I am an Italian-American originally from Philadelphia who traveled to Rome looking for a little bit of adventure, but I’ve found so much more! I am a lifelong lover of good books, good food, and good laughs—three things I wish to bring to people all around the world.

For a long time I have been eager to become a volunteer, but I wasn’t sure where or how to begin. Aura’s House is a fantastic opportunity for young students like myself to donate their time and skill to assist in a little bit of world changing. This is something I think a lot of young people struggle with– a desire to help, but afraid to put themselves out there. I’m eager to share my experience at Aura’s House with my peers, and to hopefully motivate them into action.

I am excited for my time with Aura’s House to grow into a lifelong commitment to volunteering for the greater good of humanity.

Income Generating Project for Daniela Feliz Cuevas (13) of the Dominican Republic.

Our goal was to raise $550.

$552 raised! THANK YOU.

Special Thanks to: Elvis Kibiti for his generous $125 donation that will be matched by his employer.

Stay tuned for updates and photos.

Daniela’s family could benefit greatly from an income generating project so that their monthly income could increase. Currently, the family of seven lives off of only $100 a month. Daniela’s mother has experience selling clothes and believes that they would be most successful in selling clothes and underwear form their home. With the income generated, Daniela’s family will be able to invest the profit of the business on more items and be able to sustain a better standard of living. We aimed to raise $550 for underwear and business-related fees. All projects on the Aura’s House site are 100% US tax deductible and 100% of donations go to the families.

Daniela (13) of the Dominican Republic

Bundles of ladies’ and men’s underwear – $500
Fees – $50

TOTAL: $550

Daniela and her family

Daniela is the sponsor child of a 12 person group sponsorship from various countries.
Heather LaBonte Efthymiou writes:

Daniela is such a bright and vibrant young girl. She works hard in school with hopes of one day becoming a lawyer or other business professional. She dreams big. Her family lives on just $100 per month which is nothing in the Dominican Republic. Her mother has past experience in selling clothing. They would like to start a small business selling clothes and underwear from their home. They would then reinvest most of the profits into the business to keep it going and successful. I feel this will help the family increase their income and give Daniela’s mother a sense of pride running her own business. We are thankful for any donations towards this worthy project!

Warmest Regards,

Heather Efthymiou and Daniela’s other 11 sponsors

This project is now completed, but please consider helping another needy family and community.

I prefer to donate offline.

Active: Floor and Tailor Income Generating Project for Habiba Khatun (9) of India

Our goal is to raise $915.

$120 raised so far…  ($795 left to raise!)

Habiba and her family live in India with a low monthly income and no floor for their home. Without a floor, their home is very damp and cold during winter and the family runs the risk for disease in the summer. Also, Habiba’s father, currently, does tailoring work for someone else. If he owned his own sewing machine, he could work directly with clients and earn a higher monthly income for the family. We aim to raise $915 for the following items: a sewing machine, an electric motor, wooden tools, bricks, cement, sand, stone chips, and labor. All projects on the Aura’s House site are 100% US tax deductible.

Habiba (9)

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Habiba’s father is interested in expanding his existing tailoring work that he does for additional income generation. Presently, he works under a garment contractor and is paid on a monthly basis for a specified number of assigned jobs. The contractor provides him the sewing machine on which he needs to work twenty-four days a month. Her father informed Children International’s local staff that if he would have his own sewing machine, he would establish direct contact with those who place the orders for stitching. He hopes to earn an additional $20 a month by using a direct connection to the client. His present income out of tailoring is $80 a month.

Habiba’s house that she lives in with her family has a mud floor. It leaves the room damp and cold. In summer, this cool effect may be comfortable however, the children are likely to contract common infections like cold, cough, or pharyngitis. Habiba’s father informed Children International that they would be happy if the floor of the house would be laid with concrete.

Project Breakdown:

Tailor Income Generation Project
1 sewing machine – $102
1 Electric motor – $18
1 Wooden tool – $18
Labor charges for the setup – $9

Total for IGP: $147

Floor Installation
Breakdown is for four floors:
Bricks – $276
Cement – $110
Sand – $62
Stone Chips – $55

Skilled Labor (12 days) – $62
Unskilled Labor (24 days) – $75
Carrying Cost – $51
Consultant’s Fee – $6
Contingency- $70

Total for Floors: $768

Total for IGP and Floors: $915

Habiba is the sponsor child of Dorothee Clinton of Brooklyn, NY.

