Congratulations are in order to Dino Mauridi, (above), who finished the 2019-2020 school year at the top of his Grade 10 class. Dino is certainly well on his way to reaching his career goal of treating sick children as a Pediatrician. Found abandoned and sleeping at a building site surviving by begging for food from fishermen, Dino has certainly come a long way since being taken into the care of Grace Orphanage. Without the support of our donors and the care and quality of education, he is receiving at Grace Orphanage, Dino’s future undoubtedly would have looked much bleaker.

The 2019-2020 school year, interrupted by COVID-19, finished up at the end of September. We are extremely pleased to report that ALL of the children have once again passed and will be moving on to the next grade level. What makes this all the more impressive is just a few years ago 15 of the 35 children failed to move on to the next level.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, two primary fundraising events were cancelled this year, including the annual Oceanside barbeque to raise funds for school fees and supplies. However, thanks to the incredible support of our donors who stepped up in a big way, the campaign was fully funded just in time for the children to start the 2020-2021 school in mid-October. The children are so thankful and appreciative of your continued support!

This year some thoughtful young supporters of Grace Orphanage have stepped up to help raise $50 each to buy a bedsheet and an outfit for a child under the care of Grace Orphanage. These are basic essentials that will be so very much appreciated, as outside of their school uniforms, the children basically have 1 outfit each that they wear outside of school hours.  Your support for these amazing young kids will not only be appreciated on the receiving end but will also go a long way in helping these young supporters on the giving end learn that it is better to give than to receive, such a valuable lesson for their future!

We are looking for other families to get involved in this campaign, so if you think your children could benefit from the opportunity to learn that it is better to give than receive this Christmas season, please reach out and we would be more than happy to set up a campaign!

If you would like to contribute to the general fundraising campaign for the basic essentials (a bedsheet & one full outfit) that these kids would be thrilled to receive this Christmas, you can do so HERE. 

Construction of the third home is finally nearing completion. Unfortunately, the project has experienced significant delays since breaking ground due to heavy rains in the early part of the year combined with COVID-19 containment measures that shut down the border between the Congo (DRC) and neighbouring Burundi where many of the building supplies are sourced. This stalled the installation of the septic system, which held up the completion of the bathrooms, and so on. The team is currently busy painting, installing bathroom tile and bug screens in the windows. 

We expect to have the house completed in December, and in January the boys will move into this larger home with much-needed additional space. At this time, the first smaller house that was built on-site will be repositioned as a sick bay, medicine storage, and nursing station, as well as an administration office.