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Family Care Foundation Newsletter: Volume 3 -- No. 4 -- November 1999
Dear Friends, Each holiday season, when so many of us find ourselves pressed by the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations, dedicated volunteers of Family Care Foundation projects worldwide also find this their busiest time of year. The Christmas programs that these volunteers are involved in may vary from country to country, but a common denominator motivates all these FCF project members to reach out to their fellow man at this special time of year—a desire to convey the real spirit and meaning of Christmas. With this newsletter going to press prior to Christmas, we obviously are not able to share news with you from December ’99. So collected in this newsletter are but a few of the news highlights from FCF projects, gleaned from their last Christmas reports. As you read this, FCF projects are engaging in similar activities worldwide this holiday season! Family Christian Outreach, Arlington, Texas: On the heels of our Thanksgiving food drive, we geared up for our Christmas program helping the Asian communities in Dallas and Fort Worth. This included coordinating the distribution of Christmas toys in conjunction with the Marine Reserves’ "Toys for Tots" program and the East Dallas and Holtom City Police storefronts. Through these efforts, hundreds of children received toys for Christmas who otherwise would have received nothing. Our children’s singing group also sang Christmas carols at several retirement homes, a battered women’s shelter, the Veterans Hospital and for the various companies who support our ministry with goods and services.
Tampa Family Mission, Tampa, Florida: Our teen caroling team performed 31 benefit shows during the month of December, which included assisting other organizations in their Christmas programs: the Tampa Police Department, Tampa General Hospital, Spring Homes for Battered Women and Children, the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center, as well as the YMCA, among others. We also sang for a group of homeless people who live under a bridge. When we went by to check on them the next day, they told us that we "made their Christmas." Salem Family/Kidz Performers, Salem, Oregon: Among our Christmas carol performances was one at the Oregon State Capital on New Year’s Eve where we were warmly welcomed and later received a plaque of appreciation from the Governor and President of the Senate. Atlanta Family Outreach, Atlanta, Georgia: We went bed-to-bed in the Oncology Ward of Egelston Children’s Hospital, presenting gifts of Treasure Attic and Fantastic Friends videos to all the children who had to spend Christmas in the hospital.
Project H.E.L.P, Mexico City, Mexico: Amidst a turbulent economic atmosphere of high inflation, an ailing stock market, recession and natural disasters, citizens of Mexico City witnessed a moment of Christmas peace and love at Project H.E.L.P.’s yearly "Christmas Feast for the Poor." We again organized this event in Mexico City’s main square, El Zocalo, on Christmas day, where 7,000 poor received a free Christmas meal. Following are comments from various volunteers who took part: Martha Irene Luna Calvo, Congresswoman: "[Working on the serving line] was the most wonderful experience of my life! I saw smiles as well as tears—tears of happiness at knowing that there was someone who cared, someone who was there for them on Christmas day—and there were many who hadn’t had any kind of Christmas until then. My hands trembled with emotion at seeing the faces of expectation of those waiting for their plate. I never got tired. It was all very fulfilling because giving is a blessing of God and on this day we all had God’s blessings, because we were able to offer something to our fellow man." Leticia Guzman, public relations: "...400 kilos of rice, 400 kilos of beans, 15,000 units of bread, 100 cases of bananas, 10,000 disposable plates, cups and spoons, etc. One week before the event all these food supplies had been donated, along with sound equipment, generators and trucks for transportation!" Carlos Cedillo, organizer for Zocalo humanitarian event and project manager: "I have been involved with the Zocalo project since 1994, but it never ceases to amaze me how on Christmas day the Zocalo plaza seems to transform into a magical world where all are brothers, and where there is no strife, hunger or hate—and where all, poor and rich, wonder what it is that is different. The answer is simple—it’s the miracle of Christmas love!"
Hearts in Hands, Santiago, Chile: We participated in several community projects to bring toys, food and Christmas cheer to the poorer areas of Santiago. We worked together with the mayor of Huechuraba, City Hall and a local supermarket chain to organize several shows. All in all, over the holiday season, we performed 20 benefit shows for the underprivileged and distributed several thousand packages of food and toys to families who otherwise would have gone without. Casa Cumbre Presentations, Lima, Peru: Our Christmas shows ranged in location from old folks’ homes in Lima to villages in the mountains. Project Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador: We minister in daycare centers that house children of low-income families. The mothers are often single and work as maids or washerwomen. Teachers in these daycare centers get paid the equivalent of only $50 a month and the daily food allowance per child is approximately $1. To say the situation is needy is an understatement. In addition to our regular distribution of food to these daycare centers and orphanages throughout the year, at Christmas time we were also able to give away clothes, school books, children’s books, Christmas cakes and cookies and complementary copies of Treasure Attic children’s videos. All these poor folks consider this a special godsend.
