orphanage.

When I learned that the school connected to the Ma Dewelie Orphanage had a soccer team, I immediately asked Seren if LACES could donate a set of uniforms and some new soccer balls. She told me if we had enough equipment to spare, that would be fine. Well I checked into it, and LACES had some extra equipment!

The orphanage barely has enough money to cover the costs of rice and fish, let alone any kind of toys or recreational equipment for the sixteen children living there. When I played soccer as a kid, I remember being SO excited when a box of new jerseys came in. Yes, you can still play a fun game of soccer regardless of what you are wearing...but I think matching uniforms instantly make any kid feel like a part of something special.

The children were excited to receive their new jerseys, but Kristin and I were not so excited about what we found out when we delivered them.

When we donated the uniforms yesterday afternoon, we were surprised to learn that the orphanage only had a few pounds of rice left, and not enough money to buy another bag. In addition to no food, the orphanage had no water.

Let me repeat that. In addition to no food, the orphanage had no water.

Not sure how long it has been going on, but sometime recently the orphanage lost access to its water supply. Apparently the village pump has gone dry, so the orphanage has been forced to spend the little money they had left on buying bottled water from the market.

Kristin, who's family helps out the orphanage when they can, didn't even blink before reaching into her purse to give Ma Dewelie money for more food, and proceeded to offer to drive a few of the older children to the market to go buy it. After saying goodbye to Ma Dewelie an the other children, Kristin, her son Samuel, three of the orphanage children and I loaded up into Kristin's land cruiser and took off to get some rice!

As soon as Kristin got home, she started making calls to find someone who knew something about pumps and wells. Soon enough she found them, and today at 10 AM we are all heading over to the orphanage to see if the problem can be fixed.

I'll update tomorrow about what we find!

In the mean time, please consider a financial contribution to the Ma Dewelie Orphanage. It costs $25 to buy a 100 pound bag of rice, which feeds the sixteen children at the orphange for about two weeks. Visit http://theAcampaign.com to give!