A while back, filmmaker Brent McCorkle put together an amazing promotional video for Streams Of Mercy. I thought you might like to see it. It does a wonderful job of explaining what Streams Of Mercy is all about.
Here it is:
Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Off To India!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Thanksgiving In Uganda
The following is a report from a young couple named Paul & Monika who lead a team to St. Ameria's orphanage this last November. In addition to a Thanksgiving feast, Streams of Mercy sent a donation with them to repair roofs on the orphanage facilities:
“We’ve brought you a Thanksgiving feast!” Paul said. “Rice, matooke, chapatti, and beef!”
The excited cheers of the children filled the small, brick schoolroom. We were just outside of Jinja, Uganda, at an orphanage called St. Ameria’s.
St. Ameria began in 1991 when Edith, an orphan who had grown up in a convent, decided to do something to help other children as she had been helped. Now, the orphanage is home to 75 kids and also a primary school for 340 others in the village. Most of these children have lost their families to AIDS or war in the north.
Back home in the United States, our friends and families had just celebrated Thanksgiving. Now, thanks to a donation from Streams of Mercy in the States, we celebrated Thanksgiving by bringing a large feast to St. Ameria’s.
While the feast was being set out, I passed paper and colored pencils to the children while they sat patiently at their tables.
“Draw a picture of what you’re thankful for,” I said. The kids cheered again.
“And after we eat, we’ll play games.” Again, the room filled with their loud shouts. Smiles spread across their faces and they busily began to draw.
I remembered the first time I’d been in that classroom a few days before. I had sat where the children were now busily drawing. And twenty of the older children stood in the front of the class, singing. The soloist – a ten year old girl – sang out with a beautiful, clear voice.
“AIDS,” she sang, “you’ve stolen our families and our futures.” Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She sang in English and Luganda, warning listeners about the danger of AIDS and the tragedy it brings.
While she sang, the rest of the choir hummed in harmony. As the song came to an end, they all turned around and faced the wall. They cried for the lives of their mothers and fathers.
Tears also fell down my face as I thought about the individual lives that had been affected by AIDS. At that moment, HIV/AIDS was no longer a statistic I read about or heard on the news. I saw the faces of children who had been impoverished or orphaned by the disease.
Now, as I walked around the classroom, admiring the drawings the children made, I was glad to take a small part in bringing a happy
day to these kids.
Soon after everyone had eaten—and their bellies were noticeably full—we took the kids outside to play in the soccer field. I sat with Edith under a tree and interviewed the children one by one. I discovered kids who wanted to be nurses, doctors, and engineers when they grew up. Kids who were passionate about singing and playing netball. Kids who liked reading but not math. Kids who tickled their friends to help them smile for the camera. We wrote their short—though often painful—histories until the sun set and it was too dark to see my pad of paper.
“Let’s go inside now,” Edith said, shepherding the children into a long, three room building.
Someone found kerosene lamps and showed us where to sit. Seven kids squished onto an old sofa next to me. Another handful piled on Paul when he sat in a chair.
We sang and told stories for an hour. Just before we left, Edith asked which of the children wanted their evening porridge.
For the first time, no one wanted any—they were still too full from lunch!
“This will be a day that they children always remember,” Edith said, as she walked us to our taxi-bus. “Thank you.”
“We’ve brought you a Thanksgiving feast!” Paul said. “Rice, matooke, chapatti, and beef!”The excited cheers of the children filled the small, brick schoolroom. We were just outside of Jinja, Uganda, at an orphanage called St. Ameria’s.
St. Ameria began in 1991 when Edith, an orphan who had grown up in a convent, decided to do something to help other children as she had been helped. Now, the orphanage is home to 75 kids and also a primary school for 340 others in the village. Most of these children have lost their families to AIDS or war in the north.
Back home in the United States, our friends and families had just celebrated Thanksgiving. Now, thanks to a donation from Streams of Mercy in the States, we celebrated Thanksgiving by bringing a large feast to St. Ameria’s.
While the feast was being set out, I passed paper and colored pencils to the children while they sat patiently at their tables.
“Draw a picture of what you’re thankful for,” I said. The kids cheered again.
“And after we eat, we’ll play games.” Again, the room filled with their loud shouts. Smiles spread across their faces and they busily began to draw.
I remembered the first time I’d been in that classroom a few days before. I had sat where the children were now busily drawing. And twenty of the older children stood in the front of the class, singing. The soloist – a ten year old girl – sang out with a beautiful, clear voice.
“AIDS,” she sang, “you’ve stolen our families and our futures.” Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She sang in English and Luganda, warning listeners about the danger of AIDS and the tragedy it brings.
While she sang, the rest of the choir hummed in harmony. As the song came to an end, they all turned around and faced the wall. They cried for the lives of their mothers and fathers.
Tears also fell down my face as I thought about the individual lives that had been affected by AIDS. At that moment, HIV/AIDS was no longer a statistic I read about or heard on the news. I saw the faces of children who had been impoverished or orphaned by the disease.
