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Hey everyone!
We are excited to tell you all that we have decided to take on an enormous project this year!! We have always believed that if you plan on doing something make sure whatever it is will make a big splash...a lasting imprint on whatever it touches...so here we go...We are planning on opening a children's center in Freetown Sierra Leone....Most of you know or have seen videos of the children we uncovered living in horrible conditions during our last trip over Christmas...well we truly feel the only way to ensure their safety and hope for a future is to take them under our own roof and care for them as we would our own kids...so here we go!!! We are planning fundraisers now and will keep you all up to date on our progress and goals!! We are very excited and VERY overwhelmed by this but we know its what we HAVE to do...so we will dive in and hope you all will be there for the journey as well....remember EVERY life counts!!!
Also...Erica is currently trying to bring home one of the babies we found while we were there...Keep her in your thoughts...it's a tough process and every day counts since his little girl is so malnourished....We will keep ya posted on this as well!!!
Love to all of you!!
EzraJane
Tuesday
Sunday
TRS May Update
Hi everybody... TRS member Lauren here... wanted to update you all on what's going on!
I just left our TRS meeting, and we're having a really hard time pulling together the funds to send to Freetown this month for the orphanage's food and water. We have some fundraisers planned for June... but funds for this month are still tight...
If anyone can give anything at all... we (and the 85 sweet children at the orphanage) will greatly appreciate anything you might be able to help us with.
Visit: www.TheRainingSeason.org
Thanks!
Lauren (& the rest of the TRS clan)
I just left our TRS meeting, and we're having a really hard time pulling together the funds to send to Freetown this month for the orphanage's food and water. We have some fundraisers planned for June... but funds for this month are still tight...
If anyone can give anything at all... we (and the 85 sweet children at the orphanage) will greatly appreciate anything you might be able to help us with.
Visit: www.TheRainingSeason.org
Thanks!
Lauren (& the rest of the TRS clan)
Wednesday
Orphanage Compilation Video
Some of you were interested in seeing a little more of what was accomplished at the orphanage we visited while in Freetown....Here is a video to give you a clear idea of what exactly we saw.....
Saturday
School Sponsorships
In November, some of Nashville's greatest songwriters, joined with EzraJane to raise funds to sponsor 39 children in Freetown....Below is a short video showing you just a few of those children....
It was an amazing feeling to be able to give an education to children that deserve it so much. For kids in Freetown, going to school everyday is like a trip to Disneyworld....Thank you to all who made a future possible for these 39 Children.....
The children.....
Sonnyboy Koroma,Francis koroma,Maisha Koroma,Sahid Kamara,Mary Sewa,Jesse Sampson,Komboh Sesay,Grace Kanu,Daniel Kargbo,
Joanis Turay,Mohamed Sesay,Septimus Alpha,Mohamed Tahl,Samuella Kamara,Ramatulai Kamara,Rosaline Caulker,Bockarie Mansaray,
Miriama Mansaray,Daniel Mansaray, Francis Bangura, Fatmata Bangura, Josephine Jaward, Abdul Bangura,Victoria Mustapha,Emmanuel Mustaphe,
Ishatu Savage,Winifred Conteh,Mary Conteh,Mohamed Conteh,Pamela Kamara, Charles Kamara,Kevin Kamara,Raymond Ansumana,Rosemond Ansumana,Patrick Kamara,Emanuel Moses,Mariatu Moses,Baindu Victoria
Filling the Storehouse
It amazes me how God sometimes works....Our trip was planned perfectly..everyday we had a certain project to complete and luckily we accomplished everything we set out to do...What is interesting is how God decides to make a bend in the road...a slight turn that leads us to a place we never thought we would be....For us that special place was the Orphanage in Calaba Town...
For those of you who don't know I have adopted a little girl from Sierra Leone. She came home to me 4 years ago...During that process...I met many families all trying to adopt from the orphanage my daughter lived in. Sadly a trafficking scandal halted adoptions and many children never made it to the states...A friend of mine asked us to visit a little girl she had tried to adopt in Calaba Town...I told her I would and honestly assumed she was living with a family somewhere...We had no idea the day we set off to visit her would be the day we found not only her, but 83 other orphaned children living under one roof....
At first glance the orphanage seemed great...the kids were all smiles and the staff was so pleasant...but as we began to take a loser look we noticed the children seemed severely malnourished....at one point, the young girl I went to visit, pulled me aside and whispered into my ear....
"Do you have any food? We have not eaten in 4 days....."
I was shocked and immediately began trying to determine how that could be possible....I went into the storehouse where the food should have been....empty....we went to the well....it was dry....the tanks were also empty....We quickly realized she was telling the truth...there was no food in sight....We sat down with the caretakers and they explained that they were unable to purchase rice or water...there were no funds....the food they did have had run out several days before.....
I cannot explain to you what it feels like to hear a child beg for food....I cannot describe the brokeness we felt as we left the orphanage that day....some of us sat stunned the whole way home...others cried....all of us were trying to figure out what we were to do next....
