Francisco's DP from Emily! :)

Francisco recently received another wonderful birthday DP and it was from Emily. The DP photos arrived and here they are along with the thank you letter! Francisco should be a happy young man!

:

Hello Emilce,

Thanks for wishing a happy birthday to my son and thank you for thinking and remembering him and for all the textbooks and toys. You look beautiful in your picture you sent us. He will wear the shoes on Oct. 31, for Halloween, along with the Ninja costume he received from one of his sponsors. (That's Barbara) Francisco celebrated his birthday along with all of his friends drinking corn starch and they had a lot of fun. I tell you that today he got a medical appointment and the doctor found him healthy.



Francisco's mother says goodbye

Francisco's Birthday Gifts

Francisco received a cool birthday package from sponsor Barbara. He looks very happy with everything. His photo and letter written by his mother are posted below. It's great to hear that he received a good medical report too. Francisco received: 
A Batman birthday card
- A vuvuvila (sp?) from South Africa - maybe you recall from them from the World Soccer Cup in S.A. a couple of years ago. I am not sure if it makes the same awful noise?
- A plastic mouse and bat for Halloween
- An airbus plane set
- A car racing pencil case from England.
- 3 small green skeletons
- An Halloween candy bag.
- A boxing light up skeleton pen
Plus 2 book marks from my book "Our Friend Joe"
6 photos of the lions Barbara walked with in Zambia.

Emily's Letter

Emily sent a letter to Francisco in Spanish and it was delivered to him last week. Hope he enjoyed his gifts and his letter!

Francisco's Home Repairs

Those photos are of Francisco and Evelyn's home repairs, sent Sept. 2012. It looks like the family can now enjoy and safe and sturdy structure to live in thanks to all of the support provided by sponsors and friends.

Birthday Gifts-Emily

Emily has sent gifts to the Cartagena office for Francisco's birthday. Francisco should be very happy with all of his gifts from Barbara and Emily. Emily sent:

                                             

Birthday Gifts-Barbara

Francisco's birthday is in October and some of his sponsors have sent or are sending him gifts. Barbara has sent:


- A trumpet that starts with a V something like Vivuvala from South Africa to be used at football games.
- Plastic Halloween black mouse and bat.
- A book where a blank face can be changed with funny stickers.
- An airbus plane set
- A car racing tin with cover
- 3 small green skeletons
- A boxing skeleton whose eyes light up when pressing the arms.
- An orange Halloween bag to collect candy.
 -African photos.

I know that he will love everything and this should keep him very busy!!

A New Letter from Francisco! :)

Last week we received a letter from Julia, who is writing on behalf of  Francisco. I think that she is a relative or a friend of the family. Francisco drew a cute picture on the back of the letter :) Julia writes:


Dear Shana,

I hope this letter finds you well. We are happy with your letter. We are doing well and so is his family, thank God. He is doing his best in school and he does his homework and he is learning to read and he is in vacation and he goes to the beach with his mom and siblings. We go out with the kids and we go to the pool. I'm grateful for your concern. The room was built and it is nice. I'm going to send you pictures so you can see how it was set up. He will write to you soon. Thanks for remembering my family. His mom, grandmother and siblings say hello,

We love you,

Francisco and Julia

Glitch

There seem to be some glitches on Blogger and so I am unable to add the correct Link feature on the blog but sent a request for help. Hopefully that will be fixed soon!

In addition to this I cannot fix the huge gap between the Sponsor text and the Labels feature on the blog. I don't know why but I will keep trying.

We have additional sponsors who have joined Francisco's group and we are happy to have them. Thank you Robert, Lisa, Renee and Paul!

Francisco Needs More Sponsors

Hi, hope everyone is doing well. Unfortunately has lost some of his sponsors and we are now down to six sponsors and need more sponsors to keep Francisco's group sponsorship going. We would like to welcome Emelisa who has joined the group. If you can, please spread the word and encourage others who may be interested to join. Francisco needs a lot of support and friendship and we would like to continue to help him. Thank you and God bless.

Francisco received a cute Easter package from sponsor Barbara. His siblings also received gifts. His mom writes:

"Dear Sponsor:

How are you doing. This is Francisco's mother (spelt Fransicis!). Thank you very much for everything you sent him. He is very happy for the toys, crayons, the stuffed bunny (it was a duck!) and clothes. We loved the card and photos a lot. Thanks also for the coloring book.

May God bless you. Francisco's (this time spelt Franscisco's) mother."

Actual contents were a T-shirt for Briany, the duck for Valentina, the chicken-head flower for Evelyn, the Easter egg telescope for Samy, and colouring book for Francisco.

Many of you supported and contributed to a recent fundraiser to build a new sturdy room for Francisco, Evelyn, and their family, who live in Cartagena, Colombia. These contributions were added to the repairs that their grandmother initiated. Here are recent photos of what has been done so far. They still plan to renovate the bathroom, install windows and a door, provide a bunk bed and a single bed with matresses. The current home improvements included connections of electical installation, construction of a cement floor, cement plaster to the bathroom walls.