“I have been sponsoring Habiba for about two years. I became her sponsor after spotting her in the annual “End the Wait” campaign – she was listed on the page for those without water in their home. I quickly learned that Habiba was doing poorly in school, but with help she’s really begun to flourish and it now getting good grads and progressing normally. She’s a hard worker and seems to have a very loving and supportive family. I’m very grateful for any opportunity to be able to help Habiba and her family further.”

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The photos were taken at the Future Smiles Dental Clinic at Wakefield Elementary School in Little Rock.

Your incredible support of this special program is appreciated more than you know. Thanks to your generosity, and the kindness of Aura’s House donors, the clinic will be able to continue their work on behalf of hundreds of children in Little Rock. Their goals for 2013 (which are firmly in their grasp, thanks to you) include the following:

– Provide dental education and varnish to 800 children
– Provide 550 children with sealants
– 630 children will receive restorative procedures
– X-rays will be provided to 750 children

See photos of the Dental Project in action and read a letter about the program from Julie Hall, Children International’s Director at the Children International office at UALR and Missy Collins, one of the dentists who works at the clinic.

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This project is now complete, but there are other active projects that could benefit from your donations.

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Mario’s new term of school began in March of 2013. In order to be prepared to start the term, he needed to be able to pay for the expenses of his mandatory school uniform and educational supplies. With your donations, we were able to send Mario to reach his educational dreams by raising funds for those supplies.

Mario (11)

With your generous donations, Mario received the following gifts:

Uniform (school sweater, tracksuit, pants, shirt and socks)
Tennis Shoes
CD Player/Radio
Backpack and a lunch bag
Notebooks
Pencil case
Food supplies and hygiene products

See photos of Mario with his gifts and read a letter to his sponsor, Barbara.

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Mario and his mother were incredibly happy to receive these wonderful gifts and sent their special thanks to everyone involved.

This project is now complete, but there are other active projects that could benefit from your donations.

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He has received gifts from Dorothee’s generous donations.  Cristian and his family came to the Quito Children International office to receive their gifts. Dorothee’s gift provided some much needed food and cleaning products for Cristian and his family.

Cristian lives with his grandmother and aunt.  They had very little food in the home when Children International’s local staff visited them.  When Cristian came to CI’s office to receive the food and cleaning items, he asked “Where is my sponsor?” His grandmother told him that she was far away but that she gave all of this to him because she loves him very much.  He told his grandmother and the staff that he “wanted to hug his sponsor.”

This project is complete, however there are several active projects that would benefit greatly from your donations.

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Tania Paola (6)  and Tania Fabiola (6)

Twins, Tania Paola and Tania Fabiola are six years of age. They live in a humble home constructed of corrugated metal roofing, wood boards, and a dirt floor. They live in the home with both parents and  their eight year old brother, Bryan.  Their grandmother lives close by. Their father works as a farmer while their mother is a housewife. The monthly income of the family is about $78.

Both girls are in pre-school, and are attentive, good students who work hard to do their best. Paola would like to be a teacher someday while Fabiola dreams of becoming a chef. Their school is located fairly close to their home and it takes them about five minutes to walk there.

Visit Aura’s Elementary School Water Project and please consider making a small gift that would help benefit Tania Paola and Tania Fabiola as well as their entire community.

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I prefer to donate offline.

Our goal  was to raise $246

$266 raised. THANK YOU!
Stay tuned for updates and photos.

*Special thanks to generous repeat donor, Brooke Duncan for her $92 donation that helped finish this emergency project.

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Abraham, whose family was recently helped last year with a Medical and Income Generation Project, needed immediate emergency assistance in order to attend school this February of 2013. He needed the following to be able to attend school: school uniforms, shoes, backpack, books and school lunches.

Abraham (9)

Abraham’s immediate family

Abraham’s mother is struggling to educate her children. Abraham’s older brother has already quit school and is working to help his mother with their store.  More than anything, Abraham’s sponsor, Inga, wants him to be able continue his education and go to school.  He is very intelligent and is an excellent student. With such limited income, there is not even enough money to feed the children so that in Abraham’s health report last year, it appeared that he was severely malnourished and was enrolled in Children International’s feeding program.

Abraham with his soccer ball

Abraham is the sponsored child of Aura’s House Partner, Inga Katelari of Cyprus.

