Latest
Urgent Need
Shenouda* lives with his mother in his grandparent’s one-room house in a remote village of Egypt.
Coptic Orphans has partnered with another local Egyptian organization, the St. Mary and St. Augustine Charity, to work together and build another room on the top floor of the home for Shenouda and his mother. Coptic Orphans needs a contributor to help cover the cost of the project: the equivalent of $404 USD.
Donate
now for Shenouda.
July
26, 2010: A contributor from New Jersey gave $50 towards this need. Thank you!
July
28, 2010: A contributor from Quebec, Canada, has donated $150 towards this need. May God bless you!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Samaan* is an exception among the children in Not Alone, because his father is still with the family; however, his father suffers from complete and permanent paralysis, and Samaan, his parents, and his four siblings lacked the support for even the most basic living and school expenses until they became part of the Not Alone program.
Now, Coptic Orphans is partnering with the family to help them gain humane living conditions so we can unlock Samaan’s potential in other areas. They keep their clothes in boxes on the floor because they have no furniture, and their window is simply a hole in the wall. Both make the living situation unhealthy for Samaan.
With the help of another local organization in Egypt, Samaan’s father has found a way to earn a small amount, and Coptic Orphans needs a generous contributor to meet Samaan’s family halfway to provide a wardrobe and a window for Samaan: the equivalent of $201 USD.
July
23, 2010: A generous contributor from Ontario has contributed $401 to cover this need and provide a generous surplus for other needs like this one. May God bless you!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Mark* lives with two of his siblings (his other two live at an orphanage because the conditions at Mark’s home are so difficult) and his widowed mother in their dilapidated rural home. Coptic Orphans is working to help Mark gain access to more basic rights like sufficient food, clothing, education, and housing knowing that it will help lift up all his siblings, too.
But right now, Mark’s remaining family lives in fear because holes and cracks fill their walls, bringing not only bad weather and pests, but threatening to bring down the whole house. Coptic Orphans has partnered with Mark’s mother, who is contributing a widow’s mite to make the project their own. We need a generous donor to multiply her contribution and make a home fit for Mark and hopefully his whole family, too.
July
19, 2010: A generous contributor from Illinois has contributed $5,000 to cover this need and so much more... May God richly reward you and provide all your needs!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Peter*, his
mother and his four siblings live in a home in danger of collapsing
at any moment. The home is full of insects, and the children even found
a snake on one occasion. There is barely enough room for the children
to live, let alone study. The roof is made of dried canes; it is weak,
can fall in and hurt the children and does little to shield them from
the weather. The local church will pay part of the cost of a new roof,
and Coptic Orphans is praying a generous friend will donate the remaining
$455 USD.
July
1, 2010: A generous friend from Maryland, USA has contributed $100 USD
towards this need. Thank you and God bless you!
July
12, 2010: A generous contributor from Illinois has completely covered what remains of this need. May God richly reward you.
______________________________________________________________________________________
The walls of
the upper room in Romany's* home have completely collapsed and now he
and his family live in fear of the collapse of the ground floor at any
moment. The home has no running water and no plumbing, dangerous electric
connections and a rickety staircase that needs to be fixed. Already
the family, the local church and members of the community are paying
part of the cost. Coptic Orphans is seeking contributors to pay the
remianing $719.
June
28, 2010: Praise God! A very generous friend from Illinois, USA has
donated the $719 USD needed for all the improvements necessary for Romany's
home. Thank you and God bless you!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Martina* lives
with her mother and two sisters. She also has an older brother, but
he is away most days as he is in the military. Her father died of a
liver failure some years ago, and the family has struggled since.The
house they live in is made of mud brick, has a flimsy roof and has no
clean source of water. Often times the girls will have to go to the
neighbors' houses to ask for drinking water. This is both uncomfortable
and unsafe as they are young girls. Coptic Orphans will ensure that
the family has clean drinking water, but the improvement will cost $344.
We are reaching out to our donors to donate the necessary funds.
June
24 Update: God bless the generous contributors from Ontario, Canada,
New Jersey, USA and Ontario, Canada for donating $100 USD, $100 USD
and $500 USD respectively. Praise God for your benevolence!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Mira*, her sister
and their mother live in a home built of mud brick making it very weak
and at risk of collapse at any moment. The entire home is made up of
just one room and an upper uninhabitable area. They have no electricity,
no running water and no bathroom making it unsafe and unsanitary.
