Child Development Program

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Child Development Program. It began with a desire to get to know the older students at some of our homes, but has grown into a weekly program with 120 participants in 11 small groups at three different homes. The past year has been a learning process for us: learning to address social issues specific to orphanage life, learning lots of new names, and exploring options for education.

December 25th is just around the corner, and the kids in our Child Development Program have been getting in the Christmas spirit this week! The kids got a chance to explore their creativity as they worked on some special Christmas crafts. (Thank you, North Lindale Church, for donating the materials. They were put to great use, and they put a smile on all the kids' faces!) Since we want to encourage the individuality of every child that we work with, all the kids had the opportunity to choose their own project and decorate it any way they liked.

Orphan Relief and Rescue is excited to welcome Elena Pellizzaris to our growing field team in Liberia. Elena fell in love with the children of Liberia and the vision of Orphan Relief and Rescue while she was visiting for a few weeks last year. She comes to us with several years of experience teaching preschool and elementary age children near Philadelphia, PA. The expertise she brings to the field will greatly benefit our Child Development Program where she will be working closely with Mariel.

Will and Brian came to Liberia with a set plan: play soccer and disciple the boys at Fatu’s orphanage three times a week. Due to school exams, however, they had to delay the start of their soccer program by a week, and instead focused on tutoring the kids for their big tests. Here's the rest of the story straight from Will and Brian:

When I came back to Liberia last Friday, I brought with me two very special alumni. Will and Brian were part of a high school team in the summer of 2007, when Orphan Relief and Rescue had only been working in Liberia for a few months. That team of students, in just a month, had a permanent effect on the children at Fatu's orphanage. (The children ask for them by name every single time I visit them!)