Many of you have asked for tangible ways you can help the children I have been sharing stories about. I am thankful and encouraged by such a tremendous response of care and concern. I have shared some ideas on my blog, and I will include those again now and any others that have come to my attention since.

Here is a brief list of the top 5 needs the children have. Below this list is a more detailed description of each need. I tried to be thorough, but please let me know if you have any questions. If you are one of those wanting to help, I hope that something in this list will strike you as the perfect opportunity.

Material needs for each child
Shoes, backpacks, blankets, hygiene products, educational materials
Sponsorship
Assists with school and uniform fees for an individual child
Feeding program
Pays for one child’s meals at FHS for an entire year
Land & buildings
Contributing to the building fund as FHS is in desperate need to relocate
Hospital project
Provides hygiene products for each child admitted at Katutura Hospital


Material needs for each child
There are several constant needs the children have at FHS. The need for new shoes and backpacks each term is a critical need I have observed. Blankets, hygiene products, clothes, and educational materials are also constant. Some of you have asked if you can mail certain items. You can, but a more economical way to help is to provide the funds for items to be purchased here. Because I live in the capital city, I have access to buy things such as these. It is also better for us to purchase culturally appropriate books here as opposed to having books sent over from the States.

Sponsorship
The 450 registered orphans and vulnerable children at FHS are dependent on donations from individuals and organizations. FHS receives no funding from the government. There are still 150 children who need to be sponsored. Sponsoring a child for one year costs N$1,700 (approx. $224 US at the current exchange rate). This amount covers school fees, uniform costs, school supplies, after-school program fees and personal care items. If you would like more information I can email you the FHS sponsorship flier.

Feeding program
One way to contribute to the feeding program is to commit to covering the cost for one child’s meals at the center for one year for N$1,700 (approx. $224 US). Another option is to contribute to the feeding program as a whole. Recently, FHS lost a significant amount of funding from an outside source. The feeding program is critical to the service of FHS. In addition to the regular feedings, FHS has an end-of-the-year celebration. At this time especially, they try to provide a good selection of meat—increases the cost compared to typical meals of rice or porridge.

Land & buildings
Currently FHS is operating out of a small, one-room center. You can easily imagine how difficult it is to gain and keep the children’s attention when 100 children want to talk at the same time. We have dividers to separate the five classrooms (with a need to expand into six or seven classes). It is a regular occurrence that these heavy dividers come crashing down, often on the children’s small bodies! I hope we can move out of this building soon as it is a major obstacle to all we are trying to accomplish.

Hospital project
When the children are admitted to the hospital, they must provide their own toiletries. Most of the families cannot afford them. If you would like to help with this significant and ongoing need, pack ziploc bags and in each one put a new washcloth, bar of soap (regular or guest-size), toothbrush, and toothpaste. If you want to include a Bible verse, encouraging note, or something you can do that as well. You can put these bags in a box to mail to my address: Hannah Sterling, PO Box 40267, Windhoek, Namibia, AIRMAIL. On the customs form fill out a value of less than $50 and simply write "toilet items". Dr. Steve Brown is the missionary in charge of this project. His blog (and his wife’s) can be found here: http://www.road2namibia.com.

Again, if you have questions about any of these needs, let me know. If you wish to donate money towards any of these needs, please mail a check (made out to me) to my permanent address in Maryville--email me if you don't have that address. (My mom will handle the details for me.) Include a note with how you would like your gift to be used. I will happily keep you updated on that particular project. Because the money is coming directly to me, it will not be tax-deductible. If you wish for your gifts to be tax-deductible, it’s best to send a general donation to my AIM account. Any gifts above my monthly support can eventually be used toward projects such as these.

I hope this helps those of you who asked how you could assist with the needs of the children here. As I come across more needs in the future I will be sure to share them. There are so many stories I encounter each day and I will continue to share as many as I can so you can pray specifically for these children. Thanks also for your prayers for me as I meet these children and try to love them as Christ loves all of us.