Cap in hand ...

Once again, I seem to be coming cap in hand... It is so hard, but I have to just remember who it is for ... I don't ever want to get into a position again where I say to myself "if only you had Asked"..

The clock is now ticking for my next trip into Central Asia. I have a lot to do before I go. I would like to raise $5000 for this trip ... In fact the budget is going to be considerably more, but we have an incredible group of business people fro Quebec that are coming along... They have committed to raise a ton of coin to do some projects while we are there. One of the projects is to help get heat into the new seniors home before winter. The other project is one that has been in the works for a while, but I have not mentioned until I was sure we could pull it off.

In one of the cities we work, there is a baby hospital that need our help.. This hospital is the place that babies and mothers are first brought to if they are going to be put up for adoption, or if they have been found abandoned, in fact many of the little ones we have come to know and love have likely come through these doors at one time... The director / chief Dr. of this hospital is an incredible lady, and is always eager to help with an of the children that our friends bring to her for help. The hospital is in very serious need of work.. the roof has been leaking for a long time, and the walls in the ICU are deteriorating. Some of the beds and the cribs have tarps set up over them to prevent debree from falling on them... As hard as they try, it must be almost impossible to keep these rooms sterile...

We will be starting one room at a time, and begin renovating . There is so much that is needed, but we will start with baby steps and continue the project as finances come in... This is a place that has no attention from any outside help, and until someone starts, it will continue to fall through the cracks.... and hay that's what we are about... bringing light into the dark corners.. to those that have fallen through the cracks of society. I wish I had photo's to show you of the before, but the director is very upset about the condition of things, and I just felt it would be almost a form of violence toward her if I got my camera out... When they said , "Won't it be harder to raise funds with out photo's" I told them that we could post the before photo's when we could post the after at the same time, and that I would just ask people to trust me o this one..."

I think that if we can help maintain a little dignity some times, we would not have to work so hard to restore it....

Along with these two projects, there are so many other smaller things that I would like to do... I have a few errands to run for some friends that have invested of themselves in country, as well as bring some encouragement for other friends that are still stationed there. I need to touch base with everyone that we have helped over the years... I never like to go empty handed, so I would like to have about $100 a day for the month I am there so that I can put together some care packages and meet the small needs... My friends call it MAD money ... Making A Difference Money .... If you would like to help make a difference, just follow the donation link on the side bar, and type MAD in the memo box .