Sarah's Covenant Homes, India

SCH Website Launched, Blog Moving

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:08:00 +0000

This blog has been a labor of love for four years, and I'm so thankful to everyone who has joined us for the journey. I've loved having you with us celebrating our children's lives and milestones and crying with us through difficult times when a child has a setback. I've met so many wonderful people through this blog and the kids have found their voices and gotten the prayer and other support they've needed through it.

There are more exciting times ahead, though! And because we've grown so much, we need and better ways to keep you updated.

Thanks to long-term volunteer staffers Eric and Tisra Fadely, we recently launched a website (schindia.com) that brings everything together:

A blog where I (and now others as well) will post updates about the children.
Facebook and Twitter feeds
Videos
Instagram and other photos
Current fundraisers
Info about volunteering, shipping a package, etc.
A way to quickly donate
And we're working on a page to make sponsoring a child easier!

We love you and the children need you. Please spread the word about our new site!

We've also opened new email accounts. Here are a few ways to reach us:

info@schindia.com

volunteer@schindia.com

sarah@schindia.com

Let's stay in touch!

God bless,

Sarah Rebbavarapu, Director
Sarah's Covenant Homes, India

SCH 2011 Special Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:19:00 +0000

For the fourth year in a row, SCH has been invited to participate in the World Disabled Day Games (similar to Special Olympics). Two dozen children and young adults represented SCH this year and competed against students from Uma Manovikas School (for students with intellectual disabilities), Mother Theresa School for the Blind, and the local government School for the Deaf. Our kids had an awesome time!

Our SCH kids also placed in several events and took home lots of prizes, including the following:

Senior Boys & Girls Musical Chairs: Levi (first) and Daniel (third)
Junior Boys & Girls Musical Chairs: Hannah (second) and Isaac (third)
Senior Boys Running: Daniel (second)
Junior Boys Running: Jason (third)
Junior Girls Running: Honor (first), Nora (second), Hannah (third)
Junior Boys Shotput: Santosh (third)
Senior Boys & Girls Long Jump: Daniel (first)
Junior Boys & Girls Long Jump: Jason (first) and Amanda (third)
Senior Boys & Girls Caroms: Wendy (first)
Junior Boys & Girls Caroms: Christopher (second)
Junior Boys & Girls Ball in the Bucket: Christina (first) and Judah (second)
Senior Boys & Girls Ball Throw: Levi (first)

Proud of everyone for giving it their very best!

Junior boys' division running. SCH kiddos in this heat: Jason, Judah, Christopher, Santosh, Isaac

Junior boys again a few seconds later. Jason's in the lead.

Junior girls' division running. SCH girls in this heat: Honor, Christina, Hannah, Nora, Alesa

Rachel being interviewed by a local TV channel

Senior boys getting ready for their running race. SCH boys in this lineup: Daniel, Jared, Jeremiah, Levi, Stephen

Levi competing at caroms!

Jared laughed and clapped for himself after every shot, regardless of the result. He had a great time.

Junior musical chairs. Our kiddos in this competition: Christopher, Nora, Hannah, Isaac

GRAPHIC! Baby Emma Finally Got Her Shunt

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:39:00 +0000

As in the first post about Emma, the photos in this one will make you want to cry. It's been almost eleven weeks since baby Emma joined us at SCH--a wasted, frail, very dirty, neglected little baby with an open myelomeningocele, marasmus, club feet and severe, unshunted hydrocephalus. We got her via the government Child Welfare department--she was found outside a government hospital by a sweeper and was admitted and "managed conservatively" there until either they or the Child Welfare department decided she should be transferred to us. The shock of seeing her condition brought sobs to my throat, and I took her that night eight hours to Hyderabad to get better help for her. Unfortunately, she was too weak to clear for surgery, and after a few days of inpatient care to stabilize her, they discharged us and told us that she had to gain weight before she could get her shunt.

As hard as we tried, we couldn't get Emma to gain much weight back in Ongole. The pressure in her head caused her to vomit, and then she would aspirate. She never smiled, just cried weakly. Meanwhile her head circumference grew and grew. When she was about 3kg, we took her back and got her admitted for surgery, but after a few days the anesthesiologist refused to clear her for surgery and she was discharged and we were sent home to await her death.

We didn't give up, though, and because of your prayers and God's goodness, Emma found favor with a neurosurgeon and anesthesiologist at another hospital. While they agreed that she wasn't yet ready for surgery, the neurosurgeon did CSF taps every 72 hours, drawing off around 60 ml of fluid from her brain each time until she was fit for surgery to help manage the pressure. It was discovered that Emma had chronic meningitis, and the NS and pediatrician fought that with antibiotics. The lab reports also indicated that Emma has tuberculosis, so they started her on a treatment program for that. This hospital has fought for her intensely, and it has brought us so much relief. Emma wants to live--she has fought so hard for so long!

Manikyam, the caregiver who has stayed with Emma for the past month, prays over her.


Emma about 3 weeks ago

Yesterday the doctors decided that Emma was well enough to withstand shunt surgery, but also told us that they couldn't guarantee she would not need ventilation afterward. Emma had her operation this morning, and she came through it well, not needing a ventilator or other significant intervention. Below are two pictures of Emma taken post-op...

Emma just out of shunt surgery. It took over a month of ICU treatment to get her well enough to clear for surgery.

Poor, sweet baby...

I'm relieved that she's come through as well as she has, but sad that her head has grown so much since we received her. Relieved that her meningitis and tuberculosis were diagnosed and are being treated, but sad that her little body has been fighting two horrible illnesses for so long.

If this shunt functions as it should without blockage or infection, her head circumference should decrease some and she should begin to feel better. Please pray with us against infections and complications, and that the skin covering the tubing will remain intact. Also pray that she would put on weight and get strong.

This isn't the last surgery Emma will need. Her meningomyelocele lesion will need to be operated on and her spinal cord detethered (released from the tissue to which it has adhered). A friend whose daughter has spina bifida told me that the way Emma holds her neck may help to give some slack to her spinal cord and relieve the tension. After the next surgery, when her cord is freed, she may not feel the need to arch her neck and hold her head the way she does.

This is such a difficult time in this child's life, but by God's grace and with patient, loving care over the next few years, Emma could begin to thrive. It's been SO hard to watch her suffer--we all just want to see this baby laugh and smile...

Thanks so much to all who love Emma!

Rasool's Progress

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:46:00 +0000

Recently someone asked me about how Rasool is doing now.

I haven't done a good job of keeping this blog updated, but I have shared the events of his story on facebook. If you haven't yet "liked" our facebook page (http://facebook.com/schindia), consider doing so, because I post so many more updates there for the sake of time.

Rasool, a man about 30 years of age, was brought to us in February 2011 via the Disabled Welfare department by a poor woman, a sweeper at a college. She had found him six months prior sitting in a catatonic state, cross-legged in front of a temple, unable to feed himself, get to a bathroom, or respond verbally or otherwise to anyone who talked to him. No one knew who he was or where he'd come from. Her heart went out to him and she fed him for several months. Since the college where she lived and worked would not let her bring him on campus to care for him and she knew he needed more care than she could provide, she asked her educated son to help her find a place for Rasool. Her son emailed me, and I said we'd be willing to take in Rasool.

On the day we received him, representatives from the newspaper were there and wanted to photograph him for a missing-person story. Just a day or two after the story appeared in the paper, Rasool's relatives came to identify him. Turns out he is a father of two and a former military man who lost his lower leg in a train accident. He had left home because of an extended-family argument and had been missing for two years.

Because he was in such an invalid state, though, neither his wife nor his mother wanted to take him home with them, instead signing over medical decision-making rights to us. His wife has come now and then to work on getting his military benefits sent to her (of which she has never offered us anything for his care).

We took him to Hyderabad to see a psychiatrist I really respect. He ran some tests, like the EEG above, and then recommended a series of ECT (shock) treatments under general anesthesia.

I took some time to research, soul-search, and pray, and in the meantime we got him on antidepressants and had a prosthetic leg made for him. His spirits seemed to lift as soon as he got his leg.

Finally, in the spring, I decided to get him admitted and have the ECT treatments done for him. The treatments began working right away--he started to get up to go to the bathroom and no longer needed to wear diapers. He also began feeding himself.

