Raising Hope recently received a letter from a donor who said, "Thank you for the time you all spend caring for kids who may never see you, meet you, or fully know how much a group of strangers care for them." If I were able to travel to every orphanage and school for orphaned children that we have helped around the world, I would do so in a heartbeat! I would like nothing more than to hold every child and to tell each of them they are special, they are remembered and they are loved.

However, reality is that I cannot always meet every child in person. Most times, I have to be satisfied with receiving pictures of the kids enjoying their new playgrounds and toys. This year, Raising Hope expanded into two more countries: South Africa and Kenya. As we grow, there will be even more children who will never meet any of us from Raising Hope.

So why do we continue on, and why do our donors continue to give? Because we are making a difference! We are turning bare rooms into colorful places to play. We are building playgrounds at schools so that children have a safe place to go out to for recess. We are providing physical therapy equipment to special needs kids who would otherwise have no options for play. But most importantly, we are sending the message to these beautiful children that they matter so much that even a group of strangers wants them to be happy.

Thank you to all of you who continue to make Raising Hope possible, and for helping us show orphaned children around the world that they are special, they are remembered and they are loved.

Forever grateful,

Cathy

KENYA

Humble Hearts School
Raising Hope was thrilled to help out Angel Cover's Humble Hearts School in Kenya this year! We provided the school with a swing set, a slide, a see-saw and a climbing unit. We also had the security wall and gate around the school heightened and reinforced. As you can see from this photo, the kids are having so much fun playing together on their new playground!

SOUTH AFRICA

Ingane Yami Children's Village
Ingane Yami, the Zulu name meaning "My child", is a village recently built by Kloof Harvest Church on South Africa's east coast to provide homes for orphaned children. The children are placed in a permanent "family" home that consists of 6 children and a housemother. Raising Hope provided the outdoor play area, complete with a playset, a trampoline, scooters and basketball hoops!

CHINA

Shanghai Healing Home
Raising Hope provided the Shanghai Healing Home with a variety of indoor and outdoor play equipment for the babies and toddlers in their care. The children now have new toys, musical instruments, books, slides and riding toys to play with while they recover and heal after surgery!

Baobei Foundation
Baobei Foundation funds surgeries for orphaned children throughout China. The children receive surgery in Shanghai and are then placed with families who care for them until they are ready to return to their orphanage or are placed for adoption. Raising Hope put together bags of safe and age appropriate toys that will travel with the babies to their healing homes.

Home of Hope Gongyi
This year, Raising Hope was honored to help another Home of Hope orphanage in China. We provided their orphanage in Gongyi with a new outdoor playground, as their old one was becoming unsafe. The staff at the Home of Hope orphanages value play and ensure the children in their care have plenty of play time, so we are always thrilled to help them out!

Shangrao Children's Welfare Institute
A new orphanage was built in Shangrao, consisting of twelve apartments. Each apartment has two house parents and up to six children. Raising Hope provided toys, books and puzzles for each of the twelve indoor playrooms. Cristi and I had the joy of delivering the toys and setting up the playrooms. We had so much fun playing with the kids!