Inga writes:

Abraham is my first sponsored child whom I’ve been sponsoring for 4 years now. He lives with 6 siblings and his mother who is raising them on her own on a mere $105 per month. Abraham is 9 years old and the youngest child in the family. He’s attending 4th grade of primary school. According to the report, his educational progress is ‘Advanced’ and his overall grades are ‘Excellent’. Abraham is a bright and intelligent boy who likes to study and wants to become a doctor when he grows up. Abraham also likes playing soccer. His favorite soccer team is Real Espana de Honduras.

This year, Abraham really needs help to attend school since his mother can’t buy what is needed like school uniforms, shoes, backpack, books and school lunches. He is starting the classes (hopefully, if we can fund this project quickly) in February 2013. I hope you can help us get all Abraham needs to attend school this year.

Thanking you in advance for your consideration.

Best wishes,
Inga

Before:

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After:

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Francisco’s aunt writes,

“Hello Sponsor,

I want to thank you because thanks to you my nephew Francisco has had the opportunity of improving his living conditions, since now he has a more comfortable place to sleep in his new bed, and his home is not already built of wood but with cement walls completely. The child is not that worried about the sunlight or rain getting in through the walls anymore…Francisco is very grateful to you because he lives now in better conditions and (is) really glad since he feels more protected at home.

Thank you!”

Donation Breakdown

15 roof sheets $192.31
47 rods $157.69
4 kilos of black wire, 8 boxes of nails, 40 roof hooks $ 18.71
Portion of labor costs $631.29

Grand Total Raised:- $1000.00

Please feel free to visit The Room Construction Project for Evelyn and Francisco of Columbia to see the now completed project.

We’ve now heard back from everyone and all the prizes have either been awarded or are on their way (as in the case of the Aura’s House silver necklace).

Here’s what happened to the prize money that was won (Choice of an Amazon Gift Card or Donation to a Charity or Project):

Raffle Winner, Dorothee Clinton

Dorothee decided to have her $50 prize donated to her youngest sponsored child, Christian (4) of Ecuador.
She writes:

Wow, this was so unexpected! I had to take a minute to reflect on my options for this. Your sons are so adorable, and they reminded me that my youngest sponsored child has not received anything special from me. He turned 4 in December and I have written him and his mother, but since he’s not in school yet, I tend to ask about the other kids first. I’m including his photo just so you can see him and know who you’re helping! I would like to send the $50 to him and his family as a nice surprise if that’s ok. He’s from Ecuador and too cute for words. He lives with his mom (and I believe is aunt and her family), and his father is deceased so they can definitely use the extra help.

Information:
Cristian David Asimbaya Pila

Extra thank you to Nico!

Best,
Dorothee

Raffle Winners, Jeff and Suzzanne Cutler

Jeff and Suzzane Cutler won TWO prizes, both worth $50 each. They have decided to donate the money to upcoming Aura’s House projects.

Jeff writes:

Kristen,

Please apply our raffle prizes toward the next Aura’s House project that involves a building  or income generation project.  I’m glad the Aura’s House supporters can join together to improve lives of those less fortunate than us.
Thank you so much.  We are happy to have won.Jeff & Suzzanne

Raffle Winner, Julia Alenina-Seutkina

Julia has decided to donate her $100 prize to her sponsored child, Dailyn of Guatemala.
She writes:

Hello Kristen,

Thank you for all your help!  I’m attaching a picture of Dailyn as requested.

I have started sponsoring Dailyn in October – I received a promotion at work and I had promised myself long ago, that if I were to get this job, I’ll add to my CI Kindergarten.   Dailyn was one of the girls I have picked to sponsor, as her circumstances are, perhaps, more dire than those of other kids that I have seen.  Dailyn and her 3 siblings (aged 8, 12 and 15 all girls) live with their relatives, as both of her parents are listed as ‘has abandoned family’.  Whether it’s a true abandonment, or if it’s a case of parents working in another city – I don’t know.  I do know that the family income is $39 which is abysmally low even for Guatemala, and that this Special Needs Gift will help the family meet the most basic needs like groceries, cleaning supplies and perhaps something for the kids.

Please let me know if there’s anything else, and once again, a huge thank you!
Julia

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Again, a huge thank you to all who participated in the raffles and an extra special thank you to our very generous raffle winners!
Best wishes,
Kristen and the Aura’s House Team