After Rasool had undergone less than half the ECT treatments, on Easter morning I took a shift with him so that his caregiver could go to church. Someone from the kitchen came and brought him breakfast. I asked Rasool, "Aren't you going to eat your breakfast?" He said, "You can have it, madam." He continued to talk politely to me all morning, telling me he didn't wish to eat if I had nothing to eat. (I finally ordered myself a plate of breakfast just so he'd eat his own.) Since that breakthrough, he has been communicating verbally (and always politely) whenever addressed. He isn't one to initiate conversation, but will answer questions he is asked.

Rasool was discharged on antidepressants and he returned to Ongole. He stays with our young men (who used to live at Angel Home, but have been in town at Victory since their house parents moved away a year ago). Besides the schoolboys, Rasool's the only verbal or literate person in that room. He's so cooperative, though--going along with them to class, doing whatever the others are doing (bumping a volleyball, using Montessori items, making newspaper envelopes...) and never complaining. We enrolled several of our older boys and Rasool in a local vocational training program, but pulled them out when, after a few months, they hadn't taught the boys anything but instead had sat them down and had them trace Telugu letters (which is far below Rasool's level and above our other young men's).

Rasool's on the far right in this photo

Once in awhile Rasool looks depressed. I have asked him if he would like a job with us as either a watchman or an office assistant, but he tells me he doesn't feel like there's anything he can do well. Theresa's philosophy (and I think she's right) is that he's not yet psychologically ready to handle the responsibility of adult life, and he feels safe and comfortable having his needs looked after. She said we should give him some time to just be, before we pressure him to rejoin the world of the doers. So we do let him be. And he's pretty undemanding, takes care of himself, is good to the children... He fits in well and is fairly content. He's also gained weight and is in good health. Rasool has expressed often that he does not wish to leave and return to his family, and we've told him he's welcome to stay as long as he'd like.

This week his wife returned with a letter from the District Collector (one of the highest government officials in the area). She had petitioned to take him home and had a letter from them requesting that we hand Rasool over. Rasool has expressed strongly that he's not willing to go with them, so we told the relatives it wasn't possible to take him at this time. I talked to his psychiatrist about what rights Rasool has vs. those of his family, and what would be the best situation for his mental health. He said that Rasool can't be coerced to leave with relatives without a court order. I'm trying to request that we be allowed to take him back to Hyderabad for an evaluation alone with his psychiatrist so that he can express his opinions without either us or his family present, and the psychiatrist can determine whether he is competent to decide these things for himself. (I'm pretty sure he'll decide that Rasool's capable.) [Psychiatrist says that the evaluation would need to be done by a government psychiatrist of a certain rank, so I guess we may just have to request that the government get him evaluated by the appropriate doctor.]

My personal feeling is that if he were to stay another six months, he may be ready to begin looking for a job, and within a year or eighteen months could be ready to leave and support himself--and even to rejoin his family, not as a dependant but as the head of the household.

Anyway, after getting him evaluated, I think our next step would be to request a meeting with all parties concerned (Rasool, his family, reps from SCH, and the government Disabled Welfare department), presenting his psychiatrist's recommendation letter, so that a decision can be made that is most respectful of his wishes, rights, and best interests. Of course, we could be denied this meeting and simply forced to hand him over. Please pray with us that justice would be done for Rasool and that the case would not be overly stressful for him.

Update on New Children

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Super sick kiddos

In the past month we have received 26 new children--21 via the state government, one through the local government, and four from a nearby district government home. Three of them you haven't officially met yet--a sweet brother and sister in their teens with cerebral palsy, Jake and Bella (Bella is very weak and in a septic state in the hospital right now and needs your prayers), and a 3-year-old rambunctious kiddo called Timothy who has intellectual disability and epilepsy. Will try to post pictures soon.

The children all stay in one room--we always try to keep new children isolated from the others because of their poor health.

Really, "poor health" is a gross understatement. Ever since they arrived, there have been daily hospital runs and admissions into local hospitals. The kids are anemic (3 have needed transfusions) and have very little health margin, and they spread illnesses and infections back and forth. There are severe feeding issues--reflux, refusal or inability to swallow, vomiting, aspiration, fungal throat infections... We'll definitely want to have some MicKey buttons for feeding put in for a few children. There have been strange rashes we have never seen before, one I think may be called Staphylococcus Scalded Skin Syndrome. It's been horrible.

One child, Evan, arrived on tuberculosis treatment, prompting us to get the whole group tested, and Ruthie tested positive. TB and HIV are diseases for which the government hospitals provide the best care right now thanks to support from entities like the Gates Foundation. But there's a lot of red tape in getting a child going in one of those two programs, and it has taken us until last week to get Ruthie on the meds she needs (and in the meantime, we've all been at risk, because Ruthie's a social child who likes to climb on people and is impossible to isolate.) We did manage to get the rest of the new children vaccinated with an anti-TB vaccine called BCG, so they should be ok, along with our "old" children, whom we had already vaxed against TB.

We lost Jonathan, Tessa's brother. He slipped away to heaven one morning in a sudden episode of seizures (He had no seizure history in his record and was not on meds for seizures, but he may have had an illness that caused them.) We had a service for him and buried him that same day. It was hard on all of us--there's nothing more miserable than burying a little one. The new kids have all been so sick, though, and there have been so many close calls, that each day that we don't lose a child, we're grateful. I'm amazed and thankful that we haven't lost any more. Chelsea, Eleanor, Margaret, Emma, Valor, Elodie, Alina, and now Bella have all been inches from death, some of them more than once.

What we're doing about it:

Praying and recruiting prayer. A team of three Bible teachers came to visit, and we held a service and dedicated our new kids to the Lord. These three ladies and a visiting high school team poured their hearts out in prayer for the kiddos. We've also posted updates on our personal and SCH facebook pages and have had many people respond to say they're praying. I believe God sent us these kiddos for a reason, and I know He's with us, helping us do all we can and doing all that we can't.

Investigating. We've invited the local lab in to take samples and had complete blood pictures and blood grouping done, and had everyone tested for HIV/HepB/TB. We've had CT scans done for those we suspect have hydrocephalus, and ultrasounds and x-rays done for those suspected to have other issues. Thankfully we've had medical volunteers such as a trauma nurse, an occupational therapist, and two paramedics who have been a blessing in helping us sort out which children have needed which investigations done when. We're starting to get an understanding of what these children have and what they need. But daily we discover something else that needs investigating: for example, Elodie has what looks like a dermal sinus in her scalp...

Doctor consults. Every day we send kids to local doctors. Sometimes they admit them, sometimes they give medications for us to give the kids on an outpatient basis. We also took a group of children to Hyderabad to set up surgeries to address major issues.

WHO Program. Since February 2009, whenever we get a large group of children, we take them through the World Health Organization's Guide for the Inpatient Treatment of Severely Malnourished Children. The program consists of one week of small, round-the-clock feedings (which are still often too much for our kids), supplements such as potassium, zinc, folic acid, and magnesium, antibiotics and other anti-microbials, etc. We also add a decolonizing element for staph--mupirocin in the nostrils twice daily for two weeks. The program takes a lot of work to figure out for us medical laypeople, and it's exhausting! (God bless Erin and Cassie, who are running it now while Theresa is on leave and I am in Hyderabad for medical reasons,) As hard and expensive as it is to do the program, it tends to be a turning point, and the children do tend to get better more quickly afterward, reducing our hospital runs. Running this program for 25 children is costing us $1320 in pharmacy bills--can you help?

Mercies

While we look around and are tempted to feel hopeless and overwhelmed sometimes, when we look up and see what God is doing behind the scenes to raise up support for us, we feel like crying with gratitude. Let me tell you about some of them!

--A team arrived carrying medical supplies donated by a doctor.
--Ben, who just finished running in a 100-mile race to benefit SCH, raised $3000! He recently came to India with his father on a short-term trip to serve with our ministry.
--Leslie organized an online auction and raised around $1500 for SCH.
--JulieC is raising funds for SCH through a fun-run she initiated called the Pomegranate Run.
--Awonderful woman took on the project of supplying SCH with new pillows, and has recently finished fundraising for those.
--Eric, Tisra, and family are awaiting visas (pray them through!) and then will come on as full-time SCH volunteers in an administrative capacity.
--Tisra, Katie, and Kody designed an SCH calendar, and Tisra is coordinating sales of that. You can purchase one here: http://tinyurl.com/sch-2012-calendar .
--A lady who came to teach Bible at some of our schools got inspired to extend her stay and help our schoolgirls improve their English. A friend of hers will be joining her in a few months!
--Several more children have been sponsored, and a volunteer is coming to help us improve our sponsorship program and update all of our profiles.
--Niki's children's church raised $500 for SCH!
--About weekly, we receive a package with items such as baby clothing, aids for those with visual impairments, and other necessities.

