Moving On

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager
During our New Year's visit to Savva Orphanage, we had the opportunity to see several recent graduates.  Two boys, Andre and Ruslan, are now studying at military college.  It was such an encouragement to see both of them.  They seem to be doing well and making good choices.  Often it is scary for youth to leave the orphanages.  They are often leaving behind the only stability that they know.  Many youth are influenced by peers and make poor choices as a result.  It was exciting to see two young men that are making such good choices in their lives.  Here is a picture of Andre in his military uniform. 

Teaching Discipline

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

We work with a local Taekwondoo coach to provide lessons for ten children at Saramoldaeva Orphanage.  They go to lessons twice a week, where they learn discipline, excellence, and commitment as they learn the fundamentals of Taekwondoo.   In the fall, one of the boys won a gold medal in a competition for which we helped pay for expenses.  He came by the office with his coach to show us his medal and certificate.   

Playing Santa Claus

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

On Wednesday, most of our office went to Ulan Orphanage to deliver New Year's gifts to each individual child.  These gifts were the ones that they picked out at the store themselves.  It was slightly chaotic, as many of the children had switched groups, but with all the help it went pretty smoothly.  It was really nice to have most of our office involved, since many of them often don't get to see the faces of the children that we work to give hope to.  The pictures below show how much the children enjoyed their gifts.