How to HelpNewsletters |
December 2002Submitted by editor on Sun, 04/13/2008 - 02:08.
Last August when many of our team were taking a much needed holiday it was of great interest for me to again be the one handling the crisis cases that walked through our door.
And these were only a few of those who turned to us for help at the office and family centre. In addition to these, many children in need over the past year have started to visit our day centre and have found refuge in one of our three children's homes.
We have so much more work to do so we are so glad you are with us. Very often our staff and children pray for those who support our work so we hope you are experiencing great blessing! We remain, as always, truly grateful to you for all your help over the past year. Helen Vipass, Director Luba, House-Mum at the Boys Home, writes:
 A New Home
At the end of March this year, we opened our third children's home where there are eight beds in a four-room apartment in Zolitude district. Natalia, who previously worked in a boarding school and has been a teacher for many years joined us as house-mum here and brought her 11 year-old son Dima with her. In all our homes now we have at least one house-parent who has committed themselves to living in with the children around the clock as a replacement parent. Since Natalia is at Bible school until mid-December and since there have also been some financial constraints we've not yet filled all the beds but already a new child, Kaspers (9 years old), is waiting to join us in January.
When the Time Comes to Leave Many of our children are years behind with their schooling and need support beyond the age of 18 to finish at least basic education. To keep them in a children's home though is not the best answer and not the best way to help them become independent. Partly in answer to this need Helen Grimshaw (Asst Director) has purchased property, which after renovation should accommodate up to five of our adult, but not-really-so-adult, children. For others though we need a different support-base as they venture out into complete independence. We are trying to raise funds for short professional training courses to give the children skills that will help them find employment later but we would value your prayers for wisdom in working out a good strategy to meet the needs of those who may be adult but are still in need of family and a guiding hand.
 Some Political Changes
For many years we have been praying that God will place Christian leaders in government who will rule with His compassion and wisdom. After so many years of corrupt leaders who largely were only interested in lining their own pockets we are so grateful that God has heard our prayers and through the last elections has placed four people (two of them church ministers) from the Christian "Latvian First Party" in senior cabinet positions. Although the party was only four months old it won 10% of the seats in parliament. Maybe now we will begin to see the poverty-stricken taxed less. At present, the subsistence minimum is approximately 90 Lats per month but someone living on this breadline will have to pay approximately one quarter of this entire sum in taxes.
Farm This year the farm has seen a change of hands and we're very grateful that Oleg and Alla are now working hard on making the farm a better and safer environment for children. The farm's roof and windows have undergone major repair and plans to make the farm more productive are underway. We are presently working on establishing contact with more churches in the local area in order to raise more support for the development of children's work at the farm but also we are looking for people who could lead the children's work there.
Day Centre
Our second day centre has suffered hitches in development but we are more-or-less set now to take in a whole new group of kids from the beginning of 2003. Please pray that all the stops will be taken out and at long last we'll be able to get this centre off the ground. It's going to be great to be able to reach more kids with God's love.
For Those of You Who Will Pray The difference has been so felt, especially over the past year, when our Christian friends intercede for Hope for Children and Latvia. The more you pray the more easy our work becomes, the more fruit it brings and the more we want to and can do more! Please do pray for:
Financially Speaking Our work seems to be ever growing and therefore we are in great need of more, not less, financial support! Those of you who support this way please don't give up, your contribution, no matter how small, is of great value to us. For those others who wish to practically support our important work, please see "how to give." |
Life is very tough for the majority of kids and much of the housing where families live in Riga is abominable. One of our most recent additions to our children's home was so delighted to find we had an indoor toilet, but some of the kids that visit us have no functioning toilet at home at all! The problem with alcohol and drugs is not decreasing but increasing, as is juvenile crime. With more deaths and fewer live births the population of Latvia continues to decline falling to 2.3 million this year.
Sometimes Dima really helps me when our other boys start to get fussy about food; he's not ashamed to speak up and say, "If you'd eaten only porridge for months you'd eat everything!" He remembers too how he nearly ended up living like a tramp on the street again because he was too shy to ask to come back to live with us. He's definitely a boy who is truly grateful and values that which he's been given.
Our kids day centre is overflowing with children at the moment; each one of them very precious and fragile. One 11 year old boy was living rough having run away from a difficult situation at home. When temperatures dropped to -10 C (14 F) the next morning we found him sleeping in our stairwell, he's now back with his parents, but he knows we are here for him if things should turn bad again.