There are others, and I'm so sorry if I missed acknowledging your contribution.

I want you to know that we feel so supported. We feel so loved. We feel like you care. It matters a whole lot to us. Thank you so much!

In the next blog post, I'm planning to update you on some of the individual children that some people have been asking about!

Order SCH 2012 Calendars!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:15:00 +0000

PRE-ORDER NOW! (and enter to win a free calendar!)

For several years, I've been wanting to pull together a great SCH calendar, and this year, some creative volunteers have designed a wonderful calendar for us to offer you!

(Image is just an example of how a page may look.)
Sarah’s Covenant Homes 2012 wall calendars are available for pre-order now! High quality and professionally printed. We will only send the order for printing when we receive all the pre-orders. You don’t want to miss out on seeing our cute kiddos on your wall all year round! Order by the deadline to reserve your calendar(s).

Order by: November 18, 2011
Price: $18.99 ea.
FREE SHIPPING in the continental U.S. (delivered by mid-December)

Purchase here using paypal:

(Short address of order form is http://tinyurl.com/sch-2012-calendar ; long one is
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=4WGYH3WQUPX88 )

All profits go toward the loving care of children with special needs at Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH) in Ongole, India. For the past 4 years, SCH has been caring for abandoned babies, children and young adults who have physical and mental disabilities. At present, SCH gives life, love, and hope to 108 children, many with very severe medical and developmental challenges.

Calendar details:

Be inspired by photos of the children and young adults at SCH throughout 2012! 12 large monthly images + cover photos.
measures 11” x 17” flat
full color throughout
80lb. gloss cover with 100lb. gloss text inside
saddle-stitch binding, and hole for hanging

How many do you need for:

home use?
staff appreciation?
teacher gifts?
women’s retreat door prizes?
church visitor gifts?
neighbors?
New Year’s Eve party favors?

Receive your calendars in time for Christmas gift-giving!

Share the Love. Spread the Message. Be a voice!

-----------------------------

Want a chance to win a FREE calendar?

1) Post the link to this blog post to Facebook, and tag Sarah’s Covenant Homes, India (our facebook page--you need to "like" it if you haven't) to receive one entry in the drawing (names randomly pulled November 18th). Then please leave a quick comment on our facebook page to let us know you shared, as sometimes FB tags don't show up on our page.

2) Write a blog entry posting all the ordering details, leaving your blog post link in the comments, to receive another entry.

“Enter” as many times as you post! Thank you for spreading the word and making our first SCH calendar fundraiser a success!

Five of Our New Kids Got Accepted in Great Schools!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Of the new children who joined us in September, we were able to get five enrolled in mainstream schools. By God's grace, three of the children got into one of the best private, English elementary schools, and two got into the very best private English preschool in town!

Nora, Luke, and Honor


Zinnia and Palmer

I love to be able to give opportunities like these to our kids, some of whom have experienced horrific things and face daily physical challenges. With no family support, they would have no chance of attending schools like these if it weren't for our advocating for them and your helping us afford to provide this education for them. By giving them the chance at a great education from an early age, we are making it possible for them to dream big and to realize their dreams as they get older.

We did not have the money to enroll and keep these kids in school for an entire year, but we believe they deserve it and that God will provide for it, as orphans are pretty special to Him. So we simply took the step of enrolling them, spending funds that we really needed for daily expenses on their uniforms and initial fees. We know there are those among you who can help us make this happen for these kids!

Below is a detailed breakdown of what it costs to send each of these five children to school for the rest of this school year. Double-click it to see a larger copy.

And then, if you can sponsor one or more children to attend school, or even just help us buy a child a lunchbox, click here:

If you wish these children well, but can't afford to help financially, would you share this need on Facebook or other social media? You never know who will see your post and take an interest. One year, one generous person whom we'd never met before saw a post and got inspired to sponsor ALL of our schoolkids that year, all by himself! That was a direct answer to our prayer that year, because we were overwhelmed and didn't have much time or emotional energy for a long, slow fundraising process. We said, "Lord, would you send us one single sponsor?" Then we simply posted the need, and sure enough, a man responded with "This may surprise you, because you don't know me, but I'd like to meet this entire need!" You never know if your sharing a post on facebook or a need via email could help make it possible for all five of these children to attend school. What I'm saying is, whether you can do a little or a lot, let's all do what we can to make a major impact on the lives and futures of these five kiddos!

Welcome Baby Chelsea!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Baby Chelsea's our newest little munkin--our third arrival from the Guntur district government in a month. They say she's five months old, but she feels more like a 3-monther when you pick her up. Chelsea does have a cleft lip and palate, but she was also really blessed with decent health, pretty features and the snuggliest personality. She's little and good-natured and just as sweet as it's possible for a baby to be.

Glad we get to be part of your life, Chelsea-girl!

Max's Heart Condition

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:25:00 +0000

Max, one of our newest children, is about a year and a half old. He was born with several congenital heart anomalies--severe pulmonary stenosis, dextrocardia, a single ventricle... He can maintain an oxygen saturation of only 47-54% on room air, and his feet, hands, and lips are always blue. To compensate for poor oxygenation, his body is producing more red blood cells: his hemoglobin is the highest I've seen: 15.6%, and his hematocrit is 50%. He has had no intervention for this condition.

Max is sluggish, quiet, and weak. He has little energy to play and would rather be held and cuddled. A volunteer team of young women has been helping with the new children since they arrived, giving them lots of love and attention.

I took Max to Hyderabad last week to have him evaluated at one of the best hospitals for pediatric cardiology in the country. The doctors said that Max needs two surgeries to help his heart work adequately.

The first surgery he needs (urgently!) is called a Bilateral Bidirectional Glenn Shunt. The doctor said this operation will reroute some arteries and will help him to maintain better saturation (about 70-80%), but that "he'll still be blue." Max will need a second surgery called a Complete Fontan Procedure three years down the road, which will help him to get near-normal oxygenation.

The first operation, for which we're supposed to admit him on October 17th, will involve a 12-day hospitalization and will cost between Rs. 135,000 and Rs. 150,000. There are two local pediatric heart foundations that each grant a max of Rs. 25,000 that I'm applying to, but I don't know if we'll get these grants or not, so I've set a goal of raising Rs. 135,000 (US $2812) on our own. We have just two weeks to raise these funds for Max. Will you please pray for him and spread the word about his need? To help financially, you can give via paypal here:

It's a major surgery and he'll need to be surrounded in prayer as he undergoes it and afterward, that no complications would develop. This hospital has a great track record with children's hearts, and I feel confident in entrusting him to their care. Ultimately, I know He's God's little boy, and I trust that He's led Max to us so that he can get this type of care at this critical time. Believing that He will cover the whole procedure and prevent infection and complication, guard Max's emotions, and him Max a great outcome.

I'm hoping to see Max walking, running, and playing in the next year. Thanks so much for helping us make this happen for him!

Emma is Home!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:49:00 +0000

Emma on blankets made and sent by my Grandma May.

Very happy to say that Emma came home last night to Ongole with us after a short stay in a Hyderabad hospital to get her stablilized, evaluated, and rehydrated. She gained 0.17 kg (6 oz) and is drinking from a bottle without choking and seems to be more content.

She and a nurse are staying in Theresa's apartment until her shunt surgery (She needs to weigh 3kgs and she's 2.5kgs now). Every three days she has to go to the local neurosurgeon to have her lesion dressing changed and keep it from becoming infected.

Emma's been well-loved. We've had so many expressions of care for her. I know this girl is being fought for in prayer, and God is answering. As beyond-wonderful as heaven must be, I'm really glad she's coming home to Ongole rather than going home to heaven. Burying children is miserable--it's one of the hardest things we have to do, and I was just inwardly groaning to think of maybe having to dress and bury this little one who looks as though she's never known a day of happiness and comfort in her life. So thank you for not giving up on her. Please do keep on praying for her to thrive and be happy and bring even more joy to everyone around her.

