19th July

A Hanna’s Orphanage update – finally!

A while ago, I wrote a piece for the Telegraph Expat Newspaper about the orphanage. We had a lot of people get in touch offering to volunteer, which is unfortunately something we (as UK based Hanna's Orphanage) are not able to support right now, purely because we don’t have the infrastructure or the manpower – but we do pass on any volunteering offers directly to the orphanage, so they can reply themselves.

However, Peter Hansen, from Pacific Environmental Consulting, got in touch with us and personally donated £2,500. He also challenged his staff to match it, so we had various donations flood in via paypal (you can donate via paypal even if you don’t have a paypal account – just go to our website!) and when some staff visit Ethiopia later in the year, they will bring over some supplies needed by the orphanage.

The £2,500 will be used to refurbish the library and computer room – buying chairs and tables for studying, new books, mending computers etc. The library and study areas are really important not only to the orphanage children, but to those children in the local community who come and study there after school. This kind donation will make such a difference to all the children by giving them a quiet, well equipped place to study, and will be added to the money we have already given the orphanage for computer training, ensuring the orphanage staff also get to upgrade their skills.

One of our regular donors, C., also managed to get to the Orphans Home in Addis and handed over another donation, so we’ve done quite well these last two months! We’ve also held another music gig in London, raising some more money and encouraging some more companies and individuals to offer their services and get involved. Thank you, thank you, thank you! (If you want to receive information about the music gigs, please find us on Facebook, Myspace or Twitter, or send your email address to info@hannasorphanage.org.uk)

When we do get mentioned in the press or on the web, many people start their emails with ‘I’m sure you’ve been flooded with donations’, but unfortunately that’s rarely the case. That’s why any donation, however small, makes such a huge difference, and every person who reads about the Orphans Home is one more person we hope will pass the word on to someone else. So thank you.