Our prayers were answered for little Sabina, whose dangerous open heart surgery was successful!
Dear friends,
As I look back on 2018, I do so with a deep sense of gratitude. The Asia’s Hope family has shown itself to be faithful — in times of sadness and rejoicing.
From the successful heart surgery and continued recovery of tiny Sabina in India in February to the shocking, sudden losses of young Nikita in India to Pastor Simon Forsythe in November, we drew support, comfort and encouragement from so many of you as we faced these and other trials.
When Jirayut, a 16-year-old boy from our Wiang Pa Pao 2 home in Chiang Rai, Thailand suffered a massive stroke, we didn’t hesitate to authorize emergency surgeries at the best hospitals — we knew that his supporting church, Wooster Grace, would come through with the funds needed to pay for his life-saving medical care. And we knew we could depend on thousands of you to join us in prayer on his behalf. Jirayut told me this summer that he credits you with his survival.
Of course, Jirayut and Sabina weren’t the only ones with medical care that fell outside of our normal budgets. With more than 800 kids and 250 staff, we had our share of accidents, sicknesses and surgeries. And in every case, we were able to authorize care immediately — because we know that our supporters are generous, courageous leaders who can be counted on when a precious child’s life is at stake.
Our new student center in Battambang, Cambodia, sponsored by Central Vineyard Church, provides housing and mentorship for 50 of our university scholars to help them transition to independent adulthood.
Speaking of staff, we’ve continued hiring young adults who grew up as Asia’s Hope children to work in our schools and homes throughout our organization, and look forward to welcoming many more at all levels of leadership in the coming years. We certainly have a lot of graduates who love Asia’s Hope and are ready to lead our next generation as positions become available.
We’ve enjoyed having Satian “David” Premjaisanchat, son of Tutu Abourmad, our Thailand director on staff as an administrative assistant. He plans to return home in October 2019, with his wife and baby daughter, and he hopes to help his mom and his brother Setsila lead our Thai ministry.
Generous gifts from Geoff and Kay Jollay, members of Chets Creek Church (sponsors of our Doi Saket 1b home) allowed us to completely renovate and outfit a soccer field at our Doi Saket campus in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our kids and staff use this field every day, and host local competitions and tournaments. We’ve also added goals, lights and nets to our soccer field in Prek Eng, Cambodia, giving our older kids and teens a safe and convenient alternative to facilities 30 to 40 minutes away in the city.
We’ve performed repairs — some of them extensive — at most of our 34 homes, and we’ve replaced fixtures and furnishing at all of our facilities in Cambodia, Thailand and India. And our partners have funded four new vehicles, 12 new motorcycles and dozens of bicycles, providing safe transportation for school, shopping and excursions.
Sixteen-year-old Jirayut, pictured here with our Thailand Director, Tutu “Bee” Abourmad, is recovering miraculously from a life-threatening stroke thanks to your prayers and financial support.
We also awarded our first ever graduate school fellowships through our Exemplary Scholars Fellowship. This fund is designed to give our most extraordinary students — those with the potential to become transformational leaders — opportunity to pursue additional education and training. The 2018 recipients — Kakrona and Sreyka, both from Cambodia — are poised to become true change agents in their society. As funds permit, we want to expand this program to other deserving young scholars in future years.
Looking forward to 2019, the last year in a very busy decade, we hope to make steady progress on our strategic objectives: enriching the lives of our existing kids and staff, expanding the number of kids we can accept into our family and extending our model and message to other organizations that want to provide family-style care for orphaned and vulnerable children all around the world.
All of this has been — and will continue to be — possible because of your courageous leadership and sacrificial generosity. May God bless you and those you love as you bless these who Jesus called “the least of these.”
It’s an honor to serve on your behalf.
Warmly, John
John McCollum, Executive Director
As in every previous year since our founding, Asia’s Hope has maintained a high degree of financial responsibility, with more than 88% percent of our funds going directly to project-related expenses.
While we understand that overhead is not a reliable measure of an organization’s effectiveness, we treat every dollar we receive as a gift from God, and are pleased with our leaders’ longstanding commitment to fiscal restraint.
We’re proud to have earned the Guidestar Gold Seal of Transparency for our commitment to financial accountability. If you have any questions about our finances or accounting, contact our Financial Resources Manager, Jeremiah Nguahpha.
Geoff and Kay Jollay, members of our partner Chets Creek Church, funded the construction of our new soccer field on our Doi Saket, Thailand campus.
We mourned the shocking and sudden passing of our dear friend and ministry partner, Pastor Simon Forsythe, pictured here with his wife and Asia’s Hope board member, Pastor Melanie Forsythe.