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Now, during the hottest season in Myanmar, none of the boys at New Heritage Orphanage need any coaxing to jump into their pond to do a little fishing, especially Obed! Obed’s parents both died in a car accident when he was much younger. He and his little sister at first lived with their grandparents, but soon were brought to New Heritage Orphanage because their grandparents were too poor to care for them. Now 15 years old, Obed is very talented. Not only at barehanded fishing, but also at playing soccer, which he plays almost every day. New Heritage desires to become a self-sufficient home. They already raise fish, pigs and, towards the end of April, will be opening their own photo printing shop—thanks to gifts to the Orphan’s Tear Special Projects Fund. Thank you so much making a difference in the life of Obed, as well as all of the children at New Heritage! For the children,
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The school year is over for children in Myanmar, and for them—just like it is for every child around the world—that means it’s time to celebrate the successful completion of another year! The children of Living Hope Orphanage in Yangon decided to celebrate by taking a trip to the zoo and a local amusement park! On their ride home at the end of the day, the children chatted nonstop about all they saw and experienced that day. The director told us that even though the entire day was filled with excitement and activity, the children didn’t feel tired at the end of it! (That’s what kids always say!) Check out the photos below to get a peak into their fun-filled day! For the children,
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We talk a lot about self-sufficiency and micro-loans here at Orphan’s Tear. That’s because we are so excited about empowering others to lift themselves out of poverty, thereby seeing lives transformed. We’re also psyched about seeing your gifts recycled to help multiple orphanages! In this way, we believe that we are better stewards of the funds you have entrusted to us. Thank you so much for your continued confidence in the work of this ministry. Only together can we bear this fruit! I often share with you about how orphanage directors have started small businesses to become more self-sufficient and teach their children how to support themselves when they become adults. This month, however, I want to give you a snapshot of just a few of the hundreds of orphans whose lives you are impacting. Their photos, with brief captions that tell their stories, are below.
Thank you so much for the difference you are making in the lives of these—and many more—children! To improve the lives of orphans,
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Ma Nge’s father died and her mother is mentally ill. She lives at Bethesda Orphanage and loves to sing!
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In Myanmar, as in many countries around the world, no buffalo means no rice harvest. Asian buffaloes are indispensable tools for the plowing and harvesting of rice fields, and even bringing the rice to market. At Life Concern Orphanage, they received a buffalo blessing. Their buffalo recently gave birth to a very cute baby buffalo! Once full grown, they can either sell it for income or keep it to take over for “mom” when she gets too old to work. For the children,
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A total of 94 orphanage directors and future foster parents in Myanmar attended an intensive six-day business training seminar this past month. They learned basic principles about how to operate a successful, God-honoring business. We were very encouraged to receive raving reports from many of the directors. Here are a couple of them:
With this training, and Opportunity Loans from Heaven’s Family, we believe that the directors will have the tools they need to become self-sufficient one day. To improve our orphan’s lives,
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For children in Myanmar, education is usually the highest priority—and seen as their only hope for escaping poverty. In addition to their normal school classes, teachers encourage children to sign up for the extra credit classes. If they fail final exams, they often have to repeat the entire grade. Thus, with having to study hard and do their daily chores, the children have little time left for play. So, when the children of Life Concern Orphanage received a much-needed break from their school work, they hurried with excitement to the park. There they found paper pandas and, as everyone knows, you must have your picture taken with paper pandas! They also had great fun exploring and playing on the park’s playground equipment. For the children,
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I know it’s a little odd for our culture, but believe it or not, a pot is a prize worth competing for in Myanmar! The 10 children of Bethel 2 Orphanage worked really hard studying their lessons in Sunday School, and were handsomely rewarded with their very own pot! For the children,
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NEWS FLASH!! I just can’t resist photos of orphans with cute animals! You already knew that? I suppose that wasn’t hard to guess, since I include them in my blogs so often. Well, today is no exception! Four kittens were born at Grace Orphanage in Kalaymyo, Myanmar. They normally keep the kittens in the box, pictured below, but from the above picture, it appears as if the kids secretly kitten-napped them to their rooms during the night! For the children,
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The children of Faith Orphanage joined a chaplain at a local prison in Kalaymyo, Myanmar, to minister to inmates during the Christmas holidays by singing carols to them. The chaplain also shared the gospel to the crowd. Afterwards, the inmates were served a Christmas meal, a real feast for those who normally receive so little. The director wrote:
I am so blessed to see the children ministering to prisoners. Even though they might be small in stature, I’m sure they made a big impact in the lives of the inmates! For the children,
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The rice is ready to harvest at Grace Orphanage’s rice fields! Orphan’s Tear purchased a rice field for their orphanage several years ago to help them receive a steady, economical supply of rice. Rice is the staple food of the Southeast Asian diet, and having their own field is a wonderful blessing. Along with some greens and a few other foods, they eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner—everyday. In the USA, each person consumes an average of about 20 pounds of rice a year. In Myanmar, however, each person consumes about 500 pounds each year! Here is what the orphanage director said about their rice harvest:
Laboring for fruitfulness,
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