This year we initiated two new programs. One is a health program in which we weigh and measure children ages one to 15, track their progress and, when necessary, advise their parents to seek medical attention at the local health department. The second program is getting information about pregnant mothers, which we then turn over to their local health department, at which time the mothers receive a special little package of needs for their babies. We have since trained a local resident of the slum area to be in charge of this project. Since we’ve been involved in this depressed area of town, the local government has begun to pay more attention to the situation here. The main road was recently cleared and a large portion that was open sewer was closed and clean water is now available—a special Christmas blessing for this community. During this past year we have been able to procure and pass on to the residents two-and-a-half tons of powdered milk, two tons of fruit and vegetables, three tons of other basic food stuffs like rice and beans, plus one ton of clothing, baby supplies and furniture. Family International Volunteer Services, Zagreb, Croatia: Before Christmas, we arranged the donation of school materials to two needy schools, one of which is especially desperate for help, having recently received a number of Bosnian and Croatian refugees who were returned from the European countries to which they had fled. At a school for the hearing impaired, we gave out school materials, as well as Christmas packages to 200 children housed there. Healing Hearts, Vitez, Bosnia/Herzegovina: The last ten days before Christmas were very full ones for us, as we had a number of Christmas performances booked on the Croatian coast by our good friend who runs a center for the handicapped there. These shows allowed us the opportunity to meet and comfort many precious people from this war-torn area. Caring Hearts, Budapest, Hungary: More often than not, singing Christmas carols for the elderly during our hospital visitation left us all in puddles, with hardly a dry eye in the room! We also visited various children’s institutions distributing stuffed animals, shoes and other Christmas goodies, coupled with our program of songs, puppet shows and a slide show of the story of Jesus.
We were able to finalize the receipt of a 20-ton container of aid from Sweden in time for our Christmas program at regional orphanages. A large part of our Christmas program will be the distribution of this humanitarian aid. Save the Youth Association, Antananarivo, Madagascar: We shared a joyful and meaningful Christmas with hundreds in our local community. In giving out presents to all the children, we felt like the original Santa Claus, having spent several days prior mending and bagging hundreds of secondhand and donated toys.
Christian Educational Services, Accra, Ghana: Working with the Director of Saint Peter’s Mission, we did various programs for children on Christmas Eve, including preparing a nice meal for them and providing flour, rice, oil and other basics for their families. Action in Focus, Nairobi, Kenya: With the help of sponsors, and the cooperation of the Dagoretti Corner Childcare Program, we were able to collect food, toys, T-shirts, shoes and other gifts to make it possible for 300 needy children to have a special Christmas Eve. After this show an 18-year-old street boy came forward to help us pack up, neglecting his own meal. He told us he was raised in the streets of Nairobi and had a real burden to help us in our ministry, being touched by the work we are doing. Helping Hand, Cape Town, South Africa: The month of December has meant extra work for us, but also extra fulfillment. We were able to procure and increase the amount of food and clothing that we distribute to the local soup kitchen here. This has included hundreds of kilos of milk, meat, vegetables, fresh fruit, clothing and household items, as well as extra treats for Christmas. Family Educational Services, Istanbul, Turkey: In addition to our usual food distribution programs, English classes and programs for the blind and handicapped, we prepared a variety of entertaining music and clown shows which we took to different hospitals throughout Istanbul. One of our shows was filmed by several TV stations and also resulted in very positive newspaper articles, which in turn has created a greater awareness of the work we’re doing in the community, and generated further support and participation. Our fund-raising programs for a children’s hospital and for street children were also major successes.
Family Services, Bangalore, India: Our youth band, Harvest Moon, performed 45 Christmas programs in colleges, schools and various functions during the month of December. These performances were coupled with varied activities we undertook, ranging from hosting a special Christmas lunch for 80 orphans to painting the dining room and recreational hall at The Freedom Foundation, a local drug rehabilitation center. We’re also continuing our weekly visits to the burn ward at Victoria Hospital, and visiting with the children in the orphanages we help sponsor. Channel of Hope, Pasay City, Philippines: This month we distributed prescription reading glasses to the female inmates at the Correctional Institute for Women, and also gave out goodie bags of cosmetics and toiletries as Christmas gifts. In the middle of our Christmas party, a camera crew from GMA Channel 7 began filming us and we were interviewed along with the administrator of the prison, who gave a rundown of the programs we’ve been hosting there at the prison for the last year. On Christmas Eve we visited the old folks at the Golden Acres Home for the aged, who especially appreciated our visit since they rarely receive visits on that day, their relatives being busy preparing for Christmas Eve dinners and other related activities.
Hands on Saigon, HCMC, Vietnam: We took the children from the Polio Center for an excursion to the zoo and all later agreed it was their best excursion ever. Christmas is a time for giving. If you could help with a financial gift at this special time of year, we’ll make sure that your gift helps change the life of someone in need.
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