HAITI :: Trash or Treasure

The piece of paper that started it all 

Where one sees trash, 

another sees treasure.

Today, a small piece of discarded paper laid the foundation for a budding relationship between our team and the Haitian people.

Our day began with seven of us gathered in bone-chilling Ohio and ended in the tropics, quite a contrast from morning until evening! As it was a holiday in Haiti, the often chaotic roar of Port-au-Prince streets was a mere growl. Our commute from the airport to Petionville was short and in no time we were knocking on the Methodist guesthouse gates.

After dropping our bags in the dormitory, the Fabulous Five (all of our girls) went off to explore the grounds – all 11 acres! During our unguided tour past the guesthouse, new living quarters and dormitories, multi-purpose sports field, pastor’s residences and offices, we discovered a single teenage boy jumping across a large hopscotch board painted on the concrete in one of the school’s many courtyards.

There, in the nearly deserted area between two school buildings, the magic happened. Our girls began hopping across the board with him. A friendly competition ensued, bringing laughter and camaraderie that crossed our language barrier. 

Hana, MK and Kenzie giving it a shot

Our first competitor!

MK, Kenzie and Hana inviting others to play!

As we took turns playing, more and more kids showed up. Players ranged from 4ish to 20-somethings. In the midst of a game, one of the younger boys walked away and began searching for an unknown object. Interestingly enough, he passed by hundreds of small pieces of concrete and opted for this particular bit of trash to be our hopscotch rock! 

Back and forth, the kids played, American beside Haitian. Few words were exchanged other than exclamations of BRAVO! and many laughs. It was the ice-breaker we all needed for this team of mostly newbies to begin feeling comfortable in this foreign land.

Hana demonstrating her hops with Maggie and Kenzie looking on

HAITI :: Serving Needy and Orphaned Children

The Red Thread Promise is a non-profit organization whose vision parallels that of women everywhere: to unite women by bringing peace and healing to the world. For The Red Thread, this means serving needy and orphaned children in Haiti, Uganda, China and the U.S. Our programs improve the quality of life for disabled children and battered girls by providing medical care, nutrition, mobility, and education so they can live independently with dignity and improved health. Through this critical work, we strive to cultivate passionate followers who advocate for the rights of disadvantaged children around the world.

It is this shared vision that compels us to reach out to the women of your community for help. While we can do much as individuals, we can accomplish so much more as partners. The Red Thread team asks for both your prayers and financial support as we strive to expand our programs and serve more children—children like Christina in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

An otherwise completely healthy infant, Christina was born with a birth defect that caused clubbing in both of her feet. Following multiple unsuccessful surgeries and castings to correct her condition, she was no closer to walking than she was the day she was born.

But we are here to offer her hope! Through our partnership with a clubfoot specialist from Memphis and surgeon from Port-au-Prince, we celebrate the completion of Christina's first successful surgery on her right foot in August 2013. The surgical team performed a tendon release, bone and soft tissue correction, and finally a foot rotation, all at a cost of only $1800. Christina's second surgery is scheduled for spring of 2014 and her prognosis is excellent!

Our goals are two-fold: first, for her be able to put both feet flat on the ground, something her condition has never allowed her to do; and second, for her to be able to walk independently, leaving her wheelchair behind.

Being wheelchair-bound is a huge obstacle for Christina. Only 12 out of 1,000 Haitians own a car and the phrase “wheelchair accessible” is a virtually unknown in the country. Rough, unpaved streets as well as lack of sidewalks and smooth surfaces make wheelchair use nearly impossible. These conditions often isolate the individual from their community and prevent them from gainful employment and independence, thus deepening the existing social stigma against handicapped people.

Christina is a bright, energetic girl who can and will lead a relatively normal life when both feet are corrected. We invite your group to be a part of this life-transforming process, helping kids like Christina, kids whose biggest obstacle in life was being born into poverty where adequate medical care isn't an option as their families struggle to put food on the table.

There are many more success stories like Christina’s shared on our Facebook, website and blog. Our team is available via phone or email to answer any questions you may have about how we serve impoverished children with disabilities. We invite you to join us in making a difference in these children’s lives. Financial support can be sent via our website, PayPal or check. Thank you for caring.

