My friend Sally just sent an account of her return trip and of her impressions in general of the SOVCO organization. Enjoy the photos and Sally's account below:
We do have thirty new children who need sponsors; I took pictures of them last week, and will be getting their profiles soon. So if you have friends or family who would be able to sponsor a child, please pass on the word. After visiting SOVCO for two weeks, and being part of its daily life, I can say that it is a very solid organization. The director and the board are really committed to the cause of giving these children hope for the future through education. I really love that SOVCO is an organization started by Acholi people to help Acholi people. Our role is not to run it for them, but to support them in a way that works for them. I came away with the feeling that there are really a lot of good people in the world, and I am grateful to have met them. God bless you! Sally
For the dear blog readers who haven't quite understood my connection with SOVCO, here is the story, which is a story of how God allow us to be part of His wonderful plan.
Sally and I were fast and dear friends when we first met in Manhattan, KS. We lived there for seven years during Husband's extended Postdoc as research assistant at K-State in a project with Konza Prairie. We loved Manhattan, it was truly a wonderful community to raise young children. Numbers One and Two were tiny when we moved there, and our next three children were born while we lived there. Sally also had two little ones, and her husband was also at the University. We met often at City Park and at each others' homes. We both went though the process of buying our first homes together. We had so much in common: from international experiences to our Christian faith, cuisine and crafty projects. It was a sad day for us when we found out they were moving to Indiana.
Fast forward to when we took Number Two to get settled in her dorm room at the Notre Dame campus. We had seen Sally and her family a few times throught all of those years, and had certainly kept in touch. We knew of their sabbatical in South Korea, their semester in Scotland, and their two adopted children. This time we were staying at a huge State Park cabin near Notre Dame and they came for a visit as they live one hour and a half away. They went with us to some of the events at Notre Dame, and their son Joey loved the campus! He decided to apply to Notre Dame and got accepted into the very same program as Number One! One summer Joey went to a Notre Dame service trip to help these priests and nuns in Africa.... he loved it, and wanted to go back! Joey graduated this past semester and decided to spend a year helping in Africa before applying for a full time job in the US, in the same company Number One works for in Chicago. May God reward his service-oriented heart. And that is how my friend Sally got involved with SOVCO!
Sally has worked for ever helping fair-trade small organizations and this is her cup of tea! She is doing a great job and it is my privilege to help her! Our homeschool group's response to her Sally's invitation to help God's little ones has been so humbling: there are many children who were sponsored by our families! If you are reading this please prayerfully consider doing the same. For $20 a month you can be one of us! :-) Sally runs a small organization where all of your $ goes to hep in the education and life of these children. Email her with any questions at forresterich@hotmail.com. We know the photos of our African sponsored girls Agnes and Barbra on the fridge, and our prayers for them, have enriched our lives immensely!
May God allow that Sally's charitable work flourishes, and may He guide my steps in helping Sally.
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