We can’t believe we are getting close to halfway through 2021 already!
In June we write child updates on each of our children and this year it will be an interesting one. We have spent the past year trying to give individual attention to each child’s interest. So often in an orphanage children just have to slot in and don’t get to know what they enjoy. Neither do they have anyone that can take the time to invest in their individual needs.
As Hearts That Hope we are trying to create family, and in well-functioning families, we meet each person in the family’s interest. We then need to enable them to pursue what they want to do in life and what they are good at. So this year we have been trying to find out what all 11 of our children enjoy and invest in those interests and… it seems to be working out so well.
Here are some examples of what we have been doing.
Zee is very creative and loves fashion so we have been spending time, energy, and lessons on teaching her how to sew and design clothing. She is absolutely loving it. It has even become something she has been able to make money from, as she has started sewing things for her school, like pillows and hand puppets, which people have been buying. These projects have really boosted her self-worth so far this year.
Sonny struggles with ADHD and needed an outlet to get out some of his energy. There is a black belt kickboxer that does lessons here and we thought it might be good for him to release some of his pent-up energy and get out some of his internal frustrations from his hard childhood. He has been amazing at it and the coach has become a really good mentor and role-model for him.
Nkosi loves art and extreme sports. He has an amazing talent at both of them and comes out of his shell when he gets to draw or is on a skateboard. We have been able to get him into an art class and someone has bought him a skateboard. Now we just need to find the time to take him to different skate parks and let him explore that talent even more.
Ollie loves music and has been asking us for years if she can learn an instrument. This year we have been able to give her that dream as someone from our church has offered her piano lessons and Ollie’s old dance teacher has let her borrow a keyboard to play and practice on. She has shown some amazing potential. She just started and already is flying and doing things most first-year music students cant do.
If you would like to get more detailed updates on one of our children or sponsor one of them please contact us. We would love to include you in their specific mailing list to keep you updated on the progress they are all continually making.
To all our sponsors who are a part of our “Sponsor a child” program, thank you! And keep your eyes peeled for your upcoming update. We couldn’t do any of this without you!