GGO News

GGO Newsletter - Spring 2012

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:17:00 GMT

There is so much to report with this update I feel like there should be TWO headlines.

1) GREATER GRACE ORPHANAGE NOW HAD ITS OWN 501 (c) (3)!

We had been running our finances through the Chapel Ministries International to which we are very grateful for the help they have provided over the years. Since we are now our own not-for-profit organization, we also have a new mailing address:

Greater Grace Orphanage

4486 Indian Ripple Rd

Dayton, OH 45440

All contributions should go to the new address and receipts will be issued from this location as well. This is the culmination of a multiple year process.

2) THE FARMING EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN PURCHASED AND SHIPPED!

The shipping container arriving to be loaded

On March 22, two tractors, a bulldozer and seven farming implements to attach to the tractors were loaded in a shipping container in Avon, Illinois. The container was also purchased so when it arrives, it will be useful for storage. The arrival date in Lagos, Nigeria was given as May 7, but that could change. From there, the container will need to be transported inland to Isanlu where the orphanage is located. It should arrive in time to begin some of the preparation of the land for the planting season. This is a HUGE step in the goal for the orphanage to be self-sufficient. It came just at the time where food prices in Nigeria have doubled. We are grateful for all the contributions that were available for the purchase of the equipment, as well as the shipping costs donated which frees some of the development funds to go toward more fencing of the property. We want to keep the tractors safe from vandals and theft.

One of the two IH diesel tractors shipped

Joseph in front of the bulldozer

A brand new disc

A new roto-tiller

PLEASE PRAY …

that the container would arrive safely and make its way through the red tape.

until the crops grow, there still is the need for operating expenses.

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GGO Newsletter - Winter 2012

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:28:00 GMT

Our New Well!!

Our banquet in the fall was a great success and funds were raised to continue with capital improvements. The well is planned to be drilled in April or May, the middle of the Nigerian dry season. By drilling then, a good water supply is guaranteed year around. While we were making plans for the well, a group from the U.S. visited Nigeria and requested to help at an orphanage. They were directed to The Greater Grace Orphanage and asked what the greatest need was; they were told: need clean water. Quite unexpectedly, they put in a well right then! The orphanage now has a good water source as well as emergency filters that were purchased in October. We are all so happy. The well to be drilled in the Spring will be used for agricultural purpose.

Farming Tractors

The other big news are the tractors we have located for farming. Our goal is to have them purchased and shipped to arrive before the planting season in June. There are many logistics to arranging tractors, implements and parts from Illinois to be delivered to Isanlu, Nigeria but we are so excited to be at this phase. This is a huge step toward our goal of being self-sustaining.

The funds for daily needs are always a heavy concern. Until the farm can begin to be productive, support must come from elsewhere. Thank you for the blessing you have been to these children.
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GGO Newsletter - Fall 2011

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:47:00 GMT

GGO Newsletter

Fall 2011

Welcome to the first newsletter!
We hope this will be of great help in keeping up on the news of the Greater Grace Orphanage, Isanlu , Nigeria. For you to even visit this page you must have some interest in orphans and their care.

Teach a Man to Fish fundraiser banquet
Join us for a Nigerian meal and a presentation of the Orphanage.
Saturday, November 5 6:30 p.m.
Shawnee Hills Baptist Church
3490 Jasper Road
Jamestown, OH 45335
RSVP to:
Michelle Miller
miller.michelle.m@att.net
or 937-453-9832

Orphans Update
Since the children have moved into their new facility, their spirits have been encouraged and their bodies have been suffering. At the new location water can be retrieved from a shallow well as long it is the rainy season, but when the rain dries up, so does the well. Water has been trucked in from a local lake and the children have contracted Cholera and Typhoid. Some were hospitalized but all are home now. Water filters have been purchased and are to be used as a stop gap until a new proper water system can be installed. There has been some monies sent to pay for the water system, but timing of the well drilling is critical. The new well must be sunk during the dry season, that way the orphanage will be assured water all year long. The dry season will be in its full swing in March so even if the money was all available today, they could not begin work until then.

Tractor-Tractor

The water system is the top priority but next is the ability to raise food. Our goal is to purchase two used tractors and ship them to the orphanage to be used to raise food and cash crops. With just some simple equipment, the estimate is that the orphanage can sustain itself and have extra to sell. Black-eyed peas, rice, eggplant (called garden egg in Nigeria) are just some of the foods which could be raised. Raising snails for cash, goats for meat and a fish pond are all in the works as well. Of course this all required time and resources.

Some of the children sleeping at their old house

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