A huge thank you to all of you who have signed up to make bean bag sets for orphans in Liberia. If you have come here through one of the many fabulous blogs in the blogosphere, welcome we are glad you stopped by. Make yourself cozy and have a look around.
As of today we have over 141 people signed up to make bean bag sets for the Liberia Orphan Education Project (LOEP). And our Facebook fan page has over 700 fans. Truly incredible. Thanks to all of you for spreading the word about the people of Liberia and what we do here at Craft Hope. If you’d like to sign up for this project, you can find all of the information you need in this post.
A huge part of Craft Hope is working directly with the charities to ensure that we are providing them with what they need. A constant line of communication is open and I feel personally blessed to be on the receiving end of that line. Their testimonies are powerful. Their gratitude incomparable.
I wanted to introduce all of you to Beth. She is the super sweet lady that founded LOEP and has stepped up in a major way to help field questions, offer support and guidance for this project. Everyone say hi to Beth. “Hi Beth!” You’ll also run into her in the comments section of these posts and also on your own blogs. She’s incredibly grateful to all of you and wants you all to know it. People like Beth make the world a beautiful place.
As Beth and I were working out the details for this project, I received a sweet email that I’d like to share with all of you. She wrote…
“We really appreciate the opportunity you have given us not only to receive classroom materials but also the opportunity for others to learn about Liberia, the precious orphans, and vulnerable children there and the teachers who struggle under difficult conditions to ensure the nations future – teaching and educating the children. Their story of hope and inspiration is a privilege to witness in person and I am grateful to you for helping bring it to others through Craft Hope.”
This message resounds with me over and over again. Being a teacher myself, knowing what it’s like to want to help children, and the sacrifices made in one of the richest countries in the world. I can only imagine the struggles their teachers face day in and day out.
We have had many questions about the type of filling that goes into the bean bags so we wanted to clarify a few things for you. Here are the reasons why there are filling requirements:
Non-Food filling:
Liberia has recently come through a long period of war-related trauma including starvation. Many of the children who are in LOEP classrooms have recently experienced severe hunger and even starvation. The concept of using food for anything other than eating is not readily understood by children who experience hunger on a daily basis. LOEP is careful to minimize all chance of either offending or confusing those with whom we work. Just as we are careful in our Western culture about keeping choking hazards far from our little ones, we need to make sure there is no chance of Liberian children ingesting uncooked, spoiled or inappropriate food items because their experience with food is so very different from our own.
Non-organic filling:
Liberia is located in West Africa and has an amazing climate with particular characteristics because of how it is positioned on the continent. The seasons consist of two 6 month periods – “Rainy” season and “Dry” season. The annual average rainfall in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital city, is among the highest average on the planet. The recent long war has left Liberia without electricity even in the capital and air conditioning is nearly non-existent (except where private generators are used). During rainy season, heavy rain with no AC creates fungus, mold and mildew- a difficult problem in food, clothing, bedding and other cloth items in Liberia. Fillings such as pony beads or aquarium gravel are best for bean bags to resist moisture problems and cut down on chances of insect infestation.
The people in Liberia literally live on hope. Thank you for being a part of that.
** Bean bag photo provided by Skye. Thanks Skye!!
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Thank you so much for this post. It was an eye opener to me, in terms of how oblivious I am to the needs of the children of the world. It had NEVER crossed my mind that the thought of using food items as filling would be incomprehensible to these children. My thoughts were strictly on mold and damp weather.
Thank you for this. I needed the reminder of the blessings in my own life, and the awareness of the needs of others.
….thank you for a great post, it is a reminder of things we should be grateful for in our own lives, while helping us understand the smallest of details is of utmost importance in making these bean bags.
Hello!!
Thank you for this wonderful project! I just wrote a post on my website, where I explain what Craft hope has done since its creation (I took some of your images, I hope you don’t mind), and I ask to the Spanish speaking community to join us in this project. I also offered myself to coordinate groups in my website for those that do not want to do a whole set. Here is the link (in Spanish):
http://purpurrote.blogspot.com/2010/04/entre-sierra-leona-y-costa-de-marfil.html
And, at the moment, I am sure we are at least three people that will do a set. I don’t know which one yet, but I will let you know as soon as we decide it.
I really admire this community and the impact it has on other people’s lives. I think this is amazing!
All the best,
Sylvia
I found your post so moving. It made me want to bring each of the children living in the orphange home to my house. We are hoping to adopt one day. Cross your fingersX
These teachers are amazing, I am glad that the crafting community is here is provide a bit of a helping hand. I only wish we could do more. A big thank you to Jade and Beth.
Thank you so much for this post. It was heart gripping! Reminding and exciting me even more about this project and of the amazing impact it is going to make for so many Littles. Truly a blessing!!
I am trying to blog about my project 7 progress…
(I also used a photo of the school on one of my previous Project 7 blog posts) … If anyone is interested in checking it out, here is the link – http://midnightdesignstudio.typepad.com/midnight-design-studio/2010/04/craft-hope-project-7-progress.html
Many thanks and blessings to Jade and Beth!!
Hello again,
Here is a post with all the instructions translated into Spanish, in case it is useful for anyone.
http://purpurrote.blogspot.com/2010/04/los-ninos-de-liberia.html
Best wishes!
Hi,
Is it too late to sign on for this project?
Is there a set that has been underrepresented in the volunteers? Shapes? Animals?
Do they speak other languages in Liberia that we should consider?
Thanks,
Jess
Jess-
English for Liberia. Any type bean bag you want to make is just fine. Have fun with the project – I can guarantee the children will have a good time with whatever you make.
Thanks so much
Beth at LOEP