Most of us in America know what it’s like to lay our heads down at night on a soft pillow.  A piece of plush padded fabric that we hug around our head, drool on throughout the night, and count on to help lull us to sleep sometime every day.  Many of the kids we have contact with in Kenya don’t have pillows.  If they have anything to lay their heads on at all, it might be a rolled up shirt, old worn out stuffed animal, piece of a blanket, or just the hard dirt floor many of them sleep on.  Children may be resilient, but if they don’t get rest, sooner or later their senses dull, their minds tire, their bodies ache and the possibility of them leading a healthy productive life diminishes.  That’s why one of our biggest priorities at Baraka Orphanage is to purchase beds, blankets and pillows for all the kids.  Albeit a a very small space, having their own bed and pillow to curl up with will give them more of a sense of security, individuality and hope.  I know I take my bed for granted, because I know it’s going to be there every night.  Some of the kids we work with in Kenya aren’t even sure where they are going to sleep from night to night, let alone whether or not they will have a pillow they can call their own.

We are excited to announce that because of our customer’s purchases, and other’s generosity, we have raised enough money to pay for all the furnishings in the main building of Baraka Orphanage!  Charles, our Kenyan friend and Baraka Orphanage facilitator, will be heading back over to Africa at the end of the month to oversee the purchase and implementation of new beds in the facility.  Every time we have a sale at Baraka Gemstones and Jewelry, our customers help us to change the world.  One step at a time we have been able to help coax the dream of Baraka Orphanage into reality.  You can continue to help us keep the dream alive by making purchases with Baraka Gemstones and Jewelry, and donating dollars our way.  We sold two pieces of donated jewelry in the past couple months giving us another $65 to send with Charles to work on the orphanage.  We hope you’ll continue to help us help you help kids!  Thanks for your support!!

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As many of you know already, Baraka Gemstones and Jewelry has partnered up with Baraka Orphanage in Kenya, East Africa.  This orphanage is just getting it’s feet on the ground, and is looking for a lot of front-end help in it’s pursuit of self-sustainability.  Baraka Orphanage isn’t prepared to begin receiving children at the facility yet, but hopes with the help of others that it can start receiving kids, like the ones pictured above, within the year.  It’s going to take a lot of hard work and some serious generosity to continue the momentum, but we are confident that soon Baraka Orphanage will be meeting the nutritional, educational, social and medical needs of the local orphan population.  Are you interested in helping?  Get in contact with us through info@barakagems.com and we’ll talk to you about how you can help us to help you help kids!

Here are some financial needs Baraka Orphanage is facing right now…

I. MANAGER’S HOUSE = $15,000.
This house will be for the couple on the ground 24 hours a day. The house will have three small bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room, and a bathroom.

II. ORPHANAGE KITCHEN/STORAGE = $10,500
Kitchen will have at least four different rooms – cooking room, freezer/refrigerator room, storage for dry foods such as beans, corn, etc., and storage for firewood and charcoal.

III. MATTRESSES/BLANKETS/MOSQUITO NETS = $9,000

IV. THREE ACRES OF LAND = $17,250
We desperately need to purchase 3 acres of adjoining land.  We will use this land to grow corn, beans, potatoes, and various vegetables to provide food for the orphanage. Kids and staff will grow their own food on this farm.

V.  ORPHANAGE FISH POND =$ 4,500
Ponds like this are great for breading a continual food source for the facilities.  It will continue to provide fish for food year after year.

VI. ANIMAL FARM $25,000.
This will cover the cost of building the pen/barn where chicken, goats, sheep and cows are kept, as well as the cost to purchase and take care of the animals.

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See that brick box in the back left of the photo? That little shelter houses a fresh water well dug at Baraka Orphanage in Kosele, Kenya. The well is now serving a community of 10,000 Kenyans!

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