June Delivery

Thank you Sante, AP Capital & CCS for their monthly donation. This month the total was even higher...a total of 7,876.50 Mts. The following items were delivered today:

- Diapers (700)

- Soy Formula (5 Large Cans)

- Cookies (16 packs)

The cookies were donated by ALV in Maputo. They will be given to the older children at the orphanage.

Dia de Criança

Thank you to Dr. Nadia Brito and her team of sponsors. They put on a great party at the orphanage to celebrate "Dia de Criança" - national holiday in Mozambique. They hosted a party for the entire orphanage after collecting 20,800 Mts in donations. The children feasted on chicken, pototoes, cake and goodies. They also got to have fun on an inflatable castle and a clown was there to keep the excitement going with face painting, singing and games.

In addition to the party a large donation of clothes was delivered.

Here are some photos from the party:

Baby Rattles from the USA

We would like to give a special thanks to Betty Tangora from Seattle, Washington (USA). She knitted 20 colorful rattles for the babies at Primeiro de Maio and today they were delivered. The babies loved the soft rattles and I am sure they will enjoy them during their playtime.

Here are some photos from today! This is baby Narciso as he wakes up from his nap. Narciso came to the orphanage on St. Patrick's Day. He is almost 2 months old.

Lunchtime for Narciso...

Teresa reaching for a rattle. Teresa has been here for a while, but is very healthy now. She is one of the babies that benefits from the soy formula as she is allergic to regular milk.

April Delivery

Thank you Sante for your monthly donation. This month is was again a total of 6,000 MZN! The following items were delivered today:

- Diapers (630)

- Soy Formula (4 Large Cans)

- Chocolate (2 boxes)

The chocolates were donated by ALV in Maputo. They will be given to the older children at the orphanage.

There will be pasta on the menu today...

My 8.5 month belly has me in a mood to clean up and organize everything in my house. I spent the morning in the kitchen organizing cabinets and checking expiration dates on food. I noticed I had a huge box of spaghetti and macaroni pasta that were about to expire and some tea. I know that the babies won't get to enjoy this food, but I figured the older kids in the orphanage would be very happy to have a pasta meal. So today I dropped off:

- 12 boxes of spaghetti

- 3 boxes of macaroni

- 5 boxes of tea (this is for the workers)

If you have a chance to clean out your pantry or kid's closet and/or rooms and think there is something the orphanage might use just send me an email at mvigues@me.com to arrange a pick-up.

Happy Cleaning & Organizing!

March Delivery

Thank you Sante for your monthly donation. This month is was a total of 6,000 MZN! We delivered these items on St. Patrick's Day:

- Diapers (700)

- Cerelac 6-month Cereal (6 boxes)

- Lactogen Baby Formula XL Cans (2)

- Small Yogurts (100)

February Delivery

Thank you Sante for your monthly donation. In February we were able to deliver these items to the little ones at Primeiro de Maio:

- Diapers (300)

- Cerelac 6-month Cereal (6 boxes)

January Delivery

With the help of Sante's monthly donation and an in-kind donation of THREE strollers from the Kinabrew family we were able to deliver the following items this month:

- Diapers (381)

- Umbrella Strollers (3)

- Double Strollers (1)

The strollers with canopies come in particularly handy during these very hot summer months where they try and take the babies outside for some fresh air. I don't think they even had one stroller...now they have four! Thank you Kinabrew Family!

December Delivery

This month Sante was extra generous and we got a sizable donation along with some in-kind items that many of Sante's customers donated to the orphanage. This month I delivered the following items:

- Diapers (850)

- Soy Formula (4 cans)

- Shoes (10)

- Articles of Clothing (10)

- Baby Gym (1)

- Baby Walker (1)

- Baby Bouncer (1)

- Bassinet (1)

- Children's Basketball Hoop (1)

- Inflatable Play Center (1)

I also wanted to give you an update on some of the things we donated last month. When I arrived today to deliver the items it was lunch time and all the babies were using the new plastic bibs we donated last month. One of the volunteers also told me that the babies really love the mobiles....especially the music that plays lullabies for them to sleep. It is great to know that the items we give are making a difference.

November Delivery

We were able to buy some really cool things due to the generosity of some local and overseas friends this month:

- Mavis Huger & Family from the USA ($200 USD)

- Jan Erik & Coby van Herksen from the Netherlands (100 Euros) [These are Luka's grandparents and they are pictured above, the handsome guy carrying Luka is my hubby]

- Catherine Clarence & Family from Maputo (generous diaper donation)

Today I just delivered...get ready for this:

Diapers (1,144!!!!)

Soy Formula Cans (7)

Plastic Feeding Bibs (15)

Mobiles for Cribs (8)

Here is a little background on this month's items because at first glance it might not seem like a big deal.

The diapers were a godsend. Today as I arrived all the babies were in towels because they had run out. The workers and volunteers were very happy to see the diapers. They really count on our monthly donation.

The plastic feeding bibs are extremely useful and hygienic. Many of these little ones learn to feed themselves very young and if they use regular bibs they have to wash them and it takes long to get them back clean. These bibs last much longer and are very easy to clean, which is very important when you are feeding 15-20 little ones at the same time.

The eight mobiles went over the cribs of the tiniest ones at the orphanage. They really need music and stimulation and now they will have a lullaby and happy faces to help them catch their zzzzz's.

Please email mvigues@msn.com if you have any questions and remember we are always looking for donations.

October Delivery

This month was a big success. We delivered many needed items to the orphanage and it would not have been possible with two big donations that came from the United States. We need to send a big overseas thank you to:

- Mother & daughter business partners, Conchy Bretos & Pilar Carvajal from MIA Consulting. They sent a $300 USD donation and are planning to donate again very soon.

- Newlywed couple Marta & Connor Kirsch from New York City. At their recent wedding they opted to make a $400 USD donation to the program in lieu of wedding favors for guests. What a great idea! We are really happy they did. Above is a photo of the card they distributed to the guests at the wedding.

Along with Sante's monthly donation we were able to buy all these great things:

- Diapers (700)

- Soy Formula (5 cans)

- Baby Bottles (20)

- Baby Bottle Nipples (20)

- Baby Bumbo Chairs

- New Cribs for the Nursery (3)

The diapers were delivered today and it came at the perfect time, as they had run out. The babies are hopefully comfy and cozy in the diapers right now.

The new cribs arrive on Friday and I hope to be there for the delivery to take photos of the updated nursery.

Until next time....and thank you to our supporters.

Here are some pictures from our visits this month:

Delivery with Love

Today I made a special delivery at the orphanage. I had a couple of friends in town that donated many wonderful items to the babies and older children at the orphanage. I would like to give a special thanks to the following people:

- Iida and Lara Vienings (pictured above)

- Elias Family

- Martha Vera & Family

Thanks to these wonderful families we were able to deliver the following items:

- Soy Formula (4 cans)

- Baby Blankets (2)

- Baby Chairs (2)

- Bouncy Exercise Balls (2)

- Girl's Clothing (2 large boxes)

- Boy's Clothing (1 large box)

- Books (1 large box)

- Toys (1 large box)

- Play Baby Stroller (1)