Funds have come in to cover her initial hospitalization and have been pledged for her upcoming shunt surgery (Thank you so much!). She also has a $100/month sponsor now, and ~~just needs a $50/month sponsor to be fully covered~~ (Thank you, S! She is fully sponsored now.). One friend is sending some clothing, and another plans to send her her first stuffed toy. Thank you everybody, for being the family that she has never had.

Caring for Emma is not easy. It's hard to pick her up because her neck is super-weak and her head is very heavy and squishy with fluid. We can hold her like I am in the picture above fairly comfortably, but lifting her from the bed to that position and changing her clothing are delicate processes--we're always afraid of something happening to her neck.

When lying down, she's only comfortable on her side, and even then she arches her neck back awkwardly. We're always trying to straighten her head and align it with her body, but maybe this is not how she's comfortable.

She's so tiny that we just stare at her. She just draws pity and love from the deepest places in a person. It's hard when you feel such a deep compassion to then realize that before coming to us, people walked by her in a hospital cradle and listened to her cry and saw her pleading eyes and couldn't spare a few minutes to give her a bit of milk or a kiss on the forehead. Baby... But finally someone, whether a hospital employee or from the Child Welfare Department itself, decided to intervene, and for that we're really grateful.

Surgery is tentatively planned for the 17th, but they'd like her to put on a pound of weight! Pray that she gains the needed weight before losing more brain matter, and that her intracranial pressure stabilizes until she can have surgery.

"Family-Style Homes?" Idealizing SCH

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:27:00 +0000

If you were to visit SCH right now and see that we have nearly 100 children living on one campus and that we have about 20 children per room, you might wonder why we call ourselves "Family-style homes..." Here's the story:

Before SCH started, I had dreams of creating ideal home environments for the children we would receive. Adoption of special needs children was not happening in our state, and international adoption from Andhra was shut down. I wanted our homes to be the next best thing to adoption. They would be "forever foster family homes"--the house parents would be committed to the children long-term, and would raise them as their own. The buildings would be nice-sized homes with a living room, parents' room, kids' room with 5-8 kids max, a dining room with a nice big family table, toys, maybe a dog...

I wanted us to be able to take in every child God intended for us, but I never wanted to crowd and fill the homes and become another orphanage. I simply believed that, as we got more children, we'd just open more homes. At that time I expected that the children would trickle in one by one as they were found abandoned by police and were referred to us by the government. I did not realize that they had nearly 80 children with "mental retardation" diagnoses, many of them with multiple challenges and very ill, in the government orphanage in Hyderabad.

After awhile I found a foundation that dreamed with me. They wanted to help me build and start many such homes (way more than I had vision for!). They had a single wealthy donor who wanted to remain anonymous, but who wanted to work through this foundation to help me accomplish this.

Just before we got the first ten children, the relationship between the foundation and their donor soured and died. The foundation, and SCH, were cut off, and I could not even appeal to the donor. But just that week the Lord had given me the most amazing promise! He spoke to me through the words of David to his son Solomon, "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them." 1 Chron 22:14 Somehow the temple of Solomon (splendor, glory) and the tabernacle of Moses (the wholeheartedness with which the people gave to build it) have been symbols the Lord has used to speak about these homes. When we welcome the children, we welcome Him, and when you welcome a King, you want things to be nice for Him.

With that amazing promise and other confirmations, we moved forward confidently despite no longer having any promise of support from the foundation (or anyone else). The weekend we went to pick up the first ten children, the house parents for both homes stepped forward, and donations began to come in. We were on our way.

Victory and Angel were pretty ideal when we had just five children in each. We had sofa sets, dining tables, five nice single beds in each home, house parents who loved the children and could easily care for them with the help of a couple of staffers...

So why did we go to an orphanage model? When and how did my vision for family-style, next-best-thing-to-adoption, forever-foster-family homes change? It didn't. It hasn't. But several things happened along the way:

1) I looked into the eyes of over 70 suffering kids and thought, "These kids need what we have NOW, not years from now when we get enough buildings built." The children in the government orphanage needed an advocate, they needed love and affection, they needed to be valued and wanted. They needed medical and surgical intervention, education, physiotherapy. They needed enough to eat! And they didn't have years to wait until we could create the perfect model. There were no other organizations lining up asking to care for them. It was us or it was the government. The government never turned away any abandoned kids--they had to take them all in and just somehow make it work. We had something better--we had God's promises! (And He really has been true to them: We've been able to do amazing things for the children--private mainstream schooling for 26, major surgeries, orthotics, glasses, hearing aids, daily physio, toys and fun outings...).

2) I realized that, even though the overall standard falls to some degree when we take another large shift of children in, that the new children are always worth it. Each new child, however complicated his needs may be, is worth the stress on us volunteer staff as we learn about his needs, fundraise for him, buy more beds, make more hospital runs, train new staff, readjust the budget... The new kids are worth the stress on the employees when the child-to-caregiver ratio goes up temporarily, space is limited, and there's way more work to be done. They're even worth the stress on the "old kids" who get less attention and who have to wait longer for things they may gotten more quickly. The difference SCH has made for Andrew, for Felicia, for Cassia has been worth the adjustments that Hannah, Christopher, and Christina have had to make. And they're not going to have to make them forever.

3). I realized that the medical needs of the children being referred to us were so intense that decentralizing was not an option. We had to stay on top of the medication ordering and dispensing, the therapy, the emergencies. Having homes as far apart as Angel and Victory were was hard to manage, and to think of having dozens of spread-out homes and making sure that each home was equipped with personnel trained to handle status epilepticus or to change a feeding tube, was just not practical.

4) I realized that we were in a rescue phase, and that the idealizing phase would come. And I feel like we're close to entering the idealizing phase now.

IDEALIZING

Ideally, what do we envision for these kids?

1) Adoption of some into wonderful families. While this is not a process we have any control over, we believe that some of our children will grow up as permanent members of adoptive families, either in India or abroad. Big changes are happening in the area of adoption right now in India. Just pray with us that the changes would work in the very best interests of every child, including our SCH children. None of it is in our hands, but God has the whole situation firmly in His, I know. May everything happen according to His perfect will and timing.

We know that not all of our children will be adopted. (Many are already too old, and for some, God may want them to stay with us!) For those who are not adopted we envision:

2) Forever foster-families (or at least long-term ones). There are reasons that foster care in its traditional sense may not work well with our kids and in our area. I know someone who's running a successful foster care program in an Indian metro, but I just don't see it working here, and especially with our kids' challenging needs.

Now I'm going to explain the vision I've been wanting to share for a long time!

I see long-term miss*onary foster families! Both Indian and foreign. Living here in community. Do you have a devotion to Jesus, a heart to serve India, a passion for orphans and family, a love for children with special needs? Maybe your family's called to do this!

What I envision is an apartment complex (and then two and three). We have land for this complex, and we're trying to get a great engineering ministry team to come design it for us. Then comes fundraising and building!

It will be universally accessible, homey, and nice. Each apartment will house a family (woman or couple, with or without children of their own) and as many SCH children as that family can commit to long-term. The parents will be volunteers who will raise funds from among their own churches, relatives, and friends for the upkeep of their own apartment and for the needs of the children they foster--their education, their medical care, etc. There would be common facilities on lower floors for all families, such as physiotherapy, nursing care, prayer room, etc.

It will be similar to adoption in every emotional aspect, but legally, you would have no rights to your foster children, just as I have none (except that I'm authorized to make medical decisions). The SCH children are wards of the state and can be removed from our care on the whim of the government at any time (This was written into the agreement by them). I don't think they will remove them if we continue to provide them with a safe and loving environment, but we would have no recourse if they ever chose to. Similarly, you would have limitations: you could not take the children for out-of-state vacations, move them to another home, have them accompany you on furloughs... There would be no guarantees that you could ever legally adopt them if you so desired. You would have to be ok with these limitations.

Living in community, we could strengthen and pray for one another. Friendships would be built with people from around the world, language lessons could be held, family members could be part of other ICM programs...

It would involve a lot of sacrifice, especially for someone coming from another country. But as we sacrifice our countries and cultures and learn to love the children's food, language, and roots, we are also making it possible for the children to keep their country, language, and friendships and still have the love of a family. Again, it's only second-best to adoption, but it could be a real close second...

Not every volunteer will be called to make that kind of commitment. Some could provide childcare for families during their visa-renewal trips, some could serve the children as teachers, doctors, physios, speech therapists, prayer therapists, or in administrative capacities. And before anyone became a foster parent, they would need to live and serve here for a year or two to be sure that it was something they could really commit to for a long time.

