Fundraising

Mitchell Elementary School in Southeast Manitoba surprised us all at their last TREATS + TREASURES Fundraiser on May 3rd!  This is a fundraiser put on by the WHOLE SCHOOL where the students donate their toys and parents bring in baked goods.   The community spirit is electric!!  All the students get to come shopping!  This is the 8th consecutive year that they have partnered with funding students to school in Liberia, West Africa, through the organization of Provision of Hope.  This year they will put 13 students to school.   In total they have raised a grand sum of $ 18,498!!!  This is most remarkable!!!

Treats and Treasures is a WHOLE School Effort.

Grade 4 students are the “cashiers” at the tables.

For the first time this year the Grade 3 students also organized carnival games to generate funds.

Parents bring baked goods for the students to sell!

Principal Joe Thiessen at assembly with Karen Barkman CEO of Provision of Hope. Elaine Peters and Audrey Kampen, are both teachers who are very involved in organizing these events.

See all the students that MES has been sponsoring over the years. This coming year they will be able to fund 13 students!

This is the group of teachers that went to Liberia with Karen Barkman in 2012. Yvonne Schroeder Principal of Kleefeld School), Elaine Peters and Karen Swiderski ( Teachers at MES) Kristen Reimer Teacher at Woodlawn) and Lorie Friesen ( Resource Teacher at MES) They hosted 2 major conferences for 27 schools and 152 Teachers. This was so beneficial for the Liberian Teachers. The Minister of Education is asking them to come again!

These are the values that the students at MES are taught. Even at these young ages they learn that as we all work together to help others we really can CHANGE THE WORLD FOR GOOD!

The Liberian Students like to send their letters and artwork for the students at MES.  Take a look!

Bintu Yusef Artwork

Art 5

Letter from Prince David

Artwork by Prince David

Artwork by Bendu Kollinson

Artwork by Bendu

Liberian children all need to pay for their school fees, which is the reason many cannot afford to go to school.  Registration and tuition is approximately $ 300 per student, plus their school supplies.  This is a country that is extremely poor with a very high unemployment rate.  We all believe that to end poverty, education is necessary.  This year Provision of Hope was able to fund 150 students to school and Mitchell Elementary’s partnership was a big help. 

This is a SUMMARY OF FUNDS raised over the past 8 yrs and where the funds were distributed.

2011 –  750 for bunk beds for Ma Esther’s Orphan Home

2012 –  1,100  Teaching Materials for 5 Teachers

2013  – 1,400 – 7 students to school

2014 –  1,600 – 8 students to school

2015 –  2,247 -9 students to school plus uniforms & shoes

2016 –  3,087 -9 students to school plus all school supplies and textbooks

2017 –  3,614- 10 students plus uniforms, shoes, PE suits,copy books & book bags

2018  – 4,700  13 students to school plus materials

Grand total to date 18,498.00

Karen Barkman, would like to thank the STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND PARENTS of the Mitchell Elementary School for YOUR KIND AND CARING HEARTS to help our children in Liberia!

Every dollar donated goes to this cause.  Nothing is taken off for admin fees.

Thank you for THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE!!!!

Christmas in the Buduburam Refugee Camp is very sad.  Many do not even have enough food to eat.

Rice keeps getting more expensive every day.  It is now at $ 65 a Bag.  Who can afford that in the camp, so they buy it by the cup.  Our leaders in the camp, brought a group of very poor widows to our attention, including a young handicapped boy. This is the group that goes around picking up plastic bags.  At the end of a hard day of work, they are hoping it is enough money to eat. We are trying to buy Bags of Rice for these widows in time for Christmas.  Can any one buy one bag of rice for $ 65?

Rudolf Sumo, a young  man who we helped through high school, at the refugee camp would like to go back to Liberia to stay.  Life on the camp is too hopeless.  Rudolf lost his mother about 6 months ago.  It’s been extremely hard for him and his siblings.   We are hoping that Rudolf will be home for Christmas!  The bus fare to Liberia is $ 300 plus his documents and food for the trip.  If anyone would like to contribute to this cause, we would be most grateful.  We have watched Rudolf over the years.  He is a young man who is always kind and respectful to others.  He would love to study a trade. In time he will. Rudolf is ambitious.  He will make it.  He does have a friend to stay with once he gets home.

We’re still hoping Ma Annie will get her new bed and mattress.  We’re believing for that.  Perhaps someone would like to give a gift towards this.  A bed $ 85, Mattress $ 120, Bedding $ 25, Pillows $ 10

Our children are hoping that they can all get a present for Christmas.  They absolutely LOVE getting a wrapped gift.  It’s usually a brand new dress and some shoes!  They love these surprises!  $ 30 buys nice clothes for a child at Christmas.

For more Christmas ideas click here GIVE A GIFT OF HOPE

Hi Friends and Partners,

Are you looking to give a gift that really counts?   Here are some great ideas!  Remember, it is not the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it….Eileen Elias Freeman

Buy a gift for one of our children $ 30. It’s great if we can buy them new clothes.

