The TOMS Shipment has ARRIVED!

We are so happy to announce our new partnership with TOM'S Shoes, a company that will work

Phani with new TOMS Shoes

with us to give a brand-new pair of rubber soled, canvas shoes to thousands of children in Burkina Faso.

Sheltering Wings and our partner Small Rain have been approved as Giving Partners for TOMS Shoes.

The container arrived in Yako this past week and we have already been able to do two small distributions, one to our orphanage children and one to our secondary school children.

For many of our children it was the first time that they have worn a closed toe shoe.  They didn’t know how to work it onto their foot.   They would just stick their foot in and then try to force the heel to stretch over their foot.   

But, little by little they saw that if they worked their foot into the shoe. . . . well, then the shoe fits!

What fun to see the happy smiles as the children try out their new shoes! 

Thank you TOMS for this wonderful program and for putting smiles on the children's faces!

New Toddler Books!

Geilil is counting goats!

Brittany Vine is a very special friend of Sheltering Wings.  Brittany hales from Canada and has visited Yako several times now. 

This summer Brittany is doing an internship with a project in Ghana but on her way to Ghana she once again passed by to see us. 

Among other sweet gifts like. . . . . chocolate. . . . Brittany brought some little books that her Aunt Rachel had made for our toddlers.  They are beautiful high quality books that are plastic coated for durability and are just the perfect toddler size. 

Thank you so much, Rachel, for these helpful and useful books and also for sponsoring one of our children!

Ever Heard of McCook, Nebraska?

We have so many wonderful friends who bless us and our children in a myriad of ways.  Some

Tenielle and Guelil

friends come to visit!  Some send others to visit!  Some continually touch my heart with ‘please tell us what we can pray about’!  Some send money to keep the orphanage operating each month.  And, some send packages with a ‘taste of home’ for us and sweet, practical things for our children.

Tenielle Lytle, one of our interns hales from McCook, Nebraska!  And Tenielle’s mom, Michelle, has rallied her friends and nearly all of tiny McCook, NE on behalf of our orphanage. 

This week, Tenielle received a huge box filled with chips and snacks, drink mixes, crackers, granola bars, and beef jerky, all ‘tastes from home’ that she had been missing.  Plus, the box was overflowing with hand-made dresses for each of our little girls, hand-made shorts for each of our little boys, and toys for each child.  

New dresses!

 The new dresses are so cute and there was so much excitement around them that a couple of our little boys got upset because they also wanted to wear the new dresses!  But then they realized that they also had new shorts and new shirts to wear and there was peace once again in the orphanage.  :)

Mariam and Madina in their new dresses!

Thank you, Michelle, and all of your friends for your gifts of love!  We are so blessed. . . . both to have Tenielle here with us and to have you and McCook loving and supporting us!

a Star Falls from the Sky--

Djimilia

 

Sometimes I just have to write.  Writing helps me to process and to sort things out.  It doesn’t change anything but writing helps me to feel like I did. . . . something. . . .

Djimila was born in January, 2012.  I first met her when she was 8 months old.  In her then short life, she had been abandoned by her young mother.  Her father was never identified.  And, she had already had her left leg amputated because of an infection that had not been properly cared for.  Djimilia was also suffering from some form of cerebral palsy.  She could not yet sit up on her own, could not pull up, and was generally developmentally behind for her age.

The international rights of a child says that having a birth certificate is one of the rights of every child.  They also list things like a family, an education, and adequate medical care as basic rights of every child in the world. 

Djimilia did have a birth certificate because she was available for adoption.  But, the wait for a family was just too long. . . . Djimila died last night.  What did she die from?  She was being cared for by a very good orphanage.  Was it malaria, one of the greatest killers here?  Was it typhoid fever or meningitis?  Why did her little heart stop beating?  Why did her little lungs stop functioning?  I do not know. . . .

There will be no death certificate to indicate the end of Djimilia’s time here on earth.  But, the Lord called her home and that is really all that matters now.  Djimilia is no longer suffering, her left leg has been restored, and she is able to sit and to stand, even able to run and play just like a normal child.  And, for this I am thankful.