CURRENT REALITY

SCH looks nothing like this now. We're overcrowded. No dining room space; kids eat seated on the floors. Classroom and physio space are very limited--one of our physiotherapists works on the balcony and one of our classes operates there as well. Our nurse room can only fit two beds. We're now housing the young men from Angel at Victory, because the Angel Home house parents no longer work with us and we haven't found a suitable replacement for them. We don't have a playground area at Victory. Victory isn't universally accessible (no elevator, no ramps), and we wouldn't have space to maneuver wheelchairs in the rooms even if we did have enough chairs so each child could have his or her own. We don't have staff quarters, so the live-in caregivers crash wherever there's space. We sometimes struggle to find employees with the type of passion that our volunteers have. Some kids fall through the cracks (like those with autism--I KNOW there's so much more we could be doing for them!)

Are we being irresponsible? No, it's temporary. If I had seen a vision of this years ago, I would have thought, "Lord, really? We have to walk through this to get to that?" Where we are now is not what I envision, but I haven't settled. I CARE about what would truly be best for these kids, and we ARE walking through this uncomfortable season to get to something more ideal.

Despite it not being ideal, I don't ever regret for a second having accepted any of the children. And even at the sometimes-chaotic stage it's in, it's still inspiring and still very beautiful. Ask many of the short-term volunteers who have fallen head-over-heels in love with the kids and just want to do anything they can to make life better and better for them. They've seen not only the difficulties, but have also seen deeper into the hearts of what those of us who volunteer for this really want for these kids. The kids are very happy and very loved, and have made great strides health-wise. So many of our children would definitely be dead right now if God hadn't brought them to us, and they would have died without a kiss and without a prayer and without anyone shedding a tear. Over twenty children would not be in schools right now of any kind, let alone private English ones. These kids have prayer warriors and supporters all over the world who care big-time about them, whether the kids cognitively understand that or not (We're so GRATEFUL for you!!).

We are all making a difference for the kids, even now. When it gets so overwhelming, remembering the progress we've made by God's grace keeps us moving.

And please do stick with us--because we're moving toward a very beautiful goal!

Meet Melanie!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:17:00 +0000

Melanie is four years old, and she arrived from Guntur on the same day as Emma. (Her internet name was chosen with love by my daughter Shayna.) She has developmental delay; not sure if she has any other special needs. Melanie doesn't yet walk, but she may just have not had the physiotherapy and attention that could help her thrive. It'll be exciting to get to know this beautiful child! Welcome, Melanie!

Update on Gabe: Myelomeningocele Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:53:00 +0000

Spina bifida, like Down Syndrome, is one of those prenatally-detectible conditions that parents are choosing to abort their children in order to "prevent." Spina bifida comes with complications that are not easy to live with, but the children themselves are irreplaceable treasures whose light, personality, and love will be lost to the world if an abortion takes place. Abortion isn't a cure for any disability or disease; it's an end to a particular child's life and destiny here on earth. Take time to get to know kids like Christine's Alex, Tia's Little Princess, Karin's Esther-Faith and Momto16's Angelina and Jude through their blogs--what awesome kids! And we have our own three treasures with SB--Promise, Gabe, and now Emma, who's fighting for her life (see blog post just before this one).

Wanted to update you on Gabe's myelomeningocele repair surgery. It was a surgery that both the neurosurgeon and plastic surgeon said would be tricky. He needed his spinal cord detethered (unstuck from tissue), the fragile skin on his lesion removed, and better, stronger surrounding skin with underlying fat pulled to the center to cover it. Any complication or leak could lead to meningitis. But leaving the lesion the way it was ....

...would be more dangerous than trying to fix it, because the skin covering much of the lesion was so fragile and any small scrape could open up the lesion and lead to infection. Gabe couldn't lean back in a chair or lie on his back until the lesion was operated on. And the tethered cord would continue to cause further damage to his bladder & bowel function and prevent his paralyzed lower limbs from possibly regaining sensation.

So we took a deep breath, prayed for finances to come in (and they did--thanking God for some wonderful people who gave), and put Gabe in the hospital for surgery.

We were SO happy with the results! Gabe was supposed to be in the hospital for longer than he was, but he was so perky and happy from day 2 onward and showed no signs of infection or other complications. He was discharged several days early.

Typically he has been a fragile little guy, and we honestly didn't expect that things would go as seamlessly as they did! He acted as though nothing had happened and was waving to everyone and playing with toys...

Some of the red lesion skin (the healthy part with underlying fat) was left in place, but a large strip of fragile skin in the center was removed. His back no longer bulges:

Gabe is now able to lie on his back, to sit unsupported, or to lean back in his bumbo chair without any problem.

The things these children have to walk through can be scary, but the kids themselves... they're gold. Thank you for being there for Gabe!

Newest Baby, Emma, in Serious Condition (Graphic)

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:39:00 +0000

This little baby just arrived from a government hospital in Guntur. Emma (named by my daughter Amira) has spina bifida and "gross obstructive hydrocephaly" for which she has not been shunted. She has a disturbed myelomeningocele lesion that has not been operated on, and club feet. She's feverish, emaciated and so hungry. She looks like she could die at any minute. Waiting for the driver so we can go to Hyderabad with her tonight. Please pray for life.

Sweetness & Spunk (Naomi)

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:49:00 +0000

It's so much fun getting to know these new kids. Thought this series of pictures would communicate Naomi's spunky sweet character. Enjoy!

This morning, I...

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:36:00 +0000

woke up happy. I am so happy! All these kids are ours... What a joy it will be to get to know them! Yesterday I kind of dragged myself over to the government orphanage. My body was tired and my mind was burdened, like "How? How are we going to do this? It's going to be so hard," and now it's just joy. I know it's all gonna work out wonderfully, and we'll never regret for a second bringing these kiddos home.

I've noticed a lot of times that, every time I get to spend any time with my family in the States, I drag myself back to the airport like, "How? How can I do it again?" and then when the plane doors open up in Chennai or Hyderabad, I'm just flooded with a "Yes, this is my place, this is my home and I love this country, this work... This is right."

Just an encouragement to trudge on if you know you're on the right track but it feels hard. Joy will surprise you when you step over each new commitment line. Lots of love, S

Introducing Our 21 New Children! (Sept 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Ruthie

Jackie

Asher

Elodie

Evan

Zinnia

Palmer

Nora

Valor

Charlie

Naomi

Honor

Jonathan

Tessa (little sister of Jonathan)

Alina

Max

Eleanor

Margaret

Winnie

Jamila

And last but not least, a handsome boy named Luke, who somehow managed to miss out on getting his picture taken. (Will add his to this post as soon as we're able to snap one.)

The children have been officially transferred to SCH, and we'll take them home tomorrow night after we take a few of them to see specialists here in the city. God bless everyone who helped us with prayers and finances to bring these kiddos home!

We'll need sponsors for these kiddos--please let me know if you can give any monthly amount toward any one of these children's care, or if you have a heart to find sponsors for a few of them. It costs at least $150/month to care for a special child because of the amount of diapers, medications, supplements, therapy costs, and caregivers that the children need. Just email me (sarahscovenanthomes@ymail.com) and let me know how much you can give, and which child's care you'd like it to go toward, and I can send you a customized link so you can quickly set up a monthly recurring paypal gift. Thank you so much!

Creativity, Youth, Exponentiality, and Share 11

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:27:00 +0000

There's no doubt that different generations are moved to action in different ways. Presenting something one way might deeply move a middle-aged businessperson, but the same presentation might bore a college student. To help all 103 children, we need to reach and touch many different people. Everybody loves the kids, but we need to be creative in the way we get their stories out.

Just 18 months ago, Kody Zenger and Katie Duff met when Katie led and Kody participated in a Real Life (now called "The Passport") team to India! Their team worked with India Christian Ministries (our organization), and spent lots of time working with our SCH children and doing projects for them. They were deeply moved and felt led to return to India. After they headed back to the States, they kept in touch, and a relationship blossomed. They married several months later.

Kody and Katie Zenger were born for such a time as this. They're young creatives. Kody is into film and photography, and Katie excels at graphic design, among other things. Plus, they're about as pure-hearted, passionate, and focused a couple as I've ever seen. They love Jesus and they love the kids. Both are passionate about helping the special children they met at SCH and began to look for ways to use their creative talents to get the children's stories out.

