Global Hope Newsletter
March 2020
Friends,

This is a difficult time for everyone as we battle the coronavirus pandemic together, but separately. We praise God that children haven't been impacted as dramatically as adults, but many of our Global Hope children suffer from HIV, have weakened immune systems and live in extreme poverty. We know many of you are worried about the children so we wanted to give you an update. Below please find news regarding each of our ministry locations.

Kenya
On March 15th the President of Kenya announced the official closure of all learning institutions. Public institutions, places of worship, and other gathering places have followed through with the government’s directive against public gatherings, and advised people to stay home. As of March 18, 2020 the number of COVID-19 patients stands at 7 in Kenya.
HOREC - Hope for Orphans Rescue Centre
The secondary children, normally away at boarding school have all arrived home and the primary school children will be staying at the HOREC facility every day following the directive on school closures. Other measures now in place:

  • All visits from anyone coming from outside HOREC have been cancelled.
  • All staff entering HOREC must first disinfect before accessing the premises
  • Attempting to minimize staff movement in and out of the facility and some will have to work from home.

HOREC intends to follow all the guidelines issued by the government in regard to COVID 19.
Good News from HOREC
Thanks to money raised from various 2019 HOREC fund raisers and some final donations from dedicated Global Hope supporters HOREC was able to purchase a much needed van to transport the children. We'd like to thank each of you who contributed to help provide the staff and children with reliable transportation to get the kids to medical appointments, school, church and special outings.
Spring Valley
The shutdown of school and gathering places has had a huge effect on the more than 350 children that attend Spring Valley school. The children were released on Monday, March 16 to go to their various homes. Some of the students have no home to return to and will need to stay in the dorms at Spring Valley. It is a very tough time for the staff at the school because they are worried about the general well-being of the children since most of them come from extremely poor families who often have little food and many live in homes with no electricity or running water. The schools are to be closed for an entire month or until otherwise directed by the government.

above: Teacher Jesse praying with some of the children before they were dismissed on Monday
below: some of the preschool children last week playing and learning with Legos
Romania
At Ana's House they are staying home and doing everything they can to protect the health of the children. They are taking advantage of the time at home to prepare the garden together, clean the house together and enjoy each other's company. All the foster families are currently well and healthy and we will continue to monitor the situation for all the Global Hope homes in Romania.
India
Dr. Saji John reports that the virus has reached the country, but it has not had a direct impact on the Global Hope children's homes at this point. Schools are closed so children are sheltering in place or have been sent home to their guardians if it was safe to do so. Also, the ministry of the Kathryn E Larsen Children's Center has reported no impact yet and are teaching the children safe hygiene in preparation.
Good News from our India Children's Homes
This past month, the kids at our various homes excelled in a number of extracurricular activities at school. The recently organized science fair saw some of our kids making special displays on global warming, Indian satellites and the need to plant trees. 

The kids have also been involved in a number of community awareness and leadership building activities. Prompted by their school, the kids took a day out to clean the surroundings around their respective homes as a precaution to prevent the spread of diseases.

During the recent local body elections in Hyderabad, the children also took part in a rally in their local town of Medchal encouraging people to go out and exercise their right to vote. 
Upcoming & Rescheduled Events
We have rescheduled our annual Global Hope Banquet, "Inspire" . Please mark your calendar with the new date:

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Location remains the same: Stonebrook Manor in Thornton, Colorado. We are happy that we were able to secure a date to reschedule and we look forward to seeing you all this fall!
In order to keep our volunteers and patrons safe during this time, we are also postponing our annual lawnmower maintenance event originally scheduled in April at Broomfield United Methodist Church. Please watch for emails with new dates, if and when they become available.