Rani: An Update

So, Rani is doing really well everyone.

He's got some serious style too.

His appetite seems to be increasing by the day, and he downs his vitamins and anti-parasitic medicines like a champ.

He's learnt the actions for all of the English nursery rhymes I can dredge up from my memory, and babbles away endlessly - His language skills are very behind for a three year old, but he seems to be picking up new words every day, which is brilliant. He says hiya and bye-bye to everyone he meets now.

He's being lavished in attention, and absolutely loving it.

When he's being naughty and he knows it, he'll turn around and blow you a kiss and give you an adoring smile. It doesn't work (-most of the time, but sometimes you can't help but laugh)

He's smack bang in the middle of toilet training, and I can safely say that I've never had to clean up more of that delightful stuff ever in my life.

Someone has recently donated a bike, which he absolutely adores, even if he can't quite reach the pedals.

He also took quite an interest in the wax crayons and felt tip pens, and expressed this by drawing all over the walls and floor. (They are now on an out of reach shelf, and used only under careful supervision)

I'm learning an awful lot about cleaning up various substances at the minute.

I think his favourite place is the shower, because he doesn't stop grinning and laughing when he's in there. It's just catching him fast enough once he's out of there to put some clothes on him, otherwise there's a slippery naked baby dancing around the dorm .

But he's been here for nearly two weeks, and the progress he's made has been absolutely astounding.

And it breaks my heart to know that he's eventually going to have to go home.

Back to an overcrowded shack.

Back to poor nutrition and not enough food to go around.

Back to a mother whose time is stretched so thinly between 9 children and a job in the evening that she can't pay him the attention he needs.

Back to poor medical care.

Back to no running water, no real sanitation, a rudimentary at best education.

Back to no chances.

I don't want to insult his family in anyway, because I know for a fact that Rani is loved at home, and his parents do the very best that they can for him and his siblings with what little they have.

They did not ask to be living the way they do. They tried their best.

And they did not intend to have as many children as they do.

Contraception did not work; probably a combination of substandard supplies, and a lack of education on its proper use.

And the sterilisation that Rani's mother had failed, resulting in Rani and his older sister.

So it's not through lack of trying, please, please know that.

I really want to emphasise that his mother loves him, and wants what's best for him, as anyone who loves a child can empathise with.

His mother loves him, and she'd love for him to stay here and be raised under the loving care of the project.

To be afforded the care and attention he needs, to be raised in a supportive and educational environment where all of his requirements are met.

To wear clothes that fit him, and to be given shoes as he grows.

To never go hungry.

To be surrounded by gardens and play equipment, to learn about animals and their care. To have a chance at a real education.

To be given a better future.

Project Isobel would be willing to provide this, to be Rani's guardians until he can make his own way in life, and supporting him, and other boys like him (because his is sadly not a unique situation here), through that too.

He just needs sponsorship.

Regular investors in the life of a little boy, expanding his world and altering his future. Breaking the cycle of poverty. Changing his life.

Could you make that difference?

If you think you could help visit Project Isobel, and add your support.

Happy Rani and I.
 Also, I am not that pale.

Please remember to keep the Project, and Ranciel,  in your prayers, and stay in touch! I love to hear from you all, whether in the comments or via email, and it's great to hear what you think.

And don't be afraid to get in contact with the project, just visit the website and start talking!

Love always,

Lauren

x

In which we go out to deliver school supplies, and come home with a toddler.

So, yesterday we went out to deliver some of the 20 packages of school supplies for children that we have to two of the families that the project is connected with.

The first stop went smoothly, after we'd bolted in from the (torrential, always torrential) rain. The two boys were excited by all of their new school stuff, and started testing out out right away. We got hugs, and kisses, and they proudly showed off their last report cards.

Their favourite things were the felt tips.

We stayed and chatted for a while, then moved on to the next, much larger, and even poorer family, which is where we met Ranciel.

Well, I met Ranciel, Pauline re-visited him and his family.

And this is him;

He's so flippin' cute.

He is three years old. And currently attempting to eat the keyboard.

He's had a testicular hernia for two of those three years of his life, and desperately needs an operation to have it fixed.

The operation is free, but Ranciel was turned away as he is too severely undernourished for the operation to be safe for him to undergo.

Which is where we step in.

Ranciel will be under our care for one month, where he'll receive vitamin and anti-parasitic treatments, and nourishing meals. He'll be lavished in attention and exposed to toys, games, and wildlife that he'\d never get to experience at home.

This is Ranciel's home:

It has two rooms, gaps in the outer walls, no running water and no real toilet.

He shares it with his Mother, occasionally his Father, and 5 of his 7 older siblings.

Trust me, it's grim.

I'm not really a weepy person, but I had to hide my tears when we walked into that shack.

We only went to deliver school supplies to his older siblings, and came home with Ranciel. He's an absolutely gorgeous little boy, affectionate, smiley and inquisitive. He absolutely loves to be cuddled, he finds showering a hilarious experience and he's fascinated by the animals.

He's a bit wobbly on his feet, and he struggles with his co-ordination a little. On one hand he never developed a little finger- we think due to poor nutrition in the womb and lack of proper pre-natal care- and on the other he has a little finger, but it doesn't have a tip, and it doesn't bend.

He's been here for a night already, and this morning we took him to get some shoes, underwear and clothes, because all he had when we arrived was a couple of dungarees, jeans that are a few sizes too big, and three t-shirts, no pants, no shoes, no toys.

That's it.

That's all his Mum had to send him with, packing up his belongings and thanking us, and God, the entire time. It was clear that she loves all of her children, but she simply does not have the means to support them. I was told that a lot of the time, the children are all crying with hunger, and she just doesn't have anything to give to them.