Share 11 is their heartchild. (See share11.org and facebook.com/share11 . ). Share 11 is an outrageous project based on the concept of multiplication, and it appeals to youth because

1) it's VERY doable even for financially-strapped high school or college students,

and

2) it tells the children's stories in a way that techno-savvy young people really "get."

Here's the crazy-wild goal that this couple is believing God can make happen:

The goal is to raise 1.1 million dollars for Sarah's Covenant Homes

by 11-11-11 at 11:11 pm

And here's how it works:

Each person gives just $11 (click HERE to give).

They then find 11 friends to also give $11.

Pretty easy, huh? Ever seen those pictures of a kid reading a book and on the cover is the same kid reading the same book, and it just goes on and on? Don't you love those pictures?

It really doesn't take that many "generations" for this to see a real snowball effect. Watch this:

1 person gives $11 1 x $11 = $11

        His or her 11 friends give $11                   11 x $11 =    $121

         Each of THEIR 11 friends gives $11        121 x $11=                   $1331

         Each of THEIR 11 friends gives $11       1331 x $11=                $14,641

         Each of THEIR 11 friends gives $11      14641 x $11=             $161,051
                                                                                                        $177,155

So in just 5 "generations", over $175,000 could be raised for the children. By people giving about the cost of a Target t-shirt or a meal for one at a restaurant.

It makes sense. And Kody and Katie are SO dang creative in the way they do it. The videos they produce and photos they take just ooze love for the kids, and that love and the children's joy are super contagious. Look at these pics they've taken and collages they've made:

Sweet, aren't they? But just wait til you watch these videos. Where do they get these meaningful songs? The videos are so full of love and fun:

We need people like Kody & Katie to help us take these children's stories to this generation. Now go support what they're trying to do for our kiddos! :)

The fine print: Kody and Katie are partnering with a creative organization called yngage to make this happen (to process donations, build the website, etc.) Katie's employed at present with yngage and, to make this happen on the scale they envision, yngage must retain about 11% of funds given thru the share11.org site (some of this goes to help the couple continue their work). Network for Good, with whom they partner, takes a little over 4%, which means that about 84-85% of each donation via share11.org reaches SCH. Generally, because of one family's generosity, SCH has been able to guarantee that overhead is covered and 100% of your gift goes to India, but of course if funds begin to come in on the scale Share 11 envisions, the family will be overwhelmed (so we won't be able to guarantee 100% of funds raised by Share11 will reach the kiddos.) But this is a short-term project that will 1) help a creative couple follow their heart instead of having to work a job that doesn't allow them to serve the kids, 2) generate SO much new interest in and support for the kids, 3) give SCH a boost for the coming year, so that we'll be able to focus less on fundraising and more on enriching the kids' lives, and 4) help ensure that share11 donations are processed correctly and on a timely basis. Bless you!

Natalie's Letter to Cedar

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:40:00 +0000

Natalie, a special education major, has been volunteering with us for the past two months. She has to leave very soon. Here's a touching goodbye letter she wrote to little Cedar, who stole her heart:

Dear Cedar,

I remember the first time I saw you. How could I forget? It was the minute I saw you that I fell in love with you. It was the minute I saw you that I knew God was pointing you out to me. It was the minute I saw you that I was filled with a love I knew only could come from God. You were asleep but you were so content in the arms of the person holding you. I couldn’t wait to come back the next day and pick you up out of your crib. Ever since that day, I have been filled with an inexpressible joy every time I have come into your room to see you, whether you are asleep or awake. I especially love it when I walk in and see you moving around in your crib, with your finger in your mouth making noises, and doing your signature dance with your hands and legs in the air. I get so excited because I know that it means we get to play and laugh together and I get to watch you giggle when I tickle you or make funny noises in your ear. You are such a happy little boy! It makes everyone around you happy, too. I also remember the first time I saw you cry and get frustrated with yourself. It made me cry too, Cedar. I wanted to help you so badly and take away your frustration but I knew there was only so much I could do. I knew you weren’t used to sitting up for so long and your body felt weak. That was also the day I realized that you needed someone to walk you through the challenge of growing strong in your body. Even if you hated me for it, I wanted to be the one to walk you through your challenge of getting stronger in your body, knowing that what’s on the other side is the best for you. I knew that working with you everyday on sitting up and getting out of your crib would someday help you to walk. Since then, I have seen how everyday you have become stronger. You don’t get as frustrated anymore and you are more willing to sit up for longer amounts of time. Today when I walked in your room, you were already on the floor sitting up by yourself. You sat up by yourself all afternoon! I was so proud of you.

Everyday, you bring me such joy. Sometimes, your embrace when I hold you can turn a bad day into a perfectly good one. It’s almost time for me to go back to my home in America. I have a few more days in India to love on you and all the other children at SCH. To be honest, I am scared to leave you. I’m scared for that feeling I will have when I have to let go of you for the last time. Sometimes, it’s hard enough to put you back in your crib at the end of a day. How will I do that and know it may be years until I see you next? Its hard for me to imagine not being apart of your life everyday anymore-not being able to come see you and hold you, make you laugh, watch you grow and get strong. I want to be apart of your life everyday, forever. The reality is, I’ve become so attached to you and now it’s my time to let you go. Even though I wish I could say you belong to me, you don’t. You belong to Jesus. And the reality is he can take much better care of you than I can. He loves you a lot more than I could ever love you (and that’s a lot!) He can help you grow more than I can. He will hold you in more comfortable and safe arms. He will walk you through your frustration and growing pains more faithfully than I ever could. He will be there everyday, every morning to greet you, and every night to kiss you goodnight. He will never leave you.

Until then, I’m going to savor every moment I have with you. I am going to soak up all of your joy and never pass up a chance to kiss you. Cedar, thank you for being a constant joy and hope to me throughout this challenging journey I have been on. If I came all the way from America just for you, then this experience would have been entirely worth it. I can say with confidence that I will board that plane home in a few days a changed girl with a changed heart. And you have a lot to do with that. You have shown me a capacity to love in my heart that I didn’t know existed. You have been the doorway into the presence of Jesus. In my weakest moments, you have shown me the joy of the Lord. You have shown me that true love isn’t always easy, sometimes it hurts. You have reminded that the holy spirit lives inside of me, that I don’t serve a dead God but one that is alive and at work in my heart; A God that speaks so clearly and works miracles in my heart through people like you. Thank you for showing me the face of Jesus when I felt weak.

I can’t wait for the day I get news that you took your first steps. I am your biggest fan, Cedar. I believe in you. You can do it. I love you, Cedar. A piece of my heart will always belong to you. Don’t you forget that, you deserve it.

Xoxo,

Natalie Akka [Big sis Natalie]

Maddie's Birthday Wish

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:29:00 +0000

I want you to be inspired by a young lady named Maddie. She's a college student who volunteered with us for a month this summer as part of a Real Life team. Maddie turns 20 on the 8th, and I'm sure her life is full of expenses, decisions, and responsibilities right now as she gets back into college life.

We had hoped to bring home the 20 new children while Maddie and her team were here this summer, but there were some paperwork delays. They were so excited about it and helped us with preparations at the home.

Maddie fell deeply in love with our SCH kids. She had to go back to her busy life in the States, but she hasn't forgotten about the children.

She's turning 20 years old on the 8th of this month, and she felt like, to celebrate 20 years of living a blessed life, the Lord was leading her to raise $20,000 for SCH! It's a huge goal that would have intimidated most college students, but she asked me to help her make her a ChipIn (http://tinyurl.com/sch-fundraiser), and she started a website (http://happybirthdaymaddie.tumblr.com). Her birthday appeal moved my heart. Apparently it moved others' as well--she raised over $1000 in the first few days it was up!

She starts off like this:

my wish:

Come September 8th, I will have lived out 20 happy, healthy years here on earth.
I have spent 7,300 days being loved and encouraged by wonderful parents.
I have spent 240 months eating what I want, when I want.
I have never worried about where I will sleep. I have never gone a day without a hug.
I have never been rejected. I have never felt abandonment.
I don’t think that I have ever even felt true want....

Click here to read the rest, and chip in (100% goes to our children) to help make her selfless birthday wish a reality.