Coptic Orphans
has arranged to make the necessary rennovations. The local church has
made a contribution, however there remains an outstanding amount of
734 USD that we pray will be covered by the generosity of Coptic Orphans'
donors.
June
14 Update: Praise God, generous friends from Ohio, USA and Illinois,
USA have contributed $250 and $500 respectively towards this need. Thank
you and God bless you.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Sammy* lives
with his brother in an old two-room flat. The flat is austere, but even
worse, the roof is full of holes and Sammy’s walls are cracked
so badly that gaps are forming in them. Sammy's mother constantly worries
that the walls will collapse around them at any time.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to install a ceiling, build a living room and bathroom, and make structural repairs to fix the walls. The family is unable to contribute for their home, but their local church will, and Coptic Orphans needs generous contributors to help cover the remaining amount, the equivalent of $909 USD.
June
7 Update: This need has been completely met by generous contributions
of $50 from a friend in California, USA and $2000 from a friend in Virginia,
USA. Praise God!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Peter's* father
provided well for his family through his work in construction. Sadly
he was working on a site when he fell from a very high point, and died.
He left behind his wife and three young children with no source of income.
Today, they live in a building owned by relatives, in an apartment full
of cracks that may cause it to collapse at any moment. The family needs
to move to a new home, the cost of which will be paid partly by relatives,
and partly by the church. However, there remains an amount of $808 that
we pray will be covered by the generosity of Coptic Orphans' donors.
May
28 Update: we have just received a generous contribution of $350 from
a friend in New York, USA. Thank you and God bless you.
June 3 Update: contributors from New Jersey, New York, and Washington have now covered this need in full. May God reward all of you.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Demiana's* father
died of cancer, leaving behind an illiterate wife and four children
with no one to care for them. The family of five lives in one small
room, making it impossible for the children to study or sleep comfortable.
Indeed, one of the boys often has to find somewhere else to sleep to
make room for his siblings. In order to alleviate this problem, two
additional rooms will need to be built onto the existing space. The
cost of the building project will come to $900.
May
27 Update: This need has been completely met thanks to the generous
contributions of $324 from a friend in Ontario, Canada, $10 from a friend
in Massachusetts, USA, $400 from a friend in California, USA and $200
from a friend in New York, USA. God bless you all.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Shenouda* lives
in a tiny one-room home with his mother and brother. Shenouda’s
mother suffers from glaucoma and raises chicken in their one-room house
to earn enough money to feed her children. The chickens make their living
environment unhealthy and dirty, especially when bird flu remains a
continuing threat for those living in close quarters with animals in
Egypt. Coptic Orphans has made arrangements to replace a rickety wooden
ladder to the roof (which Shenouda’s mother can’t use because
of her glaucoma) with a staircase. We have also arranged to build a
henhouse on the roof to help Shenouda’s family earn more from
their chickens while living in a healthy and clean home. We need contributors
to raise the equivalent of $303 to cover the cost.
May
3 Update: generous contributors from Illinois, USA; Finland; Ontario
Canada; and Indiana, USA have completely covered this need. Praise be
to God.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Yohana* lives with this
mother and two brothers in a house that they share with a relative’s
family. They turned the house into two homes by putting a wall through
the middle of the house, but the half where Yohana’s family must
live has no bathroom or kitchen, so Yohana often has to go without bathing
and the family has trouble cooking daily meals.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to build a kitchen and bathroom for Yohana’s family, as well as fix floor tiles and concrete their walls. Yohana’s Rep is trying to find local resources to cover part of the cost, but we need generous contributors to cover the what remains: the equivalent of $402.
April 29 Update: a generous contributor from California has just covered this need.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Cyril’s* mother and brother faced many housing hardships after Cyril’s father fell sick with cancer. They sold their house to pay for his surgery, but it was too late. Patience and hard work helped them get another house, but this one was falling apart around them. Eventually, they had to leave and go live with Cyril’s aunt in her crowded home. More hard work helped them rebuild the walls of their new house, but then they ran financially dry and ended up in debt to finish the walls. Now, they still live with Cyril’s aunt and their house is still unfinished. For all of their persistence, they have reached the end of their ability to finish the house.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to finish it for Cyril’s family. We will also install a septic tank and a usable bathroom, and repair the floor tiles of the house, so that Cyril’s dream of having a home to call his own for the first time since his father passed away will finally come true. We need generous contributors to cover the cost of this renovation, the equivalent of $500 USD.
