Orphan Care Projects
Feina, Darfur, Sudan
"They were in school when the rebels came with guns and began shooting. They ran. They ran for their lives. They ran for their futures. They ran in fear and dread. They ran with holes in their shoes and ragged clothes a year ago and still wear them to work today. They ran to this place, Feina, and then they stopped running. They are exploited. They earn an average of less than $1.00 a day working in the market. They ran from their education and from their families to survive the bullets that flew through the air. They ran to this future... one of no education, no money, exploitation, no family, and themselves as friends. They ran for a future and received the present... sleeping huddled together on the dirt ground with no blankets to cover them in the cold season."
The quote above describes the plight of the "street boys" of Feina, Darfur. The street boys are children under age 17 who fled the fighting in their villages and settled in Feina. All of them are homeless. Some are orphans. Some have no idea if the rest of their family survived, and if they survived, to which refugee or Internally Displaced Person camp they fled. They are bright young men, some of the hardest workers in Feina, but their situation is dire. HISG is working with another organization to build a home for these boys in Feina, where their most basic needs of food, clothing, safety and shelter will finally be met.
Construction of the building is underway, and a wall around the property has been completed. The boys are very excited about the new home, and are eager to help in any way they can. They have worked hard digging rocks out of the ground, then breaking and stacking them to help build the wall.
Years of civil war have created a terrible situation in Darfur, and the child victims of the violence have faced tremendous sorrow. HISG is reaching out to these children and giving them a home environment in which they can grow, learn, and thrive.
Haiti
In 2007 HISG shipped a container full of supplies including a generator, clothes, toys, desks, chairs, computers, medical supplies, and educational curriculum to an orphanage and school in Haiti. The facility has expressed deep gratitude, especially for the generator and the educational equipment that have given the children a number of new opportunities. In a region where educational options are limited, simple equipment like a computer, a place to sit, and current learning materials can make a significant impact on an entire community. The impact thus far has been that many children who were too poor to go to school can now meet in this newly outfitted school, and people with crippling disabilities now have equipment like crutches, canes and walkers to make them mobile again.
North Africa
In North Africa a repressive social system solicits boys, some as young as two years old, to leave their families and move to large cities to beg for coins on street corners. The children are treated like slaves, and if their begging does not generate enough income, the boys are often physically abused by the men who are supposed to be their teachers and caretakers. It is an abhorrent child trafficking trade, and in one capital city more than 7,000 children beg, earning $2 million per year for their keepers.
HISG is working with an organization in one North African city to provide meals, language classes and vocational training to help the boys. The meals show the children they are cared for, and that their lives have value; the vocational training gives them an opportunity for a better future; and the language classes are vital because sometimes the children come from hundreds of miles away when they are very young, and do not speak the local language or even know the name of the village they came from or how to return home.
Often, the children are sent out to beg when they are still too young to attend school, and even as they get older, they continue to spend 10 or more hours begging each day instead of attending school. HISG's partner in North Africa is teaching the boys how to read and write, and has provided 20 places for the boys in a local school. For the older boys, the vocational training center offers training in carpentry, hairdressing and tailoring. More than 50 boys have been involved in the project during the last three months.
In addition to caring for their physical well-being, this project includes a mentoring aspect for the boys. The instructors treat the boys with respect and genuinely care for them. HISG is committed to helping these children out of their terrible circumstance and empowering them to make a better future for themselves.
Surabaya, Indonesia
One of the orphanages that HISG supports is in a dangerous part of a Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city. The orphanage stood out in an area populated by corrupt government officials, organized crime syndicates, and small-time criminals. A few years into the operation, a local government office was threatening to evict the orphanage from property. The people caring for the orphans had nowhere else to take them, and were afraid the building would be shut down, and all the children sent back out on to the streets. But one week before the eviction date, a mob boss intervened on behalf of the orphanage and the orphans, telling government officials "I'm a bad man, I'm a mafia [man] and nobody makes me leave. But why do you make trouble for them? They take care of the orphans. They care for the orphans, but you want to make them leave. Leave them alone, for humanity's sake. If anyone should dare touch this orphanage, they should walk on my dead body." The facility was left alone and is still their operating after 15 years.
HISG has been actively involved with helping orphans and homeless families in Surabaya since 2005. We work with a local organization that distributes food and provides medical treatment to the poorest of the poor people in the city. They also offer classes in health and hygiene, and vocational training. Feeding the hungry and caring for the sick are tangible demonstrations of the commitment that our partners in Surabaya have made to the most helpless members of the community, and HISG is proud to be a part of their effort.
Gift in Kind Shipments
In addition to directly supporting the orphan care facilities and projects listed above, HISG has shipped hundreds of thousands of dollars of gift-in-kind donations to a number of other orphanages in countries like Ukraine, Romania, Uzbekistan, Uganda, and the Congo. HISG's warehouse has partnered with different in-country agencies to ship loads of food, clothing, medical supplies, cribs, mattresses, equipment for special needs children and other supplies essential for caring for the children. Since, 2001, HISG has operated with the intention of "connecting resources to needs," and one of the primary motivations behind that ideal is the passion to provide orphanages with the things that they need to care for children. HISG has built a network of warehouses and shipping partners who have made this a reality, and connected thousands of resources to underprivileged children in need.
Humanitarian International Services Group | 870 Commercial Lane, Palmer Lake, CO 80133 Phone:(303) 662-0845 | HISG is a non-profit 501(c)3 tax exempt organization