Helping our kiddos isn't hard--Maddie was inspired by the children, and even though she may not be able to give a huge donation herself right now, she's doing something very concrete to help. Could you do this? We'll have over 100 children very soon, and I need all the fundraising help I can get to give these children all that they deserve. Write me for a project! sarahscovenanthomes@ymail.com Bless you!

20 New Children Coming Soon!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 09:08:00 +0000

In May, I got a call from the state orphanage. It had been a year and a half since we received the last 39 of the abandoned children labelled "mentally retarded," "mentally retarded and physically handicapped," and "mentally retarded and blind." They were calling to ask how the children were doing, and to let us know that several more special children had been abandoned in the meantime. Could we take them?

I went in to see the kiddos--20 of them, all under the age of nine. They're precious, and it was heartbreaking. Each one I picked up didn't want to be put down. There are two little 2- or 3-year old girls with limb differences, many children with brain injuries/cerebral palsy... There's a spunky, sweet little 6-year-old girl with Down Syndrome. There are a brother and sister, very malnourished...He's about four and she's maybe three. They both have severe cerebral palsy, and he has a facial cleft. One little guy has a heart condition that will need attention, and another tiny guy has ichthyosis in addition to CP. One of the oldest children, a sweet girl, wore a bandana over one of her eyes to hide the fact that it was displaced--near where her cheekbone should be--and probably blind. Three little kiddos--a boy of about four, a girl of two or three, and an infant girl--were horrifically malnourished and had the death-look in their eyes. I hope they'll still be there when I go back to get them.

We thought we were going to be able to take them by the end of May, but there was some delay with the children's paperwork.

Things are ready to go now from the government's perspective, and I've committed to taking ten of them on or around the seventh of September.

Committing to new kids has always been a leap of faith. Remember my niece's vision "When you start running, I start providing"? (Blue link describes her vision, purple one my interpretation of it.) Money has historically been tight every time we consider taking new children (green link describes the needs & promises we had with the last big shift) but inevitably God provides all that we need just at the last moment. When we begin to run to rescue the kiddos, and people see the photos and read about the extent of these children's medical issues, they are moved and step up and help. I'm not worried--I know that it's God's will for us to receive these littles.

But I've received counsel from someone very important in my life to raise enough funds ahead of time to clear our existing bills and to be able to purchase needed items for the children beforehand. I think it was solid advice, and I can believe God to give us the funds ahead of time as I commit to take the new children. Please take a second to watch this video in which Theresa, our amazing volunteer who has been with us since 2009, describes the urgency of the situation:

20 precious little faces that may have never been kissed... We're nothing special and we have a long way to go, but they need us desperately and we can't wait to welcome them with open arms.

Thank you so much for helping us change these kiddos' lives.

P.S. Thanks to Kody and Katie Z for making the video for us!

The Story of My Kids

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Mon, 30 May 2011 05:28:00 +0000

My kids have been denied. A lot. And they've experienced so much pain and rejection.

Some of them were left alone in bus or train stations. One was dumped in a cemetery and left to die. Several were admitted into hospitals under false names and then abandoned. One was trafficked by beggars, her disability exploited for money at the hands of people who never loved her and never would. One child's mentally ill mother tried to murder him. Several others were relinquished to orphanages which were then closed down due to accusations of baby-buying and falsified records about ten years ago.

Eventually most of them were admitted to the state government home, where hundreds of children are cared for. Most of the children in the orphanage do not have special needs, and some of them find local adoptive families. (International adoption was suspended from this state for many years following the scandals). Local families continue to adopt healthy children, but my kids were rarely even considered and just were not being chosen.

Because there was so much to do for the others and the budget was so limited, my kids were neglected at the government orphanage. Only one of them was ever sent to school (blind school, for a year). For the 60 or so kids with cerebral palsy, there were no funds for physical therapy, to buy orthotics, or to get club feet or crossed eyes repaired. Several issues like HIV, craniosyntosis, hydrocephalus, cleft palate, Hepatitis B, spina bifida occulta, perforated ear drums, chronically inflamed tonsils, contractures, knock knees, asthma, scoliosis, etc. were not discovered or addressed. The children's needs were simply overwhelming, and no one had time to research these conditions and determine what should be done. They also had no funds for diapers or furniture, so the children slept on mats on the floor, and the incontinent ones just wet and soiled themselves continually. They were often wet, so they were rarely (and some of them probably never) held and cuddled. They had empty eyes. No photos were taken of their milestones. They were not celebrated, nor were their deaths deeply mourned. Everyone felt bad about them and I'm sure at least a few staff members loved them, but the time and resources were just not there to make life much better for them.

I asked for five of those kiddos and have been given over 80 so far. We have taken them in five shifts as we felt led. Each time a wave of new kids comes in, we implement the WHO Guidelines for the Inpatient Treatment of Malnourished Children, because local hospitals don't have programs for dealing with malnourishment. The kids are immunocompromised and minimally, if at all, immunized (with the exception of some from a couple of the since-closed orphanages). They get sick with everything--typhoid, malaria, meningitis, pneumonia--the first year they're with us. They pass around staph infections and viral warts on their faces, trunks, and arms. They get cold sores and head sores. Many have parasites. They're in and out of hospitals. It's a challenge. Ninety percent are severely anemic, and it takes a good 9-12 months to stablize them. Just getting them surgically caught up to where a child with their disability should be for their age takes about 18-24 months for a new shift.

Say what you will about immunizations, but I have noticed that once we get them going with their vaccines, their immune systems kick into gear. We also give them immunoglobulin shots, which help as well. They start vitamin and mineral supplements, and some get vitamin B-12 and/or D-3 injections. We work hard. I spend hours researching their conditions, visiting forums and hospital websites, reading articles, posting questions, sending scans to my radiologist friend and others, and getting tests done. We spend weeks--sometimes a month at a time--in the city getting specialist's opinions so that we don't miss important windows for getting things done (like getting Genevieve's corneal graft done while she's still young enough for her brain to learn to use that eye.) And fundraising for all these things takes up a huge chunk of my time, because these kids' needs are really exceptional.

Despite all our hard work, we've still lost 9 children: Keziah, Matthew, Elizabeth, Evelyn, Jaron, Shalene, Jamie, Noah, & Yemima. We lose them because we just don't have time to get it all figured out, and to train everybody on how to handle each disability, and because we have no doctor or really experienced nurse on staff, because we're still learning what equipment we need, fundraising for, buying, and learning how to use it. We lose them because the kids arrive already septic, or with high intracranial pressure, or with an epilepsy cocktail they've already outgrown, or malnourished beyond belief. Sometimes staff members we hire turn out to be neglectful or just apathetic. Sometimes kids die because no doctors are available on Sundays or in the middle of the night, no local hospitals have ventilators, the ambulance doesn't show up, and hospital staff are not trained or can't be bothered to resuscitate. We have shed so many tears in three years. Words don't suffice to say how hard burying these children we love so deeply has been.

The 82 children still with us are miracles. Dhivena walked for the first time at 13 years old. Justin survived a stroke, regained his few words, and delights us every day with his huge grin. Mark's life was saved when his urethra was moved out from his rectum. Many of our kids thought incapable of learning are excelling in private schools. Hydrocephalus was prevented from taking Keren's life through a timely brain shunt. Gabe is beginning to get sensation in his feet and legs. Hope's eardrums were repaired, and she's getting her second hearing aid. Lily's crossed eyes and club feet were fixed, and an illness that would have been terminal was diagnosed and defeated. Rebekah's doing wonderfully after craniofacial surgeries have given her brain the space it needed. Felicia went from fetal-position, throes-of-death, in-misery-whenever-touched to a happy, chubby, mobile kid who gets herself around the room, laughing and playing with toys, enjoying tickles and hugs.

We so deeply love these kids. Each one is an absolute treasure. They make us laugh, they like to be tickled and kissed on and hugged and swung around and danced with. They love with abandon, and very few of them carry a grudge. They're through-the-roof excited at a simple restaurant meal or a trip to the park. A trip to the beach is richly rewarded with giggles as they experience the outdoor elements--sand and sea and wind and sun--sometimes for the first time in their lives. They think a birthday party just for them is the most special thing in the world. They squeal when pushed around in the wheelchair, or when they get to go in the car. Bangles are a big deal, a new fluffy pillow is a treasure, and a new toy makes them jump up and down. The things they say, the things they do, the way they pray, the way they look at us with love... They're so happy now, and they make us so happy.