Second Semester starts in January. We registered 150 children to school. Second semester is $ 100 depending on the school.

Each Christmas we try to buy bundles of good used clothing for the children in our homes. Each bundle has ALOT of clothes. $ 250 per bundle

Grandma Annie is one of our widows. She does not have a bed or a mattress. Bed $ 85 Mattress $ 120 Bedding $ 25 Pillows $ 10

Seeds for a Garden $ 50.  Garden Tools $ 100. This way people can grow nutritious food like cabbages, kale, okra, cassava, tomatoes, cucumbers etc

Micro Loans are a big help for our single mothers. A good start is $ 300 up to $ 500

Rent a room for a year. $ 35 per month.   $ 420 per year. This is what most in Liberia call home… one room. So many come to us for room rent. They simply do not have funds. We do cater to orphans and widows as well as single moms.

Treatment for a sick child. $ 50 for medication. Treats malaria or typhoid.

Other Ideas:

$ 350   Helps a refugee travel from Buduburam Camp back to Liberia

$ 125   Buys Chicken Dinner and Party Food for One of our Children’s Homes

$ 35     Buys a Bag of Rice for a Widow

$ 15     Buys a good pair of shoes for a child

$ 25     A comforter for one of our widows

$ 50     Supplement for malnourished children

Click here to donate  

I want to wish you ALL a blessed and most joyous Christmas with a sincere thank you for all you have   given to help our orphans, widows and refugees.    YOUR GIVING CHANGES LIVES!
My PRAYER this Christmas is that we can bring a little HOPE to our friends in NEED.

Click to Download our Christmas Letter PDF

Sponsor a Student – $300 per year

Buy a bag of rice – $35

Chicken Dinner – $100 for a Hope Home

Take a Widow off the floor – $300 – A bed, mattress,blankets and flooring

Rent a room – $420 for one year for a single mother and her kids

Sponsor a child – $50 per month

Gift of clothes – $30

Micro Loans – start at $300

Garden Seeds – $200 supplies a whole garden

Moringa Plants for a Garden – $50 Buys 20 plants

Chickens – 2 for $10

Transport a refugee back home – $250 per person

Or Mail a Cheque Payable to Hope for the Nations Address: 101-1865 Dilworth Dr. Suite 342, Kelowna, BC V1Y 9T1

(Download the Canadian Order Form Here)

In the US Payable to Wordsower International Memo:Provision of Hope Address: P.O. Box 8064 Salem, OR 97303

(Download the USA Order Form Here)

Today, I am thinking of all our dear friends in the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana.  How I wish I could do something more for them … just because it’s Christmas! 

I decided to make A CHRISTMAS WISH LIST ….

I wish we could help Korpu to go back home to Liberia and resettle before Christmas.  She is  a single mother with a 5 yr. old daughter.  The cost for her bus fare is $ 250.  Her daughter could go for $ 125.

I wish we could help a mother who needs 5 mattresses for her children.  Right now they are sleeping on blankets on the floor.  $ 100 per mattress

I wish we could buy  bags  and bags of rice for poor families and especially for our elderly widows.  At Christmas we like to add more items to the widow’s packs.  More soap, more salt and more oil.

A.  Buy a Bag of Rice for a refugee family or for our widows.     Cost is $ 35 

I wish we could buy clothes for all our Hope Home Children, and all the children in our Care Homes.

B.  Buy a bag of clothes for a needy family.    Cost for one bag of good used clothes is $ 250 USD

I wish I could find a sponsor for Felecia, and her little girl.  $ 50 per month.

C.  Give a gift to a single mother who struggles to feed her child.  $ 50

I wish I could buy 100 pairs of shoes for the many who need new shoes.

D.  Buy a pair of shoes.  Cost is $ 20.00  Peter lives in the refugee camp.  Like everyone else there, he is very poor.  How will he celebrate Christmas?    He would be so happy for a new pair of shoes.

We definitely want to buy clothes for all our children in our Hope Homes.   In the photo below Eric Gbour, one of our Hope Home dads, is checking out the bags of used clothing.  He said he is “window shopping” … and dreaming of course.  We rely on donations at Christmas to buy clothes for the children.

Alvin and Calvin are showing the Christmas gifts they received last year.  These boys were rescued from extreme poverty.  They are now part of Eric and Kamah’s lovely family.  I’m sure they will be hoping for presents again.  $ 30 buys a set of new clothes.

One more wish … I wish we could make more beds for widows who sleep on the cold floor.

A  bed $ 100, a mattress $ 100,  $ 25 warm blankets  $10 pillows  $ 5 mosquito net

Click here to donate on line   

Or Mail a Cheque Payable to Hope for the Nations    Address:  101-1865 Dilworth Dr. Suite 342, Kelowna, BC  V1Y 9T1

In the US Payable to Wordsower International Memo:Provision of Hope Address:  P.O. Box 8064 Salem, OR  97303