Merry Christmas to Felicia
This is the beautiful Felicia that we sponsor. Isn’t she gorgeous? She is holding the box of gifts that we sent for her just a few weeks ago! We sent her some warm clothes for Christmas and a few other little gifts, and it is so exciting to see her holding them! The bag on top has more new clothes that the school director bought for her with our sponsor money. It is so exciting to see that we actually can reach out and help this little girl. Felicia is 9 years old, and she lives in a boarding school/ orphanage in Moldova, the poorest country in Europe. She has parents and a sister, but she lives at the school because they are poor.
We found out about Felicia and began to sponsor her one year ago when my company, EMI Christian Music Group partnered with the wonderful organization, Sweet Sleep for our Christmas charity. Sweet Sleep takes service teams to Moldova several times per year to build a transitional home for kids “graduating” from the orphanage, Sweet Sleep arranges sponsorships for kids like Felicia who we can email regularly and send packages to, and they employ young boys who have graduated from the orphanage to build new beds for these kids who have been sleeping in filthy and broken beds from the 1950s. Part of our sponsor money goes to create a “nest-egg” account that Felicia can use when she graduates to help her get started on her feet.
I was just SO excited to get this beautiful picture in our email tonight! It feels good to reach out and try to do good for someone, but then to see that it’s really getting to her! It’s wonderful. I wish so much for Felicia. There are many others like her, if you are looking for another way to reach out.
Info about Moldova from Sweet Sleep’s website:
The Republic of Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It is located between the Ukraine and Romania. In 2002, the population of Moldova was estimated to be 4,439,502. Moldova is plagued with a daunting cycle of poverty and corruption which severely affects the country’s orphan population. Over 80% of the population lives on less than $1.00 (U.S.) a day.
The statistics which face these children are horrid. There are an estimated 12,000 orphans living in this third-world country. They are released from their orphanages once they have completed the ninth grade and are typically 16-17 years old. With little to no resources, these teenagers have no place to call home. According to statistics, 10% will commit suicide within the first year of being forced out of the orphanage; 70% of the females will become prostitutes or be forcibly be sold into sex slavery; and 70% of males will either find themselves imprisoned due to desperate attempts to survive or will join the mafia as they seek a new “family”.
And we’re helping one!
-Jessica
January 19th, 2007 at 2:30 am
” Have you ever thought about being thankful for what you give? Others are!!! Giving by you leads to thanksgiving by others!” This was in a daily Devotional I just read a few minutes ago !! And we’re Thankful too; for the Loving, Giving Hearts of our Children!!!
And Felicia IS Beautiful!!!! What a great gift— getting to see her with your gifts. With MUCH LOVE, MOM
January 19th, 2007 at 3:31 am
She is beautiful!!! Jessica she looks just like you, at first I thought this picture was you, when you were little. Its a great thing to see your little child with things you got them, I have had that happen many times, especially Russia.
With Love!
February 23rd, 2007 at 5:23 am
[…] Adam and I sponsor Felicia, a little girl in Moldova through a wonderful charitable organization called Sweet Sleep based in Tennessee, USA. We became acquainted with Felicia and Sweet Sleep in 2005 when I helped my company, EMI Christian Music Group, organize a huge Christmas charity for orphans in Moldova. EMI CMG donated a winter coat for every child in two large Moldovan orphanages, employees bought warm clothes and gifts for specific children, friends of EMI donated money for many new beds, our recording artists wrote letters to children, many employees (including myself) reached out to sponsor a child, and a few of our employees actually went to Moldova in January, 2006 to deliver these awesome gifts to hundreds of orphans. It was incredible. My friend, Brian McKay from the EMI CMG mail room was one of those who went to Moldova, and his life was changed. […]
September 18th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
[…] She’s so gorgeous. It’s amazing to watch her grow up through photographs. Click here to see her picture from last Christmas and read more about our background with […]