OPERATION BLESS ING INTERNATIONALJULY 2016

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Safe in her Arms Pregnancy classes prepare a young mom for an unexpected delivery

{ P A G E 8 }

A Message from THE PRESIDENT

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Rudyard Kipling once said, “East is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall

meet.” For an ever-increasing number of low-income families, access to modern

medical care is about as distant as Kipling’s east and west.

New vaccines and medical breakthroughs happen regularly, but massive numbers of

people in developing countries have no access to any of it, so suffer and die needlessly.

With the benevolence of faithful donors and God’s gentle guidance, Operation

Blessing is connecting the dots between available resources and the needs of the poor.

Here’s an example:

While in Grand Cayman last Christmas, I heard about a new heart hospital there

called Health City that was partnering with a local foundation to provide open-heart

surgeries for Latin American kids whose parents couldn't afford it. I got excited.

The next day, I met with the hospital’s director and explained how we do medical

outreach all over Latin America and often encounter children who need heart surgery but

languish for lack of funds. I suggested a joint effort in which OBI would handle logistics

and the cost of airfare and Health City would provide surgeries for children in need, and

the hospital leaders agreed!

We submitted the medical files of 13 El Salvadorian kids and all were accepted. Each

child suffers a life-threatening heart condition — but Health City doctors say all are fixable.

This month we are flying in the first five kids and their mothers from El Salvador. God

willing, five lives will be saved — and this is only the beginning.

Sometimes, when we make a commitment and do all we can, God pulls strings and,

suddenly, just the right people and circumstances show up to help make the impossible ...

possible. “East” meets “West” when the needs of impoverished families meet the resources

and generosity of friends like you — and lives are saved.

May God bless you,

Bill visits Latin American countries, including El Salvador and Honduras, to discuss health concerns with OBI field staff.

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A Message from THE PRESIDENT 4 From Exploited to Free A young boy is rescued from forced labor on Ghana’s Lake Volta

6 An Education and a Future A school scholarship opens new doors for a young mother

8 Safe in Her Arms Pregnancy classes prepare a young mom for an unexpected delivery

10 Earthquake Hero Gets Help Casimiro saved lives during the earthquake, but he suffered the devastating loss of his business

12 Ready to Run Two-year-old’s clubfeet corrected with life-changing surgery

14 Sewing a New Life in Nepal Veteran tailor works on a new sewing machine for the first time in 36 years

Inside this issue Cover PAGE 8

Safe in Her Arms Pregnancy classes prepare a young mom for an unexpected delivery

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GHANA

A YOUNG BOY IS RESCUED FROM FORCED LABOR ON GHANA’S LAKE VOLTAEvery day, tens of

thousands of children go to work on Ghana’s Lake

Volta, one of the world’s largest man-made lakes. The highly profitable body of water is also a prison for enslaved children who are

given little choice but to labor in hazardous conditions on

fishing boats.At the age of 11, Gabriel*

went to work on Lake Volta. Before long, he was required to

work in the early morning and late night, preventing adequate sleep and causing poor health. Worse, Gabriel was unsure of his dark surroundings and worried for his safety.

EXPLOITED TOfreeFROM

“It was dangerous because I felt sleepy and still needed to work,” he said. “I did not have the freedom to leave.”

After about five years of forced labor on Lake Volta, Gabriel was referred to Challenging Heights, an Operation Blessing partner in Ghana. During a rescue operation on the lake, Gabriel was picked up by Challenging Heights’ field team.

At the Operation Blessing-supported after care center, Gabriel received medical and psychotherapy services during his initial recovery. As part of the rehabilitation program, Gabriel was given basic literacy education. He was also set up at school with a backpack and other supplies. One of the main goals of Challenging Heights’ rehabilitation and reintegration program is to ensure proper education for rescued children so they have the opportunity to become thriving, self-sufficient adults.

Through the help of Operation Blessing, Challenging Heights offers holistic support,

with home and school monitoring, to ensure the rescued children are well cared for. Field team members make sure Gabriel is being allowed to take full advantage of his right to an education in order to grow and learn.

