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Projects To Improve Life For The Kids At Hope
This page last updated May 28, 2009
If you've visited the "Facilities" and "Progress" pages at the website you have seen some of the improvements we have been able to make for the kids because of the love and generosity of so many. There is still much to be done, and the kids deserve our very best for them. We have listed projects, we think in the order of importance. These projects are yet to be accomplished/completed. We have provided what we believe are realistic and relatively accurate cost estimates where possible. One way that costs can be effectively reduced for some of these projects is for people to volunteer to travel to Liberia and to Hope and physically assist in construction, etc. What an amazing opportunity to serve and you don't have to be an ordained missionary. We can GAURANTEE you will NEVER have a more rewarding experience.
If you want to donate funds to a particular project you may do so without regard to the order that we have listed them. We will use any donation received for the project that you designate. (I.e., Someone recently wanted to donate money to purchase the
motorbike. It is #4 on our list, but this family wanted to donate money for that project and the motorbike has been purchased and will be a great blessing to the
children and staff at Hope.)
We thought this the best way to make you aware of the temporal needs at Hope.
We will also indicate here as projects are completed.
PROJECT ESTIMATE COMP. DATE
SECURITY FENCE-The government of Liberia requires a
security fence around the orphanage. We will not fence
the entire 10 acres, but the fence will run along the
highway and around and behind all of the buildings. $8,000.00
FOOD STORAGE FACILITY-We are currently storing the
rice meals we shipped from the U.S. in the girl's dormitory.
It is not possible to make those two rooms "rat proof" so
not only are we having damage to the meals themselves,
it is attracting large numbers of rats into the dormitory,
which is a hazard to the children.
There is an old steel cargo container on the grounds and
it is our plan to move the container near the kitchen, make
some repairs to make it "rat proof," build a tin roof over it,
paint it and use it for food storage. This could be a quick,
economical and effective way to accomplish this project. $1,000.00*
*WE RECEIVED $1,000.00 FOR THE FOOD STORAGE
FACILITY AND THE WORK WILL BEGIN SOON.
NEW GENERATOR-The children are once again without
electricity as the original generator, a small, gas-powered
generator is worn out and unrepairable. We need to
purchase a new 5 kv, diesel generator which can be
purchased in country. It really is very important for the kids
to have light in the dormitories in the evenings. The only
thing they have besides the electric lights is a CD player.
They have some great Christian music CD's they love to
listen to in the evenings and they practice some of the
songs and can do an amazing job singing them accapella. $1,000.00
MOTORBIKE-The orphanage is located approximately
6 miles outside of Buchanan, and the staff has no
transportation and no communication. If there is an
emergency there is no good way to summon help or to
transport someone to Buchanan for help. We need to
purchase a motorbike that can be used for running
errands to Buchanan, for taking kids to the doctor/clinic
in Buchanan and for transporting priesthood from the
Buchanan Branch to provide worship services and
church school classes on Sundays. $ 350.00*
*WE RECEIVED A $350.00 DONATION AND THE
MOTORBIKE HAS BEEN PURCHASED. 15 May 09
BEDS-We currently have one double sized bed in each
bedroom and where we had 12 kids to a bed a year ago
we now have 5 children per bed. The government
however requires two beds per bedroom, which is what
we want to do anyway for the kids. We need to purchase
12 to 14 new beds, which will be manufactured locally,
and we need to replace most of the mattresses on the
existing beds. $1,000.00
RENOVATE BOY'S DORM-The boys live in the original
house at the orphanage that used to house all 60+
children. We moved the girls into the new and larger
dormitory and the boys have remained in the old house.
We need to install ceilings, (government required), new
doors, do concrete and roof repair and build an indoor
bathroom. $3,000.00
IMPROVEMENTS TO LATRINES-We built new outdoor
latrines 3 years ago, but due to budget constraints, the
latrines were not truly completed. We need to install
vent pipes, ceramic in-floor fixtures and doors. Again,
these improvements are not only necessary, but are
required by the government. $ 300.00
BATH HOUSES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS-The current
single bath house consists of a tin wall around a
bunch of flat rocks and peices of concrete. The
government requires seperate bath facilities for
boys and girls. There is one other old cargo
container on the grounds that we plan to move to
the area between the dorms. We will need to cut doors
and windows for ventilation, install an interior wall to
divide it into boys and girls bathing facilities, pour a
concrete floor with drainage and build a tin roof over
it. As with the food storage, this will be adequate
and much more economical than building a new
building or buildings. Long range plan for this facility
would involve placing a large water tank on top of the
container, so the children could have gravity fed
showers. The children have always bathed from
buckets. $1,500.00
KITCHEN IMPROVEMENTS - Last year the old kitchen
fell down/was blown down and a new kitchen was built.
