Wednesday, July 18, 2012

July Update

Hi all,

Apologies but apparently the photos I attached were too big and for many of you this email was never delivered.  So I'm re-sending.   Ben

Hi everyone,


Water.
I'm thrilled to report that Water Missions International will begin village assessments within the next couple of weeks for the well-drilling project.  After some more preliminary work (including a crucial visit to determine if the drill rig can navigate the roads) the drilling should begin perhaps as early as October.  There is plenty of work both prior to and after the drilling, and there is a great need for wisdom, prudence, patience.  

FURTHERMORE...Water Missions has strongly indicated that they are very excited about the work in Pestel and they are looking forward to focusing greater attention to the area over time.  I sense that they see both the great needs for water and the opportunities to make huge differences for the people of Pestel.  

Water Missions International is a 4-star charity.  They bring excellence, compassion, and engineering expertise to their work.  I've been mightily impressed with each and every person with whom I've had the opportunity to interact.  We could not be happier with their engagement!


Agriculture/Nutrition
Heifer International continues to provide training and seeds and goats to recipient families in Pestel.  The number has been increased from 200 families to 220 (a 10% increase).  They have distributed 880 goats!!   I have attached a couple of photos related to this project.


Education
We were recently approached by two different private Christian schools about the possibility of having their students participate in some fashion with Thriving Villages International's work in Pestel. We're working through some options at this point.  For those particularly interested in education, salary support for the teachers can really go a long way.  

Travel
Finally, I've found that flying to Haiti via Newark (direct flight) is working out to be the best option.  The timing of departure to Port-au-Prince and return trip is better than any of the alternatives I've tried, and the price is decent.   It only flies on Saturdays (bummer)  but that's the only downside so far.  My next trip will be in early October, then again in November.

I'm writing to see if anyone would have frequent flyer miles for United that they'd be interested in donating to help reduce the $$ spent on flying to Haiti.   This would be a great gift in several ways because it would allow donated money to be used in other ways.  

Frequent flyer donations cannot be deducted on taxes.  

So if you've got a gob of United frequent flyer miles that you could never possibly use up and you would like to donate them, please email me.   Or maybe keep this in mind for a future possibility.

God is showing us again and again His goodness and compassion.

Thanks as always!   

Ben

--
President, Thriving Villages International

Thriving Villages website

Thriving Villages blog
http://thrivingvillages.blogspot.com/


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