Dear friends,
As many predicted at the beginning of the year, the pandemic situation would improve in the Western world, but it would become increasingly worse abroad. That has proven to be true, and while many of our friends and neighbors have received their vaccines, the lack of availability around the world is causing continued suffering with extended lockdowns creating increasing poverty, hunger, and fears over one’s safety.
Your kindness and care will make it possible to continue our work next year. It is our hope that we can all get through this difficult time safely and be able to gather again. Below are four of some 20 programs we have funded in 2021 and that were made possible by many of you:
- The care and education for orphaned children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- A preschool program for students in rural schools in Cambodia
- A girls’ dormitory building project in India and scholarships for two students in the US
- A new medical clinic and access to care for thousands of families living in a refugee settlement in Uganda
We thank you again for your continued support over the years, and especially now during these challenging times. We hope to see you again in 2022. Until then, please enjoy your holidays with your family and friends.
Sincerely,
Tom Nazario
Founder and President
Help us continue to support those in need
in the new year by making a gift
to The Forgotten International today!
Or donate by mail to:
The Forgotten International
P.O. Box 192066, San Francisco, CA 94119
Kaziba Orphanage (Democratic Rebublic of the Congo)
The Kaziba Orphanage cares for about 60 children under eight years of age who come from families affected by war and poverty. Providing them with food, medical care, and a safe place to live until they can be adopted into new families who will be able to give them a more secure home is their goal. Kaziba was brought to our attention by one of our Board members, Jilma Meneses. Together with Jilma, we have been supporting this orphanage since January 2021. In doing so, we have been providing them with more resources and access to early education, which we hope will give these children a chance at a better life.
Cambodian Community Dream Organization (Cambodia)
CCDO runs programs for children in rural Cambodia which offer support services to those living in some of Siem Reap’s poorest communities. Their new Early Childhood Education Project works closely with young learners in their first year of schooling, training teachers on new teaching techniques, and providing daily breakfast, uniforms, and clean water for the students. TFI believes that there are few things more important than giving children the gift of education, particularly those who, due to poverty, may not otherwise get a chance at a decent education.
Shanti Bhavan (India)
This boarding school was started with the sole purpose of giving the poorest children in India the same quality of education that rich children receive, and hence provides children from backgrounds of generational poverty with a safe living and learning environment and the skills they need to succeed. TFI started a partnership with Shanti Bhavan in 2021 with plans to renovate their girls’ dormitory building in honor of one of our Children’s Fund sponsored students, Priyanka Singh, who was killed in early 2020. We also began offering a scholarship to students in Priyanka’s name. Pictured above is Thulasi Priya Ramesh, our first of two scholarship recipients, with donor and Board member Diane Brandenburg.
Dr. Eugene P. Mohan Angels Care Medical Clinic (Uganda)
For a number of years we have been working with the Angels Care School, located in a refugee camp in a rural part of Uganda, which serves the children of some of the 120,000 residents who live there. Recently, however, we discovered that one of the greatest needs at the refugee settlement was for a local health clinic for the residents of this community. One of our donors and Board members, Jerry Mohan, built this clinic in honor of his late brother and opened it on July 4, 2020. Pictured above are the mothers with their children waiting for their first immunizations.