Due to budget constraints however, the kitchen consists
only of a tin roof with steel poles for support. We need
to pour a concrete floor and build partial brick walls to
improve the sanitary conditions for the kitchen as well
as making it easier for the cooks to prepare meals for
more than 60 children. $2,000.00
CREATE A CLINIC- The new Head Caretaker, is also a
nurse practicioner. Because of the number of children
and the location of the orphanage, the government
requires some kind of clinic on the grounds. It is our
hope and our plan to convert the old assembly room in
the boys dormitory into a medical clinic. The cost of
this conversion will be very minimal, and the construction
will be accomplished during renovation of the dormitory.
It will be necessary to furnish the clinic with an exam
table, cabinets, chairs, etc., which will all be
manufactured locally. We will hope to be able to stock
basic medications through organizations that provide
medications free of charge and we will probably be able
to use the clinic and clinic services as an outreach to
the neighboring villages. $ 500.00
AGRICULTURE/FISH FARM PROJECTS-The orphanage
is a 10 acre facility, but there is another 20 acres that
is available for use, (no building construction), by the
orphanage. It is very critical that we begin to teach the
children some practical and vocational skills. We hope
to be able to accomplish to "agriculture" related projects.
One project would involve farming and raising grains
and vegetables to be consumed by the children. Any
excess could be sold to help pay expenses at the home.
The primary expense involved in this project would be
the initial preparation of the ground and tools and seeds.
The second agriculture project will be more involved and
would be creation of a talapia fish farm. Ponds would
need to be constructed and there would be the initial
acquisition of fish. Again, a successful fish farm would
supply much more fish than the children could eat,
(which would be a wonderful protein supplement to
their diet) and the excess fish easily sold and the
profit put back into the operation of the home. These
two projects would also help the children learn the
concept of entrepreneurship. No estimate!
ADDITIONAL FURNITURE-We've already mentioned
the need for beds. What we didn't mention is that beds
are the ONLY furniture the kids have in their rooms.
There are no dressers, no wardrobes, no chairs, no
nothing. We would like to get dressers and wardrobes,
or closets in each bedroom. This would give the kids a
place to hang some of their clothes, while keeping
their other clothes and personal belongings in their own
drawer in a dresser. They have NO PLACE to keep any
personal possession they might have. And wouldn't it
be great if we could have dressers, WITH MIRRORS in
the girl's rooms? $1,500.00
PLAYGROUND-As it stands now, the kids have a flat
sandy spot between two trees where they play
football (soccer). That is the extent of their playground
experience. We would love to be able to build a
playground with swings, jungle gym, basketball goals,
etc. $ 500.00
RUNNING WATER- The children at Hope have
never had running water. To bathe they have to
pump water by hand and carry buckets to the bath
house. When they do their laundry, by hand, they
have to pump the water by hand. When the cooks
are preparing meals, they have to pump the water
by hand and carry it to the kitchen. To have
running water at Hope we will need to purchase
and install a water pump, run water lines and
electric wire and install one or two water tanks
on top of the bath house. In the evenings when
the generator is being run, water can be pumped
into the elevated water tanks and provide running
water by gravity feed to the bathhouse, dorms
and the kitchen. $2,000.00
LANDSCAPING-The grounds at Hope include several
palm trees, apples trees, etc. and the lay of the land
is very nice, sloping up from the highway to a very
level area where the buildings are located, and then
sloping down to a swamp behind the grounds. A little
bit of landscaping would transform the appearance
and the atmosphere of the home in an amazing way.
Sis Etta was recently able to persuade a local
company to bring a bulldozer to the home and clear
the brush from around the buildings, all the way to
the highway, knock down an old, dead brick house on
the grounds and they built a new driveway, which is
a huge improvement. There is a real need to build
sidewalks and install shrubbery beds around the
buildings, etc. $1,000.00
SIGNBOARD/BILLBOARD IMPROVEMENT- The
government requires a signboard and we have a
signboard, but it needs to be enlarged and
repainted and re-lettered. $ 200.00
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