mission Monday - HELO, Inc

At our Girl Scouts meeting last night, one of the girls invited Elisabeth Kennedy to speak to our girls about her mission. The girls have been working on their Global Girls interest project and have been learning about many of the issues that affect women and children around the world. After doing several other activities, the girls created a display about women and children's at our local library. This reminded one of the girls about a speaker that she had heard and so she asked if we would be interested in having her speak to us, thus last night Elisabeth spoke to us about her experiences. After 9/11, Elisabeth began her trips to Haiti. She was so touched and tortured by what she found, she has committed herself to making a change. Through a series of unexpected events and a bit of grace, last year she opened an orphanage in les Cayes, Haiti. Her orphanage currently cares for 13 children, who without her intervention would be left to their own devices and possibly not survive. Her orphanage brings hope and opportunity to these children and hopefully many more to come. She named her program HELO, Inc. HELO stands for Home, Education, Love, and Opportunity. Elisabeth says that she has learned to take small steps but in the course of a year, she has already rented a house for the children, hired caretaker, and begun the kid’s education, but her dreams are larger. She would like to care for my children. She would like to own a campus where a church, school, and home can all be developed for the children. It is important to her that the children have a skill that can carry them on after they leave the care of the Centre Fe Formation Juvenil Bethestda.

We can help in this mission by:
-Becoming more educated about the situation in Haiti and educating others.
-Praying for this mission.
-Donating money (If you are interested in this option, HELO is a non-profit agency. The address for donations is HELO, Inc, 43 Lake Shore Dr., Middlefield, CT 06455. If you would like to specify usage for your money, please choose one of the following categories: Shelter, Food, Education, School Supplies, Clothing, Building Fund, or you can sponsor an individual child for $75 per month. Include your name and address so that a receipt can be returned to you).

The entire meeting left me thinking of the amazing power of One. Elisabeth had felt the calling and she acted. It is quite an amazing story.

PS. I know that it is not Monday, but this infomation couldn't wait.