April 26 Update: over the weekend a contributor from Illinois has completely covered this need. Then, an additional contributor during the weekend from the UAE contributed an additional amount also sufficient to cover the need. May God richly reward you both. The additional contribution from the UAE will cover a similar housing need that we have in the field.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Sara’s* mother has worked hard to support her four children since Sara’s father suffered a fatal heart attack almost three years ago. Sara’s mother has worked cleaning homes and schools and worked hard to learn how to read, recently graduated from a national literacy class so she can help Sara in school and improve her ability to find work.
Despite her industriousness, Sara’s mother does not have the means to repair their home after the pipes in their flat broke recently broke, ruining their ceiling, walls, and floor.
Coptic
Orphans has raised part of the funds on the ground in Sara’s local
community, but we still need very generous contributors to cover the
larger share. After generous contributions to the housing fund over
this past Easter weekend from New York, Maryland, and Ontario after
the latest need had been covered, we still need contributors to cover
the equivalent of $787 USD for this need.
April
7 Update: A generous donor from Virginia, USA has contributed $130 towards
this need.
April
17 Update: donors from Australia and Washington have together contributed $300 for this need.
April 19 Update: a contributor from Kansas has contributed $157 for this need.
April 21 Update: a contributor from Canada has completely covered the remaining amount. May God bless and reward all of you who contributed!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Shelly* lives with her older siblings in a rural mud-brick home that her father left his much younger, illiterate bride. The house is crumbling all around them. Insects come in through cracks in the walls and ceiling, as well as the cold and rain. The house is so full of cracks that it threatens to collapse. Coptic Orphans has partnered with the family and their local church to demolish the house and rebuild it from the ground up. We have already covered the cost of construction from the ground in Egypt, and need special contributors to cover the remaining cost, the equivalent of $367 USD.
March 30 Update: A generous contributor from Maryland has covered this need with an extra amount that we will dedicate toward another need in Egypt just like Shelly's. Thank you and God bless. Stay posted for another need soon.
______________________________________________________________________________________
The home that Nadia* and her family live in could, at any moment, collapse. The house is made up of just one room that has been constructed using mud bricks and has been roofed using dried cane, resulting in very little protection from hot and cold weather. Also a lack of plumbing creates unhealthy conditions for the children. Funding is needed to reconstruct the home to include three rooms and a bathroom, using sturdier building materials. Nadia’s family, a local church and Coptic Orphans will all contribute towards the final cost. We are reaching out to you to fund the remaining $707 necessary for the building.
March 25 Update: This need has been covered by a generous contrinbutor from Kansas, with an additional contribution from New Jersey. May God richly reward you both. We will dedicate the contribution from New Jersey to a similar need as Nadia's.
______________________________________________________________________________________
At any given moment Peter’s* home floods over with sewage. The home in which he lives with his mother and five siblings is built more than a meter and a half below the surface resulting in almost constant flooding. Not only is the house in danger of completely collapsing, but the children are subjected to extremely unsanitary conditions that could ultimately result in serious medical conditions. Moreover, the home has no roof except over just one room. The home needs to be elevated – construction will need to be finished and a roof placed over the whole house. They will also need a new bathroom and water plumbing. The family and two local churches will pay as much as they can towards the final cost. We are reaching out to you to help with the remaining $404.
March 19 Update: $100 has been committed to this need by a generous contributor from Washington (WA), USA. May God bless you!
March 24 Update: Praise God - a generous donor in Kansas, USA has committed $100 towards this need.
March 25 Update: This need has been met! $100 from Ontario, Canada and $200 from New York, USA have been committed to complete the funding needed. God bless you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Yvonne* lives in a home that is constantly wet. Because the home is built on ground already saturated, Yvonne, her mother and her two siblings can be found on an almost daily basis emptying the house of rising water. Naturally the home is always damp making for an unstable structure that could collapse at any moment, and also for health problems. Plans to elevate the house, add two rooms and build a more reinforced concrete roof have been funded in part by the local church but we are reaching out to you for the remaining $550.
March 8 Update: $100 has been committed to this need by a generous contributor from Finland. May God bless you!
March 16 Update: Praise be to God, generous contributors from Canada and New York have committed $200 respectively to this need, and another contribution of $400 has been committed by a second generous contributor from Canada.