We want to give all you who contributed to this fundraiser a big thank you and hugs. We could not have done it without all of your help. God bless you.

The living area before  ne room construction began is below.

Room Construction Update

Hi Sponsors!

This is the most recent update on the status of the room construction forFrancisco's Home sent to Steve who is the sponsor of Francisco's sister:

Repairs to the home of Evelyn (871891) and Francisco (1150571)
The proposal for home reparation has been approved! The purchasing department sent the construction materials order to the provider, who in turn gets it to the family's home. The whole family was present when the goods were delivered. Construction is underway. The expectation is to be finished mid-June' The family will continue to live in the same home since portions of it are sound. Any costs for pending purchases will be sent in the next report. (There are no photos with this report, but I could request it for the next report, if you like.)

*Steve is requesting photos of the room construction

Photos from Steve's Visit, Dec. 2011

This past Dec. Steve was able to visit Francisco and his family. Steve sponsors Evelyn, Francisco's sister, and took the children out on an outing which included swimming and shopping. We also learned that Francisco's mom was expecting with another child at this time. She now has a new baby girl named Briany. Hopefully with guidance and support she can make future decisions which will be the best for her family.

Franciso, Evelyn and little Sammy with Steve, Dec. 2011

Here is the letter for Barbara written by one of the members of the CI staff, on behalf of Francisco :)

DP Report from Barbara's Package

Francisco received lots of goodies from Barbara for Christmas. These gifts are from a Christmas package. It looks like he likes everything. He is also growing tall! I love his hair in these photos :)

Updates

Hi everyone,

I have finally had a chance to create a new database for payments for Francisco.
I just made a payment today for the month of Jan. so we need one for the month
of Feb. If you can make this payment, please add this to the database on the Yahoo Group or let me know and make the payment on his account.

Another fundraiser to try to get tutoring for Francisco will be created soon on
Aura's House, if you are interested in helping. There is no obligation.
Hopefully soon we will receive news that the new room construction has been
completed. Information and photos will be posted when I receive everything.
Thank you again for your help with this project.

If you are a praying person, this family needs all of the prayers that we can
send. We need to hold Francisco and his siblings up in prayer and we need to
hold his mother up in prayer, that she will make the right decisions for her
family. She needs guidance and the children need help and positive role models.
There is another little one on the way.

I will post a few photos from Steve's visit with the family in Dec. and links to
some of his videos, a little later on today.

Thank you and God bless.

Francisco with Birthday Gifts

Hi, I forgot to post photos of Francisco with birthday gifts that he received from Barbara and me. Here are a few of them. God bless.

Stage 3 Completed! Fundraiser Fully Funded!

Hi everyone, the final stage for Francisco's fundraiser was completed and so now the family will have a new room constructed which will provide them with a safer and sturdier home. Thank you to everyone who was able to help with this challenging fundraiser! Hopefully the construction will begin soon and we will receive updates and photos. Sponsor Steve (who sponsors, Evelyn, Francisco's sister) will be visiting the family in December so hopefully we will have new photos, videos, and updates on the family. Have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! God bless.

Stage 3 of Francisco's Fundraiser

Hi everyone,

A new FG fundraising page has been created to complete the final stage of the project to build a new room for Francisco and Evelyn and their family.Thanks to many of generous sponsors we have already raised over $2,000.00 in order to build a safe, secure and comfortable new room for this family. However, although stage one and stage two fundraisers have been completed, we still have about another $825.00 to raise in order to raise the required funds. Now it is time to begin stage 3 for final stage. The need is still great - probably more so as time passes and there is some urgency to begin construction before the torrential spring rains begin and make the crumbling shack even more dangerous. Some of the holes in the walls are only covered with portions of cotton sheets which will not stop the rain coming in and turning their dirt floor into wet mud. We hope, therefore, that you will be equally generous or spread the word to other prospective donors so that the new room can be built as soon as possible
Steve, Evelyn's sponsor, will be visiting the family in December and it would be wonderful if Steve would be able to advise this worthy family that they will soon have the house that they have only dreamed about.

Please consider helping to complete this final stage by donating whatever you can. The family will be very appreciative of your generosity and the children will certainly thrive in a safer and sturdier home. We have high hopes and a vision for Evelyn and Francisco and we want to ensure that this dream of a safer living environment becomes a reality for this family. A heartfelt thank you again to all of you wonderful sponsors and friends who have donated to Stage 1 and Stage 2. And a warm thank you to all who have given their time, effort, words of encouragement to help make this dream become a reality. Thank you and God bless.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sharon-clyburn/aroomoftheirownstage3

A video of the family's room to be rebuilt:

http://community.liftone.org/service/linkOut.kickAction?as=121091&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7_qXmmb7mwY&h=959758aa4b7dc7d5e25c5a178ebf543

A video of Francisco and Evelyn riding along with mom and little brother, Samy on a sponsor visit (Summer 2011)

http://community.liftone.org/service/linkOut.kickAction?as=121091&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgJehhh-7SuY&h=14d1d5360be766d406c42b2f9624

Stage 2/Stage 3

Hi everyone, the second stage of Francisco's project has been completed on Aura's House. A big thank you to everyone who contributed and congratulations to the winner of the raffle!

