News Letter
JANUARY  2011

Bel Air Children’s Home

In the last few months we have felt the winds of change around the Home.  The island narrowly escaped Hurricane Thomas in November, and for that we are very thankful. The children were excited about Christmas and we were delighted that some of our overseas supporters sent them Christmas gifts. There were also several parties on the island that we were invited to.
 

On September 15 we held our very first birthday party here at the Home for all the children.  Pastor Jerry Holman came from America and the children experienced their first clown show. It was a day to remember!

Coca Cola provided the refreshments, Real Value kindly gave us ice cream and the cakes were provided by

La Source. We do not usually celebrate individual birthdays at the Home, so this was a really special day for everyone.
 

Fundraising in the UK has enabled us to repair and decorate the Home which hadn’t been painted since 1999. The facelift has certainly brightened our spirits and caused much excitement, especially amongst the little ones.
It has been transformed from rather pale buttermilk to a vibrant egg yolk yellow! We asked why they were so excited and they explained that as the home is situated at the end of the runway that it would be far easier for Santa Claus to find them now!

 

We have also been able to replace the water pump which has been causing us concern for some time. This would not have been possible without a generous donation from a British couple who have been fantastic supporters of the Home.

Child sponsorship. From January 2011 we have launched a child sponsorship programme. We now have a total of twelve children sponsored, and are working on the first packs to be sent out by the end of January. PLEASE think about whether this is something you would like to do. Just GBP£15.00, US $24.00. CAN$24.00 or EC$60.00 per month. Contact alisonkynastonones@btinternet.com  for more details. Thank you!

Katy & Karen, our Peace corps volunteers, together with  the older girls are working on a Mural of the world, which is prominently situated in the hall way.

It would be wonderful if you could send a postcard to the girls, of the town/ country where you live and tell them about the weather and something about the place. Please send your card to: Bel Air Home, Calliste, St Georges, Grenada, West Indies. We will keep a scrap book and post on our Facebook page how many postcards we receive.

On behalf of everyone at the Home, children, staff and Trustees, we sincerely thank you for your continued and much needed support and wish each and every one of you a happy and healthy 2011

The children were thrilled to be sent a care package of twenty snuggle puppies, each one individual and hand made by Amanda Henry, from New York. A story of the puppies accompanied them, and each child now has their very own puppy to snuggle up to at night.

We are excited and very appreciative about the new initiative that has been set up by Andrew and Marie in the U.K. They have very kindly donated money so that we can purchase fresh fruit and vegetables for the children from a local farmer on a weekly basis. This arrangement helps our local producers, and of course increases the vitamin intake for the children. Fresh fruit and vegetables from the supermarkets and retail outlets tend to be expensive when you are feeding around thirty children a month. We are always grateful for fresh fruit and vegetables if you come to visit.

Marie Sawle , one of the newly appointed Trustees of The friends of Bel Air UK, is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in February to raise money for the Home . If you would like to sponsor her, please contact her at msawle@hotmail.com