of this was accomplished with only a $7500.00 grant. We’re proud of our Orchid Sponsors for accomplishing this wonderful project in 2014 and we’re blessed with their trust and generosity.

Thank You to all our Orchid’s of Light in California who made this miracle possible.

An $8000.00 Grant keeps the Stars of India Shining

The Mission leaders; Jaideep and Emily Jahav, write:

“Wow! This is quite a blessing. We have not yet dug the bore well, however we have put up a barb wire fence as a boundary around the property. Our contractor recommended not putting up a stone boundary wall until after building. This saved us close to $5,000 of what we were anticipating for the pre-construction costs, and the concrete posts and barb wire are resell able. Jaideep hired Bhatt men and boys to help with this project, giving them additional income as summer months are slow for the tourism industry. We have recently found out that the bore well may not cost as much as we originally projected, but a lot of it depends on the underground water level, and we won’t know that until we start digging. So this $8,000 should be more than enough for the well. In connection with the bore well, we will need to construct an underground water storage tank to store the water that is electronically pumped from the well.

Apart from the children’s home/boarding school project, we have been working closely with individuals in the Bhatt communities. Jaideep goes regularly to the gym that he set up in the colony for the men as a way of encouraging them to invest in physical fitness in place of degrading habits. Emily invites a small group of children to her home 2 days a week for English and math lessons to compliment what they are learning in school.

It is good to know that we are not forgotten and we will work to do our part to communicate the vision and passion behind our mission.”

Blessings Jaideep and Emily

 

“Julies Heart Mission” captures rain and quenches thirst

It didn’t take long thanks to a few Orchids of Light who wanted to help a community in Uganda harvest the rain and provide drinking water for the children who used to have to walk over 5 miles every day to find water.

Mathew Biryomumeish; Director of the Katungu Village Project writes: “Hello to the members of orchid of light  foundation! Thank you for
the big change  you made in the lives of the Katungu needy and orphan children’s project Uganda (sunrise school Uganda). These children have been travelling very long distances looking for water and they used to spend many days with out washing and bathing due to the lack of this precious resource. Now after installing  a water tank,  these problems are significantly reduced as we collect enough rain water during the rainy season from our classroom roof.”

This special award came from your heart to Julies Heart and made its way to Kabale Town. Thanks to all the Orchids of Light who made it possible!