The need is great, and all surplus funds will be used towards other housing needs.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Rafael,* his widowed mother, and siblings need major renovations in their home. The walls of his brick house is fuill of holes and his family has patched gaps in their thatch roof with plastic bags. Still, mice, snakes, and insects frequently seek their own shelter in his home.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to begin to seal Rafael’s walls, build a firm re-enforced concrete ceiling over his head, and repair floor tiles in various places. Because there is so much to do, we are starting with a bedroom, the toilette, and the kitchen. After Rafael’s family contributes what they can for these three rooms and we apply the previous contribution from New Jersey on February 25, Coptic Orphans needs generous contributors to cover the remaining $630.
March 3 Update: thanks to a generous contribution from Canada, this need has been met. Thank you and God bless you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
David* lives with his widowed mother and two brothers in a village house. David and his family fear for their safety because their front door is rotting and split in places. Even if they lock it, an intruder can easily kick his way in.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to replace their door with a secure metal one. We have partnered with the family and their local church to cover part of the cost, and needs a contributor to cover the rest: the equivalent of $100 USD.
February 25th Update: a generous contributor from New Jersey has dedicated $200 for this need. May God bless you! In accordance with the contributor's request, we are applying the amount beyond what we needed for this need to the latest need above.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Phoebe* lives with her mother and five siblings in a tiny mud-brick home that they share with Phoebe’s grandparents and two married uncles.
Their roof and ceiling are made of rotting straw and palm fronds. The roof is a poor barrier against the rain and cold, and Phoebe and her siblings suffer from constant colds and flues.
Coptic Orphans has partnered with Phoebe’s family and their local church for portions of the cost of constructing a reinforced concrete ceiling over their heads. Now, Coptic Orphans needs generous contributors to cover the remaining cost, the equivalent of $820.
February 17th Update: a generous contributor from Finland has dedicated $100 for this need. May God bless you!
February 22nd Update: over the weekend, generous contributors from Washington, Virginia, and New York have together covered this need, with a surplus above and beyond what was needed thanks to the very generous amount from New York. In addition, today two other contributors, one from Kansas, and one from Ontario, have together donated an additional $400 that we will also dedicate to similar needs. May God bless all of you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Mosaad* and his very young widowed mother had to leave their home to live with his grandmother because they have no water supply. Mosaad’s grandmother is very poor and works cleaning houses to earn enough for food.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to install plumbing and a water meter so that Mosaad and his mother can have their own home back again. We have partnered with Mosaad and his mother to contribute what they can, and we need a generous contributor to cover the remaining need, the equivalent of $220 USD.
January 27th Update: contributors from New Jersey and California have covered this need. The amount above and beyond the needed amount will cover similar needs like this one. Stay posted for more needs soon.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
When young Macarius’ father, a farmer, fell asleep in the Lord, he left Macarius and his illiterate mother a small mud-brick house on a plot of land with several cows.
Macarius’ father took out loans to support his family as he succumbed to illness late in life. Macarius' mother, now a widow, was forced to sell the family’s cows, now their only possible source of livelihood without a father and breadwinner, to pay the debts. Now, they have no income, and their mud-brick house is full of cracks through and through.
Macarius’ Rep from Coptic Orphans assessed the house and realized that it’s at the verge of complete collapse. Coptic Orphans has arranged to reconstruct the entire home: room, bathroom, and kitchen. After Macarius’ family scraped what they could to contribute (we always ask the family to contribute if they can so that they have a sense of ownership and dignity) and the local church has also contributed, Coptic Orphans needs generous contributors to cover the remaining cost of the project, the equivalent of $1,363 USD.
January 27th Update: a generous contributor from Finland has contributed $400 for this need. May God reward you richly.
February 5th Update: during this past week we've received a $100 contribution from Kansas, an additionial $200 contribution from Finland, and a $110 contribution from Ontario. Glory to God!
February 9th Update: yesterday four contributors, two from California, one from Ontario, and one from Finland fulfilled this need with a generous surplus. We will dedicated the surplus towards the urgent need of another child who needs rennovations like Macarius.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Samy* lives with his mother, siblings, and uncles in a tiny rural home. Samy and his siblings must walk long distances each day to another farm and gather water in heavy containers for their daily needs.
Coptic Orphans has partnered with the family and their local church to cover part of the cost of installing running water in Samy’s house. We need the equivalent of $170 USD to cover the complete cost of the project.
