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In honor of July coming to close, lets focus on freedom.

free·dom
noun: freedom
1. the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
“we do have some freedom of choice”
synonyms: right to, entitlement to

Freedom can take on many different meanings and is unique to each individual. Freedom should mean that children have the power to act and think as they choose, without hindrance or restraint. At our organization, we mainly see children who face multiple hindrances and deterrents on their path to freedom.

We need to insure children can grow up safe and supported with the freedom to be a child.

Without loving friends or family, access to education and the simple means to survive, their freedom is restricted. They are not given the opportunity to act, speak or think as they feel because they are too busy trying to survive and find the next place they will sleep or where they will find their next meal.

That’s where our help comes into play. We provide housing, education, training, counseling, food, faith and friendships.

Freedom to learn in Uganda is scarce – children do not have access to public or free education. Without an education, they are often unable to become independent adults and grow into healthy, happy and successful individuals.

Freedom rings when you sponsor a child. It’s a gift that creates a ripple of lifelong change. Children become free to spread their wings through knowledge. Families drastically changed with the power of an education.

Our children have unique needs. Thank you for supporting their freedom.

DONATE TODAY

With love,
Cristen Lyn

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Summer is finally here. It’s a time for vacations, work, and play.

This summer, we ask you to consider being a sponsor. What exactly is a sponsor?

  • a person who takes the responsibility for some other person or thing
  • a person or an organization that pays for or plans and carries out a project or activity
  • Sponsor supporter of an event, activity, or person
  • The word sponsor stems from the Latin word spondre, meaning “give assurance, promise solemnly”

In this situation, a sponsor is life-changing for the children in our program. For only $20 a month, $240 a year, you can drastically improve the lives of children who need it most.

The children we serve are desperate for an education. They strive to maintain any type of normalcy in their lives. Even through the worst times, these children look forward to the opportunity of embracing a new spiritual welfare of hope and building a new life and future with the tools provided by our sponsors.

By sponsoring a child, you are altering the course of their life for the better. You’re providing them a safe place to live, learn and heal and a livelihood through education and training. Overall, you will be providing them a place to simply call home.

As you enjoy your summer with your family and friends, please consider giving back and sponsoring a child. On behalf of the children, I know they will be eternally grateful for your sacrifice and generosity to support a greater good.

With love,
Cristen Lyn

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Flourish is a very important word to our organization as it is at the core of our mission. What we hope to see on a daily basis is a child flourishing in all ways, and we encourage and guide this beautiful process.

flour·ish
/ˈfləriSH/
to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment

That’s what we want for YOU! Every day we see girls flourish in our program from the counseling, education and work training. Uganda has an orphan crisis with children living in severe poverty, lacking money to attend school and have no family. They have no support or examples of how to grow up and live an independent life. Without any tools and support, they often have no hope. We make strides every day to provide the resources and environment necessary for them to flourish in a life of their own.

We serve the most destitute children in our program who have a strong desire to educate themselves, so they can have a productive and self-reliant future. Children not participating in one of our vocational programs, attend Ugandan schools and all children receive food, shelter, counseling, spiritual development, social and life skills classes.

We’ve seen many children flourish and create a life for themselves that they never imagined was possible. For example, Annet Alumna lost her father at an early age and was raised in poverty in a slum called Ndeeba. Her family could not afford to pay for school and she was forced to abandon her education. Annet wanted to learn, and under the guidance of our caring staff, she received counseling and entered the catering vocation. Annet is flourishing in life.

As Spring begins to ramp up, take time to self-reflect and see if you are flourishing in the different avenues of life. If not, what can you do to change it? It’s time to put yourself first and make sure you are in a supporting and loving environment that allows you to grow and develop into the best version of yourself!

Peace + Prosperity
Cristen Lyn
Hope for Hearts Founder

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With confidence, you can do anything

This week’s Weekend Word is extra special to me because the children are reminded every single day of their confidence and abilities to succeed.

con·fi·dence
a: a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances had perfect confidence in her ability to succeed met the risk with brash confidence
b: faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way have confidence in a leader

Imagine being ten years old, unable to go to school, not knowing if you will have food to eat for dinner or where you are going to sleep at night. Living a life like that would make it hard to have any confidence or faith.

When the children start at our program, they often think that they can’t succeed at anything. We turn can’t into can. At our program, confidence is the key to success. We take vulnerable children many with very little confidence and self-esteem and teach them how to turn their lives around. We teach them about self-worth through therapy and classes. By making them feel like their life matters, they get a boost of confidence. The children express what they are interested in and we teach them the necessary skills, so they can gain experience and lead a fulfilling life.

Everyone deserves a chance at a happy life – and that’s what we strive to provide these innocent children. We meet these kids when they are scared, insecure and hopeless about the future. By helping them face their fears, they gain strength and confidence along the way. With a little bit of love and education, we build confidence and make it possible for these kids to do anything they put their mind to.

With love always,
Cristen

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Smile Week

It’s never too early to bring a little Christmas cheer around with this classic quote from “Elf.” Especially when it’s National Smile Week. Buddy the elf had a predilection for smiling. Which worked out because his smile was contagious and brought happiness everywhere he went.

When Buddy first came to New York, the main people in his new life were all unhappy for one reason or another. From Jovie, the lonely department store employee, to Walter, Buddy’s biological dad, who was so tied up in the stress of his job he felt he had no room for anything else, which in turn caused his family to be unhappy. By the end of the movie, Buddy’s infectious smile brought happiness and more smiles to everyone he met. And, they were able to ultimately spread that Christmas cheer to everyone and save the day for Santa Clause.

Smile Week

Ok, I get that this is a made up story – but the power of the smile still holds. Many historic figures known for changing the world in one way or another had an infectious smile. Despite years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela emerged with a smile that changed the world by ending apartheid in South Africa. Princess Diana of Whales was known for her brilliantly white smile that could give hope and comfort to the downtrodden and those in need.

In many photos and depictions of Mother Teresa you can almost always find her smiling. She was perhaps the smile’s biggest advocate with poignant quotes like:

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”

“Peace begins with a smile.”

And, one of my favorites – “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”

A smile is the simplest, free gift we can give to the world. And while it’s true that we don’t know quite all the good it can or will do, we do know some benefits. Smiling is the first facial expression we have with babies smiling in the womb and at early stages after birth due to feelings of comfort. As they grow they learn to smile as a response to stimuli from the outside world such as seeing a family member. And as we continue on in life smiling continues to provide us with several health benefits such as boosting your immune system and reducing blood pressure. A smile towards another person can bring them comfort and joy. In the workplace, a smile may be more likely to lead to a promotion as it projects confidence and several other key qualities employers look for in a strong candidate. I encourage you to watch Ron Gutman’s TED Talk for more interesting research and facts about the power of a smile.

So this month as we’re focusing on happiness, remember to smile more. Take this week to focus on the power of your smile. Challenge yourself to smile more often and notice the responses you get from yourself and others. I guarantee you’re going to like what you see.

You can also take part in National Smile Week by putting a smile on the face of all of us here at Hope for Hearts. When you make a donation to our Happy Jar, you brighten the already beautiful smiling faces of orphaned children in Uganda. These children are filled with hope and working toward change in their lives by getting an education. Their smiles are contagious.

Thinking Happy Thoughts,
Cristen