Tanzania – Cry for Help is Answered

September 2010 -  Recently, Michael’s House had an urgent request from a family in Tanzania, who was willing to provide lifetime care for one of our elderly guests, if we could assist with a shelter.
Through the selfless giving of three private donors, we were able to erect a hut adjacent to theirs to accommodate the elderly gentleman.
The generosity of the family and private donors is truly appreciated and another example of what we can do together.

 

Michael's House in Thailand and Rwanda

Michael's House embarked on two new projects; The Baan Suksek project in rural Thailand and a sewing cooperative in Rwanda.

BAAN SUKSEK serving rural Thailand
June 2010 - Tery LaRose wrote to us saying, “ My wife, who was raised by her grand parents, lived in utter poverty. She watched as they aged and had no one to care for them. She has always remembered just how unhappy and destitute their final years were. Her dream is to make a very simple home for people who now find themselves in similar destitution."

» Learn more about this project, watch videos and see photos at the Baan Suksek website. 

» Donate to the Baan Suksek Project.

 

Empowering War Widows in Rwanda -

Michael’s House is helping to set up sewing cooperatives to enable survivors of the Rwandan genocide  to earn a living.

May 2010 - From April through June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days. A disproportionate number of the survivors are poor widows. Many of them are barely surviving. The 10 million population of Rwanda, whose capital city is Kigali, has a life expectancy of 50 years old for women and 48 for men.

Grace Umutesi is a Michael’s House Board Member who is widowed as a result of the genocide that took place in Rwanda. Though she and her six children made it to the United States, Grace is haunted by the memory of the less fortunate left behind.

At Grace's request, Michael's House has launched an entrepreneurship program that will provide assistance to a group of these widows to help them in setting up their own enterprise. The idea is that we will set up cooperatives of groups of widows (probably six to a group) to whom we will donate sewing machines. This is a very effective and proven way of enabling these women to earn a living. Your donation to this Rwandan Sewing Project is indeed a gift that will keep on giving.

"Rachel's Clinic"

The medical clinic at the Michael's House main compound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has been dedicated to the memory of Rachel Craig who was killed in Indonesia on May 31, 2009.

THE NEWLY NAMED "RACHEL'S CLINIC" provides hundreds of destitute aged homeless people with healthcare. It also provides care for the residents of Ann's Shelter.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE -

Michael’s House embarks on a new use for our three farms, Ryan- Rice Farm, Grace Farm, and Audrey’s Farm in Uganda.

OUR NEXT MAJOR PROJECT, “…IT TAKES A VILLAGE” is to further utilize the farms by providing on site housing for some of the elderly who continue to sleep on the streets of Kampala. Through the kindness of John Tseronis, an architect and volunteer for Michael’s House, the picture shown here will be brought to life through your generous donations.

For as little as $100, you can build a one-room shelter that will house one or more of the elderly and it will also become part of the larger village compound. Your name or that of a loved one can be placed over the entrance to commemorate your generosity. If you wish to participate in this project, please specify “it takes a village” project on your donation. "It Takes a Village" on-line.

This feature stories and more are available in the Michael's House Newsletter of November 2009

A NEW VAN FOR ETHIOPIA -

After a long struggle with a 35 year old Jeep as it's sole means of transportation, Michael's House welcomes "Nevin's Bus."

WE ARE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for the gift of an all-purpose van for use in Ethiopia.  The van will be used to transport our destitute elderly to and from clinics and hospitals. In addition, we will now be able to deliver meals to homebound elderly as well as emergency medical services, which had often been delivered on foot.

The van will also enable the staff in Addis Ababa to travel confidently the vast distances between our projects in the West and South of Ethiopia. The van will bear the name “Nevin’s Bus” at the request of the donor, who piloted the project in the name of his late father.  Read more about this and our generous benefactor in the Michael's House Newsletter of January 2009.

COMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE -

Michael's House Community Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia gains in popularity and overcomes one challenge.  

NEWS OF THE MEDICAL CLINIC at Michael’s House Community Center in Addis Ababa has spread to the extent that police and other community officials are bringing the wounded or ill elderly from afar to receive our free basic medical services. We are well known and respected in the area, which is both a blessing and a challenge. This is a blessing in that we are able to assist many more elderly than the regular guests we have at Michael’s House while it challenges us to “s t r e t c h” our dollars that we have   allocated to medical expenses. Still, we are pleased to have gained local notoriety and respect!

THANKS TO A GENEROUS DONATION, A new water system has been installed at at the Community Center.- During the past several months, Michael’s House Community Center has been experiencing water shortage and stoppage due to the building of a large hospital in the area. In order to provide water to the center, volunteers have been carrying water by hand from Ann’s Shelter that has its own water storage system. Thanks to a generous supporter and volunteer of Michael’s House, we have now been able to erect a new water storage system at the Community Center for which, we are eternally grateful.

These feature stories and more are available in the Michael's House Newsletter of January 2009

 

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