education

As in the rest of the continent, HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in Liberia. For the last six weeks, a group of kids from Francis Gaskin Orphanage and their school mates have been in a special HIV/AIDS education course created just for them.

Timothy is a shy, soft-spoken little boy who is in my small group on Friday afternoons. He's usually pretty quiet, but he always gives me a hug when he sees me and flashes me a smile that just melts my heart.

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.

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.