Celebrate a Mother, Bless a Child!!!

Alisa Martin, a dear friend, an adoptive mom, and a Kind Hearts sponsor mom, is offering a special Mother's Day gift for families who want to honor and acknowledge their mother (whether that "mom" is your own mother, your mother-in-law, the mother to your kids, a sister or a friend).

Alisa's Mother's Day "celebration card" is a tangible reminder of your love, and it blesses the children at Kind Hearts care-point in Ethiopia. 100% of your monetary gift on behalf of your mom, will go toward the playground equipment at Kind Hearts. (Alisa is donating her time, materials and postage so that 100% of your gift can go to the kids at Kind Hearts.)

Alisa explains, "This Mother's Day, I don't want a single gift...I want nothing...other than the opportunity to be a surrogate mother of-sorts to these lonely, hurting children. And I pray that you will join me this Mother's Day! Join me, and stand in the gap for mothers who are unable to feed, clothe and educate their precious little ones!"

There are 68 children at Kind Hearts, who were literally starving when I visited them in December. They were weak and lethargic, and the care-point was only able to provide a meal of rice one time each week. But by the end of January, every child at Kind Hearts had been matched with a sponsor family, whose $34 monthly committment ensures that their sponsor child get nutritious meals every day, as well as clothing, medical care, education and Christian discipleship. We have had two separate groups visit the kids at Kind Hearts since then, and these kids'lives have been transformed - and they know they have the love and prayers and concern of a family here in the U.S. that they are getting to know through letters.

But our goal for Kind Hearts is not only to provide basic needs for these kids. Instead of being a place to survive, we want the kids at Kind Hearts to thrive!! With that in mind, we are focusing on several capital projects to develop Kind Hearts so that the care-point becomes more self-sufficient and can serve even more children and add more grade levels.

A fresh-water well is one of the first necessities - which will allow us to then develop a chicken farm on the property (for fresh eggs and meat - protein for the kids' meals and funds from egg sales) as well as bathrooms, showers and a kitchen. The fresh-water well will cost abut $15,000 and St. Joseph Christian school has raised $10,000 so far!

Another one of our capital projects is playground equipment for the kids. A beat-up teeter-totter and a rickety swing-set (pictured below) are the only "toys" the Kind Hearts kids have - and they are shared between all 68 kids. Playground equpiment not only promotes healthy excercise and agility, but it provides a much-needed place for a kid to just be a kid!

The money from the Mother's Day celebration cards will be donated Kind Hearts to purchase playground equipment (a good set of equipment will cost $2850). We will announce our progress on this blog and we will feature pictures of the new equipment when we are able to purchase it (hopefully shortly after Mother's Day!!).

Please click over to Alisa's blog to purchase a Kind Hearts Mother's Day Celebration Card. Mother's Day is less than 3 weeks away (Sunday, May 9) and Alisa is planning to mail cards on the Monday before Mother's Day. We have less than 2 weeks to contact Alisa through her blog. All the details are listed on her blog. Thank you so much for your support and care for these precious kids at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia!!!

You can easily and securely pay with a credit card through her paypal button, on the right side of her blog. She will need to know the recipient's name and address and your name(s). Click here for Alisa's celebration cards!