Now, as I walked around the classroom, admiring the drawings the children made, I was glad to take a small part in bringing a happy
day to these kids.Soon after everyone had eaten—and their bellies were noticeably full—we took the kids outside to play in the soccer field. I sat with Edith under a tree and interviewed the children one by one. I discovered kids who wanted to be nurses, doctors, and engineers when they grew up. Kids who were passionate about singing and playing netball. Kids who liked reading but not math. Kids who tickled their friends to help them smile for the camera. We wrote their short—though often painful—histories until the sun set and it was too dark to see my pad of paper.
“Let’s go inside now,” Edith said, shepherding the children into a long, three room building.
Someone found kerosene lamps and showed us where to sit. Seven kids squished onto an old sofa next to me. Another handful piled on Paul when he sat in a chair.
We sang and told stories for an hour. Just before we left, Edith asked which of the children wanted their evening porridge.
For the first time, no one wanted any—they were still too full from lunch!
“This will be a day that they children always remember,” Edith said, as she walked us to our taxi-bus. “Thank you.”
St. Ameria Orphanage - Mbiko, Uganda
St. Ameria orphanage is located in Uganda in the small city of 
Mbiko, located also near the larger city of Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria. Edith is the founder and headmistress of the orphanage and was an orphan herself on the streets of Mbiko. Out of that experience, Edith has an amazing heart of compassion for the orphans and street children of Uganda.
In 1994, St. Ameria was founded when four orphans were dropped off at her home, and she began to care for them. When the children of Mbiko found that there was a place of refuge for them, they flocked to Edith. Today, fifteen years later, the orphanage supports 75 children full time, another 70 orphans who live in the home during the school year(these children have distant relatives who care for them during the school break times), and about 150 other children who come from the community to the school during the daytime to receive education.
These children are orphaned by many different tragedies. The first is HIV/AIDS. Many of the children at St. Ameria's have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Others have been orphaned by the human tragedy of war in Uganda that has been waged for decades. You may be aware of the Invisible Children of Uganda who have fled the war in the North. Many of them have escaped to the South, and have found refuge at St. Ameria. Many of them have seen their parents and family killed in front of them, and bear the spiritual, emotional and physical scars of those tragic experiences.
The conditions at St. Ameria are some of the most critical of any of the orphanages we support. With so many children, and no other visible Western support, other than from Streams of Mercy, the conditions are absolutely desperate. Not one building has electricity. The children sleep stacked together because there is no other place for them. There are no beds, and no mosquito nets to protect their frail bodies from yellow fever and malaria. There is no proper bathroom, only a series of "pit toilets" installed by a short term volunteer team. The facility is a group of three buildings, part of them missing walls and roofs. BUT, as desperate as the conditions are, they are hundreds of times better than the children living on the streets.
We are making an amazing difference in the lives of the children of At. Ameria's. Will you consider helping to change the lives of Uganda through giving to this need?
Thanks for your hearts of compassion!
Mbiko, located also near the larger city of Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria. Edith is the founder and headmistress of the orphanage and was an orphan herself on the streets of Mbiko. Out of that experience, Edith has an amazing heart of compassion for the orphans and street children of Uganda.In 1994, St. Ameria was founded when four orphans were dropped off at her home, and she began to care for them. When the children of Mbiko found that there was a place of refuge for them, they flocked to Edith. Today, fifteen years later, the orphanage supports 75 children full time, another 70 orphans who live in the home during the school year(these children have distant relatives who care for them during the school break times), and about 150 other children who come from the community to the school during the daytime to receive education.
These children are orphaned by many different tragedies. The first is HIV/AIDS. Many of the children at St. Ameria's have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Others have been orphaned by the human tragedy of war in Uganda that has been waged for decades. You may be aware of the Invisible Children of Uganda who have fled the war in the North. Many of them have escaped to the South, and have found refuge at St. Ameria. Many of them have seen their parents and family killed in front of them, and bear the spiritual, emotional and physical scars of those tragic experiences.
The conditions at St. Ameria are some of the most critical of any of the orphanages we support. With so many children, and no other visible Western support, other than from Streams of Mercy, the conditions are absolutely desperate. Not one building has electricity. The children sleep stacked together because there is no other place for them. There are no beds, and no mosquito nets to protect their frail bodies from yellow fever and malaria. There is no proper bathroom, only a series of "pit toilets" installed by a short term volunteer team. The facility is a group of three buildings, part of them missing walls and roofs. BUT, as desperate as the conditions are, they are hundreds of times better than the children living on the streets.We are making an amazing difference in the lives of the children of At. Ameria's. Will you consider helping to change the lives of Uganda through giving to this need?
Thanks for your hearts of compassion!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Streams Of Mercy Weblog
Streams of Mercy was established to meet the needs of the most needy individuals in nations around the world. These individuals are often children who are desperate and helpless in changing their circumstances.
The organization is actively involved in disaster relief, both man-made and natural, by mobilizing volunteers and resources to assist those in need.
Streams of Mercy strives to meet the most obvious needs of the destitute like food, clothing, shelter, and medical assistance, as well as meeting the less visible needs of care and comfort. Utilizing volunteers with genuine compassion means that resources can get to these individuals with a minimum amount spent on administrative services, thereby maximizing the impact of donations.
This is the first post of many. For updates and news on current and upcoming Streams Of Mercy projects, please check back.
Thanks for your interest & support!
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