Gabriel is thankful to no longer be part of the child labor workforce. He sees his five years on Lake Volta as wasted, since he lost a large part of his childhood and is behind in his schooling. Yet, he knows going forward his time can be redeemed, as he works toward finishing his education and a brighter future. ◆

* Name changed to protect identity.

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Gabriel begins after care with OBI partner Challenging Heights.

A school scholarship opens new doors for a young mother

For fifteen-year-old Maritza*, childhood has been anything but joyful and carefree.

Young though she is, Maritza is already a mother — to a precious two-year-old daughter who was sadly fathered by her own dad. Maritza’s mother, Imara*, has eight other children and at one point even resorted to working as a prostitute just to support herself and her kids.

Education was never a high priority in Maritza’s home. Though Imara tried to send her kids to school, their father pulled them out and sent them to work in the fields for extra income. Imara recognizes that her own lack of schooling contributed to her need to turn to prostitution to make ends meet.

Unable to attend school herself, Maritza seemed destined to follow in her mother’s tragic footsteps. Thankfully, for both Maritza and Imara, Operation Blessing was there to help.

Imara stood up for herself and her children — helping send her husband to prison for the abuse he inflicted. Safe from his influence, Imara and her children found House of Hope.

The opportunity to attend school, with the gift of a scholarship, uniform and supplies, has changed Maritza's life.

NICARAGUA

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An EDUCATION and a FUTURE

House of Hope is an Operation Blessing partner in Nicaragua that provides women like Imara, coming out of the sex industry, a safe place to live and the opportunity to make a living creating ceramic jewelry. To support this endeavor, Operation Blessing built the women of House of Hope a new ceramics building to replace the old cowshed they had been using.

In addition to learning to make ceramic jewelry, House of Hope provides tutors to help educate the women, some of whom cannot read or write. At House of Hope, Imara is receiving literacy education and recently learned to write her own name for the first time!

Recognizing that education is the best way to break the cycle of abuse, Operation Blessing and House of Hope are also providing school scholarships to the children of the women in the program, including Maritza. And Imara is able to care for Maritza’s baby girl while she attends school.

Better late than never, Maritza recently graduated from third grade saying, “For the first time I have many friends and feel hopeful about my and my daughter’s future.”

Through Operation Blessing and House of Hope, victims of the sex industry and their children, like Imara and Maritza, are being given a chance for a better life, one filled with dignity, hope and opportunity. ◆

The new ceramics building built by Operation Blessing where Imara and other women can learn a new trade.

The Previous ceramics building built out of an old cow shed.

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*Name changed to protect identity with dignity

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Safe in her Arms

PERU

Pregnancy classes prepare a young mom for an unexpected delivery

At eight months pregnant, Julissa was worried about her future and the future of her unborn son.

She thought she had at least a few weeks before her baby boy would make his grand entrance and she would

become a mother. Instead, while she was traveling by riverboat to visit her grandmother,

Julissa started having contractions.Thankfully, Julissa had been

a part of Operation Blessing’s Young Women's Pregnancy Program in Peru. At these special classes provided through

OB Peru, Julissa learned about her baby’s development and

most importantly, what to do when the time came for childbirth.

©International Justice Mission

“I am grateful that I remembered what I was taught in my pregnancy classes given by Operation Blessing,” she said. “I remembered how to breathe when the contractions came. Everything came to mind and it helped.”

Though she safely made it off the riverboat, Julissa’s son, Ángel, was born in her grandmother’s house, with her grandmother assisting in the delivery, because time would not allow her to reach a local hospital.

Thanks to everything she learned from Operation Blessing and her grandmother’s guidance,

Julissa said, “My baby is now safe in my arms.” Instead of fearing his birth, she learned through OBI that she could confidently and safely bring her son into the world.

OBI continues to follow up with Julissa and other program participants — most of whom gave birth safely in a health center or hospital — to encourage breast feeding and other best practices with these new moms.

Today, little Ángel is healthy and thriving as Julissa embraces her new role as mother. ◆

Safe in her ArmsPregnancy classes prepare a young mom for an unexpected delivery

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Before the devastating earthquake in Ecuador, Casimiro was already a husband, father, business-owner and friend to many. Now, he can add earthquake hero to his list.

The 47-year-old was on his way home when the ground began to shake. He broke into a run, fearing for his wife and children. When he found them, he got them to safety before returning to the rubble to rescue several more people.

