Orphan Cry International

                                         
                                                        Living our faith through our actions

We finished our project to provide 500 "arm chair" school desks in Liberia, West Africa.  In addition to the student desks, we were able to provide 20 teacher's desks and 20 blackboards to complete the outfitting of each classroom.

This project was a partnership between Orphan Cry International, the Johnson City & Bainbridge New York Rotary Clubs, Rotary District 7170, and Compassion for African Villages.

All of the items were manufactured by local craftsmen in Liberia.  On the ground logistical support was provided by LinkAid International.

We are appreciative to all of the partners for making this project a great success!

School Desks in Liberia

Boarding School Projects in Ukraine

We are currently conducting projects for three special boarding schools in Ukraine.  Each one is unique:

  •  Boarding school for blind & visually impaired
  •  Boarding school for children with Cerebral Palsy
  •  Boarding school for children with Tuberculosis

Each project will involve the provision of tools, equipment, and supplies to assist in the care and treatment of the children with these special needs.  We will update this page as these projects develop.

Click below to contribute to these special project:
 
 

 

With your generous support we were able to bless 100 needy Liberian pastors for Christmas this year!  Our special Pastor's Christmas Gift Project was designed to encourage and equip pastors & church leaders on a non-denominational basis. 

The project consisted of a special workshop and church service.  At the event, attendees were provided with a Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible which included a training session on its use.  Additionally, each participant  received a gallon of cooking oil, and a 50 pound bag of rice.  (That is 2.5 tons of rice in total!)  We can attest that this was an incredible blessing to the pastor and their family.  In addition to the Study Bible training, two additional workshops were offered: One for Church Protocol - Best Practices and one for training in Worship & Music Ministry. 

The event culminated in a special service with a message of encouragement and support for the pastors as they celebrated Christmas and began to serve in the new year.  

Liberian Pastors Christmas Gift

Liberia Book Drive

A 40' shipping container was filled with school books  (approximately 30,000 books).  Over 80% of Liberia's schools were destroyed during the civil war, UNESCO estimated that over 250,000 children in Liberia have never been to school at all.  In many schools children do not have desks and in one documented case, 27 children shared one book. 

To facilitate this project, Orphan Cry partnered with Compassion for African Villages (lead partner), The Robert Massaquoi Foundation, and the following Rotary International Clubs:

  •   Sinkor Rotary Club, Liberia
  •   El Cajon Sunset Rotary Club, California
  •   La Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club, California
  •   Johnson City Rotary Club, New York
 
Together we made a difference!        More Info >>
Христос воскрес!  (Christ is Risen!)

Easter is an important event in the lives of our Orthodox friends in Russia and Ukraine.  Special this year is the fact that Easter it will fall on the same date for both of us: April 16th.  In the west, we often celebrate Easter on a different date due to variances in our calendars.

We are sending our annual Easter parcels to orphanages and boarding schools in both locations.  They include Easter candy for all, and a special message celebrating the resurrection that is the hope of our faith.  These parcels help maintain our relationship in between our visits to the sites - and the children are always thrilled to open the parcels from their friends in America. 

Easter Care-Paks for Russia & Ukraine

Pastors Christmas Gift

With your generous help, we were able to provide 75 Liberian pastors with a special Christmas gift package consisting of a study Bible, 50 pounds of rice, and a gallon of cooking oil.  It may not sound like much, but we can assure you, this is a huge blessing for them.

Orphan Cry representatives on the ground in Liberia organized a special Pastor appreciation service where the gifts were distributed.  Also at this time a special training session was held on the use of the study Bible. 

The pastors and church leaders, seen to the right, were greatly encouraged!  

Thank you all who contributed to this special project!

Christmas Care-Paks

Each year Orphan Cry sends Christmas Care-Paks to a number of orphanages we are associated with in Russia.  This year we added five additional sites to our roster.  These new sites are located in Ukraine. 

Our Care-Paks allow us to stay in touch with the kids in between our visits and are full of fun items for the children,  teachers, and staff.  Christmas is also a wonderful time for us to remind our friends about the true meaning of Christmas.  That is an integral part of our Christmas Care-Paks. 

Special thanks to all who helped make this possible!

Rice Farm Assistance

In partnership with the Rotary International Foundation and the Bainbridge, NY & Sinkor, Liberia Rotary Clubs, we were able to provide a BCS tractor and 60 Garden Weasel hoes to the Community of Hope Agriculture Project (C.H.A.P.) in Jacob Town, Liberia, West Africa.

C.H.A.P. is the largest rice producer in the nation, but a very needy enterprise. Cornell University is currently providing technical support on techniques for sustainable rice production and this has already greatly improved their crop yield and quality.  Almost all the work is done by hand.  The tractor and hoes will will be a huge blessing to this non-profit food producing organization.


Status:  Project is complete.

We are pleased to report that this project has been fully funded between the The Rotary Foundation, Orphan Cry International, and the Bainbridge, NY Rotary Club.

A thumbs up on their  new beds

Beds for Orphan Children

Orphan Cry was able to provide 74 bunk beds, mattresses, and pillows to the Mother Blessing orphanage in Monrovia, Liberia.  The staff at Mother Blessing orphanage provide loving and nurturing care, but the facility is in great need. 


During a previous visit, Ken was disturbed to see the children sleeping on the concrete floor - some with blankets - and determined to change this situation.  Through a partnership between Orphan Cry, the Rotary Clubs of Monrovia & Bainbridge, New York, a grant was obtained to fund 50% of the cost of this wonderful project.


Much remains to be done at this facility.  The sleeping quarters need roof repairs, they are in great need of a clean water deep well, and adequate sanitation facilities.


New Clean Water Well

Contaminated water contributes to the spread of Cholera, Typhoid and Malaria among various other serious illnesses.  Fortunately for the kids at Christ Our Hope Orphanage, they have a new deep clean water well.

The well was drilled by Living Waters.  Funding was provided by Mitchell Swayback Charities.  Orphan Cry provided the initial needs assessment and worked diligently to bring the parties together.

While Living Waters had a crew drilling the well, they also had a ministry team onsite and provided a showing of the Jeus Film to the children, staff and community at large.  Living Waters is a fantastic organization

The well is intended, and fully capable, to serve not just the orphanage, but the community as well.  We estimate that around 1,600 people will benefit from this project   In addition to the positive health aspect, this project has been a wonderful testimony in the community

Lori was assisted by Zhenya, a Russian lady who also has experience and knowledge in this area.  Zhenya has excellent English language skills and also served as Lori's interpreter.  They made an amazing team - one only God could have assembled for this very purpose.


The success of this outreach could be seen in the way that informal dialogue continued for a long time after each formal seminar.  There was much sharing of experiences and strategies.  Our team also learned quite a bit themselves during this outreach.  It was so very well received.  We were asked to come back again soon.

Training for Orphanage Staff

With the professional assistance of Lori A. Jones Fangue, M.A.B.C., N.C.C. we were able to provide specialized training on Complex Developmental Trauma, and Attachment Disorder to attentive staff at orphanages in Russia.  As a specialist in these areas, Lori was able to provide practical guidance to the staff. We also developed our own Russian language resources which we provided and they were received with much appreciation.