Heartbreaking isn't it?

Could you help the Project support Ranciel for a month? If so, visit Project Isobel to donate towards his care and make a world of difference in this little boy's life.

Thanks.

Love and Prayers,

x

This post starts with an Abba quote. You've been warned.

You know the Abba song? The one that goes;

‘Money Money Money, must be funny, in the rich mans world’

(And if that song is now playing on a loop in your head, well, I apologise. Or not - depends upon how much you like Abba)

Anyway, I can sincerely assure you that if it’s funny in a rich mans world, then the air distorts and the humour vanishes from the room in a poor man’s.

Look. I know money is tight everywhere. Before I came here I’d spent eighty percent of my time inside my car thinking about how much the time inside my car was costing me.

But, hey, I have a car. First world problems written all over that one.  

This has a point, I promise. I'm getting to it right now.

...

So,

Project Isobel is currently operating as a drop in centre for local youth and children.

To give you an idea about what some of this involves:

The opportunity to play games, work with the animals, go on the computer, watch TV, play basketball,  and get fed a balanced meal.

It costs around 2 pounds per person to do so, accounting for the cost of food, gas, electricity and petrol to provide all of the stuff, as well as delivering clothing, school supplies and food packages as part of the Project's outreach.

You may have been observant enough to notice all of those teeny, tiny hidden costs that mount up to something monstrous when you’re not being careful (and when you are).

So, say 10 kids, at 2 pounds per day… multiply x by the square root of y and take a sharp right at the cosine of pi and you get to somewhere in the region of twenty pounds. Just to supply a meal.

That was not real maths. But the answer is correct.

A day.

And then, without the great food fund (which I named myself, by the way) there are the running costs of the project itself.

I mentioned gas and electricity didn’t I? What about running water? And maybe maintenance of furniture and walls and cars that have a nasty knack of breaking down at the most inopportune moments and costing a whole lot of money.

What about when one of the animals falls sick?

To put it bluntly, at the moment, there’s a whole lot of money coming out of this charity, and an awful lot less going in.

Project Isobel has a website here. And if I handily set that link for you all to go straight through to the support page, it is purely to economise your time efficiently.

But please, feel free to stay a while there and explore the project from the comfort of your screen. 

  

And maybe, just maybe, if you look at your costs and shave something like an overpriced coffee off your list of daily necessities for just one day a week, you could possibly spare a few pounds to give over at the Project Isobel Paypal. (click the yellow donate button on the site)

Or possibly, quite possibly, you figure you wouldn’t even notice it much if you set up a standing order and twenty pounds of yours flew off to do some good before you even registered it was in your account.

And feasibly, entirely feasibly, you might want to use one of the email addresses provided on the site (or maybe email, tweet at, comment on, or direct a smoke signal towards me) and ask how you can get involved, and make a difference in the lives of street kids and abused animals.

Here I would like to take a moment to provide a few hints, tips and ideas. And yeah, I'm using a bullet pointed list. It's aesthetically pleasing.

• Get in touch.

I know I just wrote about it, but it needs emphasising. Even if it's just to send a word of encouragement about the Project's work. Some of the time (all of the time) that's priceless.

Also, getting in touch enables what the Project needs, and what you can offer it, to be personally matched. Kind of like internet dating, but with less creeps.

• Share it

Maybe you are just a really excellent networker, and have a bazillion and eight Facebook friends. Sharing links and the like for the project helps to raise awareness - and raising awareness raises the charity's profile, which may lead to raising the charity's donations, which definitely leads to raising the impact that the Project can make on the lives of the children.

I think I've got about 8 different ways to share at the bottom of this post, and along the sidebar too. There's the recommend to StumbleUpon badge, which will connect totally random people to this blog (speaking of which, I have a Russian following, which is amazing)

And then there's the +1 button, which recommends this site on Google, or the share on Facebook option, or the 'email this' (it looks like an envelope) or the 'tweet this', or 'blog it'... you get the picture. 

• Dig deep

I know for many of you reading this it's a struggle to afford yourself, let alone support a charity.
But please, please, consider it.

Consider how much you can justifiably spare.

A one off donation of a fiver? Brilliant.

A pledge of ten pounds a month for a year? Wonderful.

Whatever it is, to shamelessly lift a catchphrase from a well known Supermarket chain, every little helps. It really does. It eases the immense financial pressure on the Project just a little, and helps it to continue doing it's amazing work, one day at a time.

And that's you, that's your money, your generosity, making a difference in somebodys life.

I think it's pretty amazing that we have that chance, that we can do that for a child.

Don't you?

• Do Something

Everyone can do something. Maybe you're feeling inspired and want to do something creative, flog it, and donate the profits. Into graphics? Design a T-Shirt or a Hoodie or something, and sell it to everyone you come across that needs clothing. I'll be first in line.

Or maybe you're a party lover, or a foodie. Perhaps you could organise a dinner/tea party and charge for entry, and, er, donate the profits.

You might have a blog or a Tumblr of your own. Why not try linking http://www.projectisobel.com/ to it, and helping to increase the site's traffic?

Prayer support is always vital. I, and the Project, serve the Creator of the Universe, and I fully believe that prayer changes things. It brings about breakthroughs, and the Project needs a breakthrough. And it's free.

I know that I have a highly talented and dazzlingly beautiful readership of this thing, with an astounding pool of varied talents and skills that are just waiting to be utilised and honed, brimming full of more ideas than I could ever come up with.

Give it a go.


 I'll update again soon with what I've been up to, but for now I think this is enough. If this post has made even one of you consider any of the options handily listed above, then I will be so thankful. Honestly, whatever you do really will change things over here.

Thanks for sticking with it.

All my love, and a whole load of God's blessings being sent your way.

x