UGANDA :: Welcoming Jackie into the Shelter

Update from Missy, Women’s Advocacy Coordinator and Director, Refuge and Hope International - Uganda

Recently, we welcomed Jackie into the shelter. Jackie is a fifteen-year-old girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the age of seven, she woke up one evening to find her father murdered and her mother and siblings missing. Rebel soldiers had ransacked their home and she was the only person remaining. Margaret, A neighbor who was fleeing to Uganda invited Jackie to come with her and her family. Unfortunately, Jackie was not treated as a child in the home, but immediately forced to work inside of the home. While the woman’s other children attended school, Jackie was forced to work from morning to night- cooking and cleaning for the woman and her family. Meanwhile, she deeply missed her family and dreamed of being in school, like other children her age.

When Jackie turned 14, the family moved next to a bar. Within the first few weeks of the family’s move, Margaret pressured Jackie to prostitute herself at the bar in order to earn her keep within their home. Jackie refused. She was beaten, forced to sleep outside and food was withheld. Over the next few months, Margaret continued to do these things in order to pressure Jackie. She refused.

One morning, Jackie woke up to find that she was alone in the house. Margaret and her family abandoned her. Within a few hours the landlord came to collect rent and immediately threw Jackie out of the house. At the age of 15, she was homeless and without a place to go. In Kampala, the trafficking and exploitation of young refugee girls like Jackie is all too common.

Tonight, however, Jackie is sleeping soundly in a safe and loving environment. She is getting the counseling, education, vocational training and housing that she needs. Additionally, thanks to Red Thread's partnership with Refuge and Hope Int’l, Jackie is able to access desperately needed medical care which she has not been able to access since leaving her country in 2006. This medical care is a pivotal part of her healing and empowerment. 

Thank you, Red Thread Promise for your partnership in assisting girls like Jackie within our community who have experienced violence and exploitation. Your support is making a BIG difference in their lives!   

iGive, YouGive, WeAllGive!

Online shopping. 

Everybody does it. 

If you're reading our blog, 

you probably do it too. 

iGive.com is one of the simplest online fundraising tools we've ever used! You can make a donation to The Red Thread Promise every time you shop online. Even better, if you sign up as a new member before November 12, 2013, The Red Thread receives a $5 bonus!

1. Sign up — no cost, obligations or hidden fees.
2. Choose The Red Thread Promise as your charity.
3. Search from over 1,350 participating stores on iGive.
4. Click on the store name and you'll be directed to that store's website.
5. Then SHOP!
6. You can even track how much you've given to your cause.

iGive takes care of the rest. They make arrangements with online retailers to give a percentage of the profits directly to your charity of choice. No additional cost to you. Just begin your transaction from iGive so they can track the purchase and make the donation.

We've received over $600 in donations from iGive members - that's enough to feed one hungry child in Haiti for the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR with leftovers ($540 = 810 meals).

Here's a handful of stores you can choose from (and we didn't even make it past C!):

• 1-800-flowers.com
• Aeropostale
• Amazon.com
• American Airlines
• Apple Store
• AT&T
• Autism Speaks
• Avon
• Bath & Body Works
• Brooks Brothers
• Burger King
• Build-A-Bear Workshop
• Cabela's
• Caché
• Cafe Press

Let's take that headline to heart. 

If WeAllGive, together, we'll provide more hippotherapy, more surgeries, more fresh food and more love to kids with disabilities.

Change shopping for good through iGive.

TEN YEARS AND COUNTING!

On behalf of The Red Thread Promise, we want to thank you for your continued support of our organization. Without people like you, we wouldn't be where we are today, beginning our 10th anniversary celebration! 

We have served countless children in China, Haiti, Uganda and the USA over the past decade. We look forward to continuing our mission—providing hope and healing to needy and orphaned children—with you at our side! 

As 2014 approaches, we wanted to share some exciting opportunities to serve and be in mission with us.

DOMESTIC TRAVEL
In the US, we will continue offering bi-annual trips in the spring and fall to McKenna Farms, our partner providing hippotherapy and therapeutic riding in the south (Dallas, GA). We are excited to announce that we will begin hosting mission trips to our new partner farm in the north, HillTop Equestrian Center (West Alexandria, OH) as well! During these missions, each team performs a variety of stable, grounds and facility work, learns about the therapy offered and the impact it has on young lives, and—most importantly—meets some of the kids we sponsor in our own backyards.

