My new Ordinary Hero t-shirt! |
30% survival rate until the age of 6
53% chance of being kidnapped by guerilla soldiers and enslaved by armed groups
46% chance of watching his mother/sisters/aunts/female cousins being raped
23% chance of being forced to rape a female family member
1 in 3 chance of being tortured and/or disfigured
80% chance of being displaced at least 3 times in a 15 year time period
75% chance of having his family's source of income (cattle) stolen
66% chance of witnessing the violent death of a family member
60% chance of having one or more of his family members disappear
It's easy to read past these numbers but I encourage you to try and put faces on these numbers. For every 10 of your friends who have just had babies, 7 of those sweet lives would not survive their 6th birthday. For every 3 of your friends, one of them has been tortured, hand cut off, burned, if female, experienced tramatic fistula. In the Congo, rape is used as a tool for war. Can you imagine living in a world where for every 10 of your friends, 6 of them have witnessed the violent death of a family member? Or 6 of them have a family member that has simply disappeared? There are no Amber Alerts in the Congo. No milk cartons with missing children's faces on them. This is their reality.
So, I've partnered with Ordinary Hero to help defray the cost of adoption. You can see their button at the top right of my blog. This organization is awesome! Please take the time to check them out. The great part is that whatever you buy from the store, 40% of the sales goes directly to my adoption agency and is allocated towards the legal fees of Baby Joaquin's adoption. His country fee is $8500. I'm hoping that this fundraising venture will cover half of that amount. Ordinary Hero makes it very simple, they have great products, and the shipping is fast! After you select your item and you reach the checkout page, there will be an "Affiliate" pull down menu. My name, Kristen Williams, is at the bottom of the list. Please click on my name. If you don't click on my name, I don't receive credit for the sale. The t-shirt I'm wearing in the picture above is a unisex size small. I wore it the other day and it was quite interesting to see people's reaction. I had 2 great conversations with strangers just because of the shirt! If you aren't into t-shirts and want to just donate something to help out the children in Africa, there is a Product Donations For Children In Africa category where you can donate aqua shoes for kids, fleece blankets, raincoats or a combo pack. I will receive credit for these donations as well as long as you click on my name during the check out.
For some background information so you know I'm not a slacker, I've been saving every penny I've earned from my second job waiting tables in combination with a portion of my teacher paycheck (which, contrary to popular political belief, is not very much!), I just recently picked up another shift, so I will be working 7 days a week from beginning of April until the end of the school year. I'm willing to make that sacrifice because I know that every extra shift I work is one less day he has to be in an orphanage. When school lets out, I will be picking up as many extra shifts as possible. So far, everything has been paid for. I tried to refinance my house but due to our t
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves... For the rights of the poor and needy" - Proverbs 31:8-9
Hey Girl!!! I am in, but I would rather just send you the money instead of buying something. Is that okay? Where do I send it and do I make the check out to you? :)
ReplyDeleteLove you lots!
Jill