The final fundraiser for constructing a new room for Francisco and his family has been set up on First Giving. Hopefully we can reach the goal of completing the last stage before the torrential rains come. Thank you for any help and thank you for your support of Francisco.

Link to FG page

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sharon-clyburn/aroomoftheirownstage3

Steve plans to visit the family in Dec. and so hopefully we can find out how Francisco is doing and put plans in place for construction of the new room. Thanks for all that you do. God bless.

Stage 2-Aura's House

Hi everyone, if you are interested in participating in the raffle on Aura's
House to raise funds for stage 2 of Francisco's Home Improvement project, the
deadline for entry has been extended to Oct. 31! God bless

Link:
http://aurashouse.com/2011/09/active-room-construction-project-for-evelyn-and-francisco-of-colombia/

Great News!! :)

The great news today is that stage one on First Giving to build a room for
Francisco and his family has been completed! Thanks to everyone who contributed.
There is another fundraiser on Aura's House to help complete stage 2 and
contributors can have an opportunity to win an Amazon Gift card for $100 or $100
to be donated to the charity or fundraiser or charity of their choice! :)

Gifts for Francisco

Hi Sponsors,

Francisco's sister's sponsor, Steve, will be visiting the children in Dec. If you plan to send something along to Francisco by Steve, here is a list of gifts that one sponsor will be sending. I am posting to avoid duplication of gifts. Thanks!

- 1 small photo box and 11 photos

- 1 white T-shirt with guitar and skull design.

- 1 skull necklace on leather cord.

- Xmas colouring by numbers book and 6 numbered markers.

- 1 small globe pencil sharpener

- 1 red pencil with spring Xmas soldier.

- 1 red pencil with Xmas designs

- 1 small blue bubble wand

- 1 Santa hat

- 1 stuffed snowman with Peace sign

- 2 plastic water pistols - red and green.

- + Xmas card and letter.

It is wrapped in a blue Vancouver Acquarium (with Belugas) reusable bag and weighs under 1 kilo.

Franciscos First Giving Fundraiser

Francisco's Fundraiser on First Giving is going strong with currentl y $912.00 raised. A warm thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. We are 78% there and need to complete this part of the project as soon as possible. Thank you for your help. God bless.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sharon-clyburn/a-room-of-their-own

Francisco's Project on Aura's House (Stage 2)

Hi everyone, Francisco and his sister Evelyn's project is now currently posted
on Aura's House. Aura's House posts fundraisers to help raise funds for children who are sponsored through Children International. We are hoping to raise enough funds to complete the second stage of the project to construct a sturdy room for Francisco's family.


"Evelyn (11) and her brother Francisco (8) of Colombia live with an extended
family of thirteen members in very cramped quarters. Their home consists of one
multi-use room, which is made of brick walls with a zinc metal roof and a dirt
floor. Francisco, Evelyn, their mom, little brother Samy, and new baby sister,
Valentine, sleep in an adjacent room which has a dirt floor, one brick wall,
with the three remaining walls constructed of broken pieces of wood, and odd
scrap of rusty, corrugated metal. The roof is similarly made up of odd bits of
metal with gaps that allow the torrential rains into their living space. This
family is desperately poor and conditions are cramped, hot, and humid. A sturdy
all purpose room and a decent concrete floor for Evelyn and Pancho's family
would improve matters considerably and give them much more comfort and privacy."

To help kick off this project, we are raffling off a $100 Amazon Gift Card OR a
$100 donation to the Charity or Firstgiving Project of your choice (donated by
Steven H.) to one lucky Aura's House donor. All you need to do to enter is to
donate at least $10 to this project between September 2, 2011 and October 15,
2011 at 5PM EST. Each additional donation of any amount over $10 will get you
another entry up until October 15, 2011. (So if you decide to donate $30 for
example, that would get you three entries.) The winner will be chosen at random
on or before October 25, 2011 and notified by email and shortly after the gift
card or donation will be on its way. Whomever wins can choose which they would
prefer."

Please click on the link below for more information:

http://aurashouse.com/2011/09/active-room-construction-project-for-evelyn-and-francisco-of-colombia/

A Thank You Card from Francisco

Hi everyone, a thank you card came from Franciso today and it is addressed to his sponsors. I am not sure which gift it is referring to but It looks like it may be written by little Francisco. It says

Dear Sponsors,

Cordial greetings. I hope that you all are very happy. Thank you for othe gift that I received.

Your sponsored child,
Francisco De Jesus Herrera and his mother say goodbye.

More Photos

Here are more photos that CI took from the trip that I took in June. I also have some videos to post.

Memo

Memo on Francisco's Relatives Living in the Home