Hudson Valley Teens Sponsor Art Exhibit, in Woodstock, to Benefit Orphans
On Sunday, December 15th at 2:00 pm, One Voice Global, will be hosting a benefit art show, showcasing original paintings of three young Laotian artists from the orphanage Deak Kum Pah, in Northern Laos.
The event will be held at the Woodstock Art Association & Museum, and will include a panel discussion with local teen volunteers from area schools throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills region.
The students on this panel are involved in the One Voice community and some have traveled to the Deak Kum Pah orphanage and met the three artists whose work will be on display.
Panel members will discuss their experience with the the One Voice charity, the featured artwork of the three Laotian artists, and their experience of visiting the orphanage, as well as the recent transition of the One Voice for Laos organization into the new One Voice Global.
Sale of the paintings will raise funds to send the three gifted orphaned painters to art school next year.
With the help of One Voice Global and the local Hudson Valley community, Sensong, Kongless and Khuasong, respectively 21, 18 and 19, could achieve the amazing gift of a higher education, in a country where one's next meal is rarely taken for granted.
One Voice Global is a non-profit, humanitarian aid organization, based in New York Hudson Valley. Our mission is to help local teenagers develop the kind of mindset, skills, and abilities they need to become compassionate humanitarians, social activists and global citizens.
We accomplish our goal by improving the lives of orphans and other children in need through fundraising projects, cultural exchange, and onsite service visits to the organizations we serve.
Cassidy Kristal-Cohen is a junior at Rondout Valley High School and has been working with public relations for the One Voice organization for two years.
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December 25, 2012
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Amazing Work!
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November 18, 2012Without Your Help, This Couldn't Happen
What follows is a touching update from Andrew Brown at the Deak Kum Pa orphanage. Thank you SO much to everyone who has helped make this possible.
"Hello everyone. Warm greetings from Luang Prabang.
All the children are now back from their 3-month break and the new children are slowly coming in to the orphanage every day in groups of 3-5.
As many of you will know already, we will have 75 new students this year. Many of them will be coming in under a special program that I agreed to with the government late last year.
Most of them arrive with only the clothes that they are wearing, so I buy them shorts, shirts, underwear, and shoes.
The sponsored students are all quite young and are 6, 7, and 8 years old. The program was initiated in order to bring in the most needy children and to protect them at an age when they are most vulnerable.
The school now caters to 600 children and I will continue to increase these numbers as we progress.
The orphanage is a government orphanage, but with little funds, the food, hygiene and medical support is quite poor so my projects have been aimed at adding support in these areas.
This year we will supply three eggs per child, per week, meat three times per week, fruit six times per week and breakfast every day including one meal of nutritious kowpia. We will also give toothpaste and soap every three weeks and toothbrushes every 3 - 4 months.
I now pay for all the medical and dental costs, as this makes getting the kids treated much more efficient. I also cover all the maintenance and new building projects and have started the scholarship and work programs to help the children graduating from the orphanage school.
The new children's program is in its first year and I hope to continue this through many more years.
I have already started this year's maintenance program and the electric bill, alone, will be over $1,000 to replace all the broken fans and lights and to re-fit the new kitchen extension with lights and fans.
I am presently enrolling last year's graduates into college and I now oversee more than 70 scholarships.
We will also put some graduates to work under our jobs program where we support them in Luang Prabang and help them with food and accommodations until they find suitable work.
This year, we are lucky to have a volunteer English Teacher for a full year. Lae is a young German woman who will be working with the Lao teachers to improve their skills.
I have found that all the graduates who have learned English find it quite easy to get work -- so English is a great attribute to have when
graduating.
We have two medical doctors visiting in November and we will continue to build the medical records of all the children.
I also hope to have a dentist visit early next year to continue our dental program.
We will continue to improve conditions at the orphanage and I have ordered chairs and bookcases for the new library. I expect the new library to be finished in November and I will also be building a new
art room in the next few months.
Our goal is to provide facilities for the young children to express
themselves through art and supply equipment and paints on a continual basis.
The kitchen expansion is now finished, but is still quite crowded when all 600 kids pour into the room at lunch and dinner. It makes for a wonderful spectacle seeing the children working together to serve each others' meals.
Although the orphanage is my main project, La and I also support many village families who live in very poor conditions. Presently we support about 40 families and hope to increase the numbers to over 100 by the end of next year.
These families are quite desperate and often a medical or financial
problem leaves their children in very dangerous circumstances, often without food and clean water.
Our support is simple. We pay to send all the children to school and supply rice and eggs every month to help with nutrition and basic food needs.
Our most valuable resource is La's phone number so they can call us when they have a medical or financial crisis.
I also plan to start supporting Numbuk orphanage which is 2.5 hours from Luang Prabang and is home to 450 children. Not all are orphans there, but many children go to this school because their families
cannot afford to feed them. This school will grow to more than 600 children in the next three years, so I am hoping to receive financing to build extra dormitories and will initiate a food and hygiene program at the school.
Many of the new children coming to the orphanage are quite happy, but some are very shy, particularly with a foreigner (me) interviews them.
Most of them have never have seen or spoken to a foreigner in their lives!
These are very beautiful children and I am often humbled that I can make such a positive contribution in their lives. Of course this could never happen without the support of everyone receiving this update. So thank you all!"
Kind regards
Andrew
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August 21, 2012A Wish from Rachel and Isabelle
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September 01, 2011VIDEO: Deak Kum Pa Orphanage
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August 27, 2011We Are Fundraising For This...
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