McKenna Farms, Georgia

HillTop Equestrian Center, Ohio

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
With more than 15 trips to St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children over the past three years, The Red Thread will continue offering medical and non-medical mission trips to St. Vincent’s in Port-au-Prince and other areas in Haiti. We have an exciting opportunity to visit a Haitian hippotherapy farm during our upcoming trip (Nov. 2013) and are hopeful to begin a relationship there. This would allow us to offer both hippotherapy and therapeutic riding to kids at St. Vincent's. As we focus on these major medical issues, we will no longer offer Camp Jake. The Red Thread celebrates the three successful sessions we completed over the past two years and we look forward to offering new opportunities that will enrich the children’s lives and improve their health.

St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children, Haiti

LOOKING FORWARD
As The Red Thread team reflects on our years of service and looks to the future, we feel our organization is poised to delve deeper into life-changing medical care for disadvantaged children. We will continue to provide services that the child would not receive without intervention, including surgeries, long-term medical treatment, therapy and nutrition. By improving the state of these kids’ health, together, we make a lasting irreversible positive impact on a child’s life, increase their self-confidence, and open doors to a better future. 
  
Who knows where 2014 will lead? It may be the perfect time for our first trips to China and Uganda. Wouldn’t that be a grand way to celebrate our anniversary?!

We look forward to sharing details of upcoming travel and gifting opportunities as we work together to care for needy and orphaned children, TEN YEARS and counting!

HAITI :: Fresh-squeezed philanthropy

Anthony, aka "the Lemonade Guy" 

Contrary to popular belief, goodwill surrounds us. Sometimes we just have to open our eyes wide enough to see it. It is a beautiful sight wherever we find it, especially when we recognize it as the twinkle in an 8-year-old's eye. 

Meet Anthony, a second grader from Houston, Texas whose goodwill materialized in the form of a lemonade stand. For two days he operated his lemonade stand with a sign stating "50 cents for each cup. Goes to charity." Over that time he raised nearly $50 for The Red Thread to benefit kids in Haiti.

We are extremely blessed to know young people like Anthony, Kimmie, Zach, Maggie, Elyse, Brookie, Marigny, Emily, Carleigh and Zach, and students at Columbus Montessori Education Center who follow their heart and take time to serve others in a meaningful way. We hope these stories encourage other youth to find ways to make a difference in our world.

UGANDA :: What's new in Uganda?

Missy and one of the girls in Kampala

Something BIG! 

We are pleased to share that the new temporary shelter for women and girls in Kampala, Uganda is open and operational, the first of its kind in the city! What a blessing for sexually abused, battered and traumatized refugee women to have a safe place to go, sheltered from their oppressors, where they can begin to heal, both inside and out. 

Did you know… The United Nations (UNFPA) estimates that 1 in 3 women, worldwide will be affected by violence in their lifetime. One in THREE daughters of God will be violated, abused, oppressed. For refugee women and girls, this reality is much harsher because this violence is compounded by war, the loss of family members and friends, inadequate food, shelter, access to medical care or education.

Our partners at Refuge and Hope worked tirelessly throughout the summer to find the perfect property to house these victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. This safe haven will be where the girls live, eat, sleep and learn trades; receive medical care (physical and gynecological exams, lab test and medications funded by The Red Thread Promise); have access to legal assistance, counseling and other critical services. 

But more importantly…

It is where they will take their first steps to leaving their past behind.
It is where they begin to move forward with their lives.
It is where they will learn to hope again. 

As we consider the dire circumstances these women and children endure, we begin to have a better understanding of the shelter’s importance. The Red Thread is proud to be a part of this ministry. 

A word of thanks from Missy in Uganda:

“Thank you [Red Thread] for tangibly assisting these women and girls in their healing process by providing medical care for these residents. It is absolutely crucial! The physical ailments that they are experiencing are also triggers and painful reminders of the traumas that they have endured. It is difficult to focus on receiving training, education or counseling when one is physically in pain.” 

The emergency shelter

Living room

Classroom

Community center