We arrived back at the hotel and I began counting money...distributing and redistributing funds...trying to figure out a way to purchase the rice and water for the children....We pulled together what we could and then God truly handled the rest...Before we knew it friends from back in the states started wiring money when they heard about our situation....By morning we had a plan....
We traveled into town and hired a transporter....went to a wholesale market and purchased 1400 pounds of rice...then we purchased a few thousand bags of purified water and began the long drive back to the orphanage....
When you watch the video below you will see what happened next...Im excited to say that the food we brought has lasted almost a month...I received word yesterday that they have 4 bags of rice left...My hope is that people continue to give so we can continue to help support these children.
For those of you who don't know I have adopted a little girl from Sierra Leone. She came home to me 4 years ago...During that process...I met many families all trying to adopt from the orphanage my daughter lived in. Sadly a trafficking scandal halted adoptions and many children never made it to the states...A friend of mine asked us to visit a little girl she had tried to adopt in Calaba Town...I told her I would and honestly assumed she was living with a family somewhere...We had no idea the day we set off to visit her would be the day we found not only her, but 83 other orphaned children living under one roof....
At first glance the orphanage seemed great...the kids were all smiles and the staff was so pleasant...but as we began to take a loser look we noticed the children seemed severely malnourished....at one point, the young girl I went to visit, pulled me aside and whispered into my ear....
"Do you have any food? We have not eaten in 4 days....."
I was shocked and immediately began trying to determine how that could be possible....I went into the storehouse where the food should have been....empty....we went to the well....it was dry....the tanks were also empty....We quickly realized she was telling the truth...there was no food in sight....We sat down with the caretakers and they explained that they were unable to purchase rice or water...there were no funds....the food they did have had run out several days before.....
I cannot explain to you what it feels like to hear a child beg for food....I cannot describe the brokeness we felt as we left the orphanage that day....some of us sat stunned the whole way home...others cried....all of us were trying to figure out what we were to do next....
We arrived back at the hotel and I began counting money...distributing and redistributing funds...trying to figure out a way to purchase the rice and water for the children....We pulled together what we could and then God truly handled the rest...Before we knew it friends from back in the states started wiring money when they heard about our situation....By morning we had a plan....
We traveled into town and hired a transporter....went to a wholesale market and purchased 1400 pounds of rice...then we purchased a few thousand bags of purified water and began the long drive back to the orphanage....
When you watch the video below you will see what happened next...Im excited to say that the food we brought has lasted almost a month...I received word yesterday that they have 4 bags of rice left...My hope is that people continue to give so we can continue to help support these children.
Visiting Lucy the blind woman
Lucy was such an inspiration to us. here is a woman with 5 children who survived a brutal rebel attack. Her eyes were gouged out an she was left completely blind....she spends her days begging for food on the streets since she is unable to work in her condition. We were thankfully able to bring her food due to the donations friends and family sent with us for our trip....
New Years Day at the Orphanage
New Years Day was such an emotional roller coaster for us.....there were many ups and downs...we spent the entire day at the orphanage ....
Kelly and I worked for hours trying to determine the medical needs of each child...one by one they filed into a small room where we took a good look at each one, recorded their names, ages and marked them either malnourished, extremely malnourished, or needing immediate medical care....you are probably asking "How are they capable of determining that?" Well it doesn't take a doctor to recognize the signs of a starving child.....We were forced to make a painful decision...honestly, every child needed to be seen by a doctor but we could only afford an examination and meds for 30 children...so we identified the 30 sickest children and began making arrangements....
but first we had a celebration dinner....we brought whole chickens, rice, bananas, bread, etc...and the kids FREAKED out!! They were so happy....it was a moment when our hearts were bursting at the seams....we realized that a heart can feel joy and sadness all at one time....What was also interesting was how they ate in silence....each child consumed with the bowl in front of them...I don't think there was a single plate that wasn't licked clean....
After the meal Kelly and I loaded up the first 6 children and began the trip to the hospital.....Would you believe that we were actually turned down by two hospitals because it was a holiday! It was terribly disappointing...We both began to feel desperate and angry as we sat in a steaming hot car with 6 children....2 who could barely hold their heads up they were so exhausted....FINALLY we came to a children's hospital on the outskirts of Kissee....they argued with our driver for a little while saying the doctor was too busy....then the nurse finally came over to us...took one look at Baby Festus and called the doctor immediately...We were thrilled!!!
Now comes another downhill stretch....the doctor arrived and examined Festus first...he said the child (2 years old and less than 10 pounds) was suffering through the last stages of starvation...if he was not admitted he would die within days. I dont know about you but it was our first time hearing the noises a child makes when they are dying...we noticed these noises and had no idea what it was till that moment...It was horrifying...we were so thankful that they planned to admit him...the other 5 children were given medication and a meal plan and sent back to the orphanage...one child should have been admitted but was denied because there were not enough beds...we were forced to learn the difference between the "Dying" and the "Almost Dying".....
After an extremely long day...we left Festus behind at the hospital and returned home to our hotel, with beds, water, electricity, and a weight too big for us to bear....It was a horrible feeling to lay in our comfortable surroundings while the children suffered....we still wrestle with it...Since coming back to the states we just don't sleep very well anymore.....
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