OWI Kenya Update, April, 2011

Hello Friends and Family of Ordinary Women, Inc., (OWI)

As we prepare our hearts for this Easter season, let us remember how much we have to be grateful for.  Ordinary Women, Inc. is thankful for your ongoing support to our Orphan Program in Kenya.  Without you, this program would not exist, and these orphans would not be getting a second chance at life.  We are eternally grateful to you.

I want to introduce you to Ezekiel, a precious little eight year old in our program.  Ezekiel's parents married in 2002, and Ezekiel was born in 2003.  After his parents had been married for three years, Ezekiel's father became ill with HIV and passed away one year later.  Shortly after his death, Ezekiel's mother became ill.  She was tested for HIV, and she was found to be HIV+ as well.  The diagnosis shocked her deeply, leading to a hospital stay of three months.  She then had a stroke that paralyzed the entire right side of her body, altering her speech and movement. 

During this time, because of Ezekiel's mother being so ill and not able to care for him, Ezekiel went to live with his grandmother.  At the beginning of our Orphan Program in Kenya, Ezekiel was identified as a child at risk and in need of support to survive.  He was accepted into the Orphan Program. 

Ezekiel was provided with a mattress, blankets, and a mosquito net to protect him from mosquitoes that cause malaria.  He was also provided a school uniform, which is mandatory in Kenya to go to school, and his preschool fees were paid for school entry.  (In Kenya, all children have to attend preschool before entering first grade).  He was given a backpack, shoes, socks, a sweater, and is given basic medical care.  His grandmother is given a monthly supply of food for Ezekiel which helps her as she cannot support him on her own. 

When first coming into the Orphan Program, Ezekiel was very angry and rebellious to those around him.  He had been traumatized from losing his father and from his mother becoming so ill.  As the social workers in the Orphan Program began visiting Ezekiel, he and his grandmother came to the monthly meetings with the social workers, and he learned that he is loved and cared for.  Ezekiel's attitude has changed, and he is very active in the Orphan Program as well as very grateful for it.  He is not sure if his dream is to be a teacher or a pilot, but he now knows that he can dream, and that he has a future. 

In this story, not only has Ezekiel's and his grandmother's lives been changed, but his mother's as well.  She has been taking her anti-retroviral medication for HIV, and her life has significantly improved.  She says that she wants to live and witness her child graduate from high school and work like other professionals.  This is so exciting!  Through the Orphan Program, the orphans are not the only ones being impacted and receiving the blessings from you, but many others as well.  Thank you, thank you for your ongoing support!
 
If you are interested in supporting one of the orphans in our Orphan Program for just $35 a month, please go to our website at www.ordinarywomen.org where you can choose your orphan from the profiles.  Or you can write to us at:

                                                          Ordinary Women, Inc.
                                                   26861 Trabuco Road, Suite E#146
                                                         Mission Viejo, Ca. 92691
 
Joining Hands for Global Change,
Darla Morfin
Ordinary Women, Inc.
Executive Director-OWI Orphan Program

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