ECUADOR

Casimiro saved lives during the earthquake, but he suffered the devastating loss of his business

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H E R O GETS

EARTHQUAKE

HELP

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Casimiro’s home was spared by the earthquake. Without any cleanup to do on his own house, Casimiro went to his church to offer his services to help others. He joined Operation Blessing’s disaster relief team on the ground as a volunteer. The disaster team saw his great heart for his community and put him in charge of distributing water, hot meals and other supplies to disaster victims.

When he learned the Operation Blessing staff was sleeping on the floor, he offered his house as a place of respite. Casimiro never asked for anything, but while distributing water with the Operation Blessing team one day he seemed sad. The team asked him what was wrong.

He told them that his business had been severely damaged and now it would have to be demolished.

Casimiro ran a successful business installing and maintaining cooling systems. He was heartbroken for the loss of his equipment and tools, but more for his three employees who were unexpectedly unemployed. Without jobs, it would be difficult for them to rebuild after the earthquake.

Thanks to the generosity of our partners, Operation Blessing was able to provide Casimiro with new tools and equipment to restart his business and help support the local economy. Within hours, he received a call asking for his services.

Armed with his new tools, the hero set out to help his city yet again. ◆

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Once a little boy learns to walk, it’s not too long before he’s running here, there and everywhere, exploring his world and everything in it. Sadly, two-year-old Caleb hasn’t yet had that

opportunity — he was born with two clubfeet.When Caleb was born, his condition scared Simaloi, his

young mother, who was unsure of how to care for her child’s special needs. Thinking there was no cure for Caleb’s clubfeet,

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READY TO RUN Two-year-old’s clubfeet corrected with life-changing surgery

Casting phase of treatment

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Simaloi gave up her son to an Anglican priest so he would be well cared for.

Operation Blessing learned of Caleb’s ailment and of his mother’s fear and made contact with Simaloi to assure her that his clubfoot condition could be treated. OBI staff told her that she need not worry about his future. There was a good chance Caleb could someday run and play with his two older siblings.

Thankful that her son would be healed, Simaloi

brought him back home, and OBI, in partnership with CURE International, worked to correct Caleb’s clubfeet. Caleb will soon be able to walk and run, enjoying all the activities little boys are made for.

Simaloi is thrilled to know that, thanks to the compassionate help of Operation Blessing and CURE International, Caleb’s future includes running, playing and working on two strong and healthy feet. ◆

KENYA

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Learning to walk

Bracing phase of treatment

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SEWING NEPAL

A NEW LIFE IN

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NEPAL

For more than three decades, Ram has worked hard as a tailor and a clothing maker in order to provide for his wife and seven children —

and for 36 years, he has used the same sewing machine.Ram fixed the machine multiple times, but each time it

showed more wear-and-tear than the last. After providing for his family, there was never enough money left over to purchase a new one.

Yet, Ram’s dedication to providing for his family would not change, no matter the difficulty. Without a storefront of his own, the seamster would set up his sewing machine at a shopping center each morning after having carried all of his work supplies from home.

Operation Blessing learned about Ram’s hard work and the state of his primary tool and provided Ram with a new sewing machine, giving him better ability to provide well for his family. He was immediately grateful.

Ram is looking forward to being able to provide his customers with higher quality work.

“People will see my new machine and they will know that I’m able to do better work,” he said.

He has bigger dreams, too. Sometimes Ram’s youngest son joins him at the workstation. Ram teaches him the trade, but focuses more on sending his children to school, which he can better pay for with the increased income from his new sewing machine. He wants his children to spend more time reading books and learning so they can someday even attend college.

“I really appreciate this gift,” he said. “I will work another 36 years to give my family a better life and better opportunities,

and to give a great future to my grandchildren.” ◆

WILL YOU HELP RESCUE THEM?

1.2 MILLIONSLAVERY

children are forced

every year.*into

* International Labour Organization (approximated) *Actual victim not shown

ob.org/EndTrafficking

Copyright © 2016 by Operation Blessing International, P.O. Box 2636, Virginia Beach, VA 23450. For more information, call (800) 730-2537 or visit our website at operationblessing.org