Latest arrival at the Mercy Home.

It is very very unlikely this little boy will be adopted because of his missing hand, so he may well join the Little Darlings in a year or so.

Gift from Antti and packages from Leena Gustafson

Thank you to Antti and children for the playdough we received for the Little Darlings. They will have lots of fun with it. Please thank your children for their kind greeting also.

And many thanks Leena Gustafson for the fives packages of baby textiles we received, I think on behalf of Vaaka and Lutheran Congregation of Myanamaki mission group.

Volunteers

Karen from Australia is currently volunteering at the Mercy Home and being a super big help with the babies. Last month, Heidi, also from Australia, was a great help in the nursery. (The baby she was holding has since been adopted by a lovely family!)

Finger-painting fun with 'Lil Darlings.'

Lots of fun for all but decidedly messy!

Self-help group meeting

Here are some photos of one of the meetings of our local self-help group set up by SHE. Each woman pays a small amount into a common account each month. When they reach about $200 they then become eligble for an interest free loan from a local bank. The women can then take a loan to be invested. One lady wants to buy 2 goats to start a flock; another one wants to take advantage of a free tailoring course being offered and then take a loan to buy a sewing machine. We hope this initiative will improve the income of these desperately poor families.

Bottle Contact

Yesterday we went to visit a local manufacturer of a well-known brand of baby bottles and he agreed to sell us baby bottles at cost price, which represents a big saving. Thank you to 'Princy India' for their willingness to help and to Samir for your donation which covered the first purchase.

Pretty flowers

Here are some of the pretty artificial flowers that the senior citizens are making.

Activities for the elderly

The elderly residents of the Mercy Home have now started some craft activities to keep them occupied. (For those of you who don't know this, the Home also rescues abandoned old folk and currently houses 31 old people.)The women are making lovely artificial flowers and the men are making little bags from old newspapers which are used here by the medical shops.

More packages received

The 'packages received' page on the website has been updated.

Smiles from the Lil' Darlings

Enjoying a new toy.

A review 2010 accomplishments in Little Darlings toddler group and SHE programme

We have compiled a list of our progress with the Little Darlings and SHE programme during 2010. We hope you will enjoy reading. Many thanks to all who have assisted in sponsoring these programmes.
RPI Year-End Review

New toddler bedroom

Here are some pictures of the toddler bedroom. The toddlers used to sleep on mats on the floor, but inevitably rolled off the mats onto the bare tiles, and then caught cold. Susanna brought some cuddle toys back from England and gave each toddler one as a present which they keep on their bed. Bottom right → Afternoon naptime.

Toy Drive for these needy children.

We are starting a new programme to help village nursery schools, such as the one below. Please follow this link to read all about it: Nursery School Renewal Programme

New Packages Received

The packages received page has been updated with packages received since the New Year. Many thanks to all!