In the next post I want to share some of my dreams for them.

UPDATE: a friend of ours was inspired by this post to make this slideshow and to present the children's needs to her church. Feel free to use it if you'd like to share about SCH!

Sarah's Covenant Homes slideshow from Sarah Clifton on Vimeo.

Filling in the Gaps: Benjamin!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Thu, 26 May 2011 07:09:00 +0000

We received Benjamin in December. He was a recently-abandoned boy, about twelve years old. At first, he was placed in another children's home not specifically focused on children with special needs. They couldn't handle Ben's behaviors and turned him over to the government orphanage, who called us immediately when they recognized that Ben has neuro special needs.

Ben has autism, and does not speak. He arrived super-hungry, eating everything in sight, and with a two-week-old fracture to his arm-- a jagged spiral fracture, which usually results from a hard arm-twist. The broken and jagged bone ends had already begun to grow together side-by-side into a hard mass, and two ortho surgeons (one in Ongole, one in Hyd) told us they would not advise surgery, but that it was obvious Benjamin's bones were still young enough to remold themselves fairly well. Ben didn't understand that we were trying to help him, and he would bite anyone who tried to touch his arm. Because he wouldn't leave a splint on, Ben's arm had to be casted.

Ben has turned out to be quite the biter. He couldn't sleep well at night, and would instead dig his teeth into the arm of the nearest boy. Since some of the boys are bigger than he is, he ended up with shiners and scratches all over his face as they fought to get his teeth out of their arms. He seems kind of proud of his battle scars in this pic:

Ben does have behaviors that are really endearing. He'll put his head in your lap and your hand on top and get you to pet his hair. He could lie like that for hours, just soaking up the love. He in obsessed with newspaper--he'll grab one out of any waiting room we go through and snap it, turn it over and over, fold and unfold it... He has a beautiful smile and, since it's so hard to come by, it thrills you to see it. Here are some happy pics of Ben enjoying the Christmas program:

But the biting is a big deal and was really ruining the atmosphere of the boys' room for the rest of the children. Plus, Ben was not only inflicting pain, but getting more and more injured every day from kids fighting back. We took him to the psychiatrist, who seemed to really like Ben. He allowed Ben to move freely about his office, grabbing a newspaper, touching books... all the while observing Ben and finally declaring with a laugh, "Classic autism!" He gave him a medication to take in the evening to calm him down and help him sleep. It worked almost immediately. Ben's sleep patterns have been better and the biting has almost completely stopped (He'll still bite a caregiver occasionally if agitated.)

Ben seems like just one of the guys now. Before he was like a scared cat--always trying to get away from everyone, lashing out if anyone tried to touch him, never seeming to want to settle in and be one of us. But now I think he's happy and I think he'll be ok. We want him and are committed to him. He just needs time and lots of grace while he heals from everything that was hurting him. Please do keep Ben in your prayers.

Filling in the Gaps: The Gabe-man

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:58:00 +0000

I've not blogged much recently, so this blog has some gaps in the story of SCH over the past year. If you don't already follow our facebook page , pop over and visit it. If you have a facebook account, click "like," and you'll get all our updates on your newsfeed. Everything that I've missed here I've pretty much covered there over the past year, and you'll probably always hear it first over there just because it's easier (You can see the content of the facebook page in a scrollbar widget on the sidebar of this blog as well).

We received two new boys in December, and I wanted to formally introduce them to you if you haven't met them already on the FB page. Please welcome Gabe and Ben! I'll write more about Ben in the next post.

Gabe arrived at the age of one year, a chubby, very handsome little guy with long eyelashes and a super-charming personality. He was abandoned as a tiny little guy and was in a small-town government orphanage. Gabe was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. The government hospital where he was born operated on his myelomeningocele and inserted a VP brain shunt, but he still had a large, fragile lesion on his back and the shunt was not draining properly. Gabe arrived with zero feeling in his lower limbs and with half of one toe missing. At a year of age, he could not roll over, army crawl, sit on his own, or bear any weight on his legs.

If you didn't know better, you'd take one look at Gabe and think he was a super-healthy kid who simply couldn't walk, but Gabe's health has been pretty fragile. He's been rushed to the emergency room several times with sudden and severe respiratory illnesses and has spent months in Hyderabad and weeks in ICUs. He has a severely spastic bladder and we've had to start him on meds and catheterize him every f0ur hours (The only upside to his lower-body paralysis is that cathing doesn't even phase him). He has constipation issues and will need enemas and laxatives. He has kyphosis that will need to be monitored. He has needed almost constant one-on-one care since he arrived.

Gabe's VP shunt had to be surgically removed and replaced shortly after he arrived. His myelomeningocele lesion, though they did manage to close it, has very fragile scar tissue over most of it, and if the tissue is disturbed at all, he could end up with meningitis. His spinal cord is tethered and needs to be released. He needs another very difficult surgery to release his tethered spinal cord and to cover the lesion with skin and fat from the surrounding area.

But oh, my goodness, I wonder if there could possibly be a more engaging, funnier, sweeter baby boy in all the world. Gabe's adorable. He's darling. He does this funny thing where he clenches his fists, makes a surprised look and then trembles, after which he laughs. He shakes his head "no" at the funniest times when something is said or asked, and then occasionally he'll switch it up with a "yes" head bobble, providing all of us with tons of laughs. He gets a kick out of toys. He doesn't seem to have met an adult or another child he doesn't like. Nurses dote on him, ladies in waiting rooms want to take him home, volunteers fall deeply in love with him. He's a pretty sweet kid.

We're way too full at Victory Home. But, really, how can we say no to abandoned kidlets whom we know will not get the love, not to mention the medical care, that they need to survive and thrive? As long as there are kids like Gabe with nowhere else to go and noone else to really celebrate them, our arms will stay open. And the idealizing of everything will come as we get more volunteers and more financial resources to build a bigger facility on the land we own. I have such big dreams for SCH...but will save those for another post.

In the meantime, I have both a praise report and a prayer request for little Gabe. First, we're excited to let you know that Gabe's toes now twitch, and he can flex and extend them. And there's been twitching and a bit of movement in his legs as well. Praise the Lord for that. There have been a couple teams of volunteers who have come through and really targeted him for prayer, and it really seems as though the Lord's answering their prayers for Gabe's nerve connections in his legs. There was absolutely no twitching, no movement, no feeling in his legs or feet before last week, so he is definitely improving. I'd like you to keep him in prayer, though, as he's going into surgery in early June to release his tethered spinal cord and cover the lesion with good tissue. Pray for zero infection and just a perfect job done by both surgeons (neuro and plastic). Thank you so much for helping us care for these kiddos.

If you'd like to know what it currently costs us to care for all our kiddos each month, you can download a monthly budget summary here. Our kids' needs are extraordinary, and we can't operate on the typical $30-a-month-feeds-and-clothes-an-orphan budget that many developing world orphanages can make do with. Right now monthly sponsors for medications and supplements are one of our biggest needs. With 40-some children with epilepsy, around 60 with cerebral palsy, at least six or seven with autism, and two with spina bifida, our daily pharmacy needs are significant. If you can help, I can email you a link which you can use to quickly set up a recurring monthly gift to help with meds. These kiddos have no one else but you and us--email me at sarahscovenanthomes@ymail.com , let me know how much you can give, and I'll quickly send you a customized paypal link.

And sincere thanks to everyone who's prayed for Gabe and donated to help him get the surgical care he needs!

Saidhabee, you inspire me!

noreply@blogger.com (sarah bess) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:01:00 +0000

Know what really warms my heart? The fact that Saidhabee (the woman who found & cared for Rasool) must have shaved his head and his face herself. I saw a picture of him before he left home, and he was shaggy even then, depressed. I'll bet he was really a mess after being on the streets for so long. She and her family must have bathed him, because he didn't smell. And they gave him such a nice jacket, and a bag full of blankets, and she didn't ask for anything back, wanted us to keep his stuff. I love her heart, because I know how hard it is to get good care for a person with special needs or mental illness even at a dentist's or doctor's office, let alone asking someone to care for an incontinent, mentally ill, homeless man forever. She set him up for success to the best of her ability. She treated him like the worthy human being he is. I know the newspapers have given her plenty of praise, but I wanna say, Saidhabee, you inspire me. You cared for a King in disguise. May He reward you richly in every way. Everyone pray a blessing on Saidhabee, please.