January 22nd Update: this need has been covered by a contributor from New York. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Christine’s father was a farmer before he fell aslreep in the Lord after a car accident several years ago. She lives with her mother, her sister, and her older brother live in a rural home on a small plot of land with a handful of livestock.
Christine’s only pieces of furniture are two wooden benches, so the three of them keep their clothes in bags on the floor. Coptic Orphans has arranged to install a wardrobe for Christine so she no longer has to wear wrinkled and dirty clothes to school and in her community. The total cost to cover this project after Christine’s local church covers a portion is the equivalent of $130 USD.
January 18th Update: this need has been covered by two contributors, one from Finland, and one from Illinois. The amount above what we needed to cover this need will go towards others like it. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Gamal* lives with his mother and two siblings in one room separated from their kitchen and bathroom by an open space. This makes it difficult for Gamal and his family to use the bathroom at night or during winter.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to construct a hallway between their bedroom and their bathroom, and to renovate their ruined sanitary and electrical networks. We need generous contributors to cover the cost of the project, the equivalent of $645 USD.
January 13th Update: a generous contributor from New York has just contributed $520 towards this need. Thank you! Only $125 will completely cover this need now.
January 13th Update: another contributor from New Jersey just donated $50, and a generous contributor from Finland has covered the remainder of the need and ample more that will cover needs like this in Egypt. God bless you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Nancy has faced many challenges since her father died. Her older brother had taken over his father’s business, but after marrying refused to help Nancy and his mother beyond the tiny widow pension they already receive, and gave them a single room to live in.
Nancy and her mother have no bed and sleep on a dirt floor in their room, where they are exposed to insects. They also cook with a propane stove in the room they sleep in, an added danger to their safety when they sleep at night.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to build an another room that they can use as a kitchen, to install floor tiles, and provide a bed. The total cost after assistance from the local church is the equivalent of $155 USD.
January 11th Update: this need has been covered by a contributor from Ontario, Canada. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Makarios’* father’s long battle with cancer and ultimate falling asleep left Makarios’ mother and sibling destitute and deep in debt.
Coptic Orphans has been helping them get back on their feet so Makarios can be free to grow and reach his potential, but an immediate obstacle is their lack of water supply. Every day they must borrow water from the neighbors, or far worse, go down to the Nile river and draw unclean water infected with parasites and other illness-causing agents. The total needed to cover this project is $238 USD
January 8th Update: this need has been covered by two contributors from California and New Jersey and an additional doncation to match the amounts they contributed. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Hany* lives in a small apartment with his mother and sister. Their house is in desperate need of almost everything: electricity, new plumbing and a new toilet, concrete and paint for their mud-brick walls, ceramic tiles to cover the floor, a front door, and furniture. Their mother is illiterate, and despite her best efforts cannot earn what the house needs for its renovation.
Hany and his two married brothers will contribute their hands to paint and concrete the walls, and their church is also covering a portion of the cost.
Still, Coptic Orphans needs generous contributors to cover the remaining cost of the project, the equivalent of $830 USD.
January 7th Update: this need has been paid in full by a generous contributor. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Youstina* lives with her mother and sister. Her mother provides for the family by sewing children’s pants.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to purchase a gas stove for Youstina’s home because the one they currently have is broken, and Youstina’s mother can’t afford to replace it soon enough with her meager income. We have seen broken stoves leak propane gas that smothered families in the night or exploded, so we have arranged to replace the stove right away.
We need contributors to cover the cost of the new stove, the equivalent of $222 USD.
January 6th Update: two contributors, one from Finland and the other from New Jersey, have covered this need. The $30 or so remaining will cover similar needs. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Moura* and her widowed mother live in a one-room rural home with only two broken wooden benches for furniture. They rolled a plastic mat out on their dirt floor at night to sleep before gaining a bed from their local church.
Coptic Orphans has arranged to purchase a furniture set so that Moura and her mother. We need donors to contribute the equivalent of $185 USD to cover the cost of this purchase.
January 3rd Update: Happy new year! Over the weekend, three generous contributors covered this need: from Australia, Finland, and New Jersey. May God bless you! Together you have donated more than we needed for this need, so your contributions over and above the amount here will provide better housing for other children like Moura in Egypt. Thank you!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
*Name changed
to protect the dignity and privacy of the child.
