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412-721-4070 PO Box 751
Pittsburgh, PA 15146

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Coronavirus Update

All of us in the James Connection community have faced our own challenges due to the Coronavirus, and as you are supporters of Angels’ Place in India, your concern surely extends to the children that we have worked so hard to nurture there. The purpose here is to update you on how the James Connection is managing the current Coronavirus crisis as it impacts Angels’ Place and to identify our priorities.

1) The well-being of the children remains our first priority. The Indian government has closed all orphanages in the country. The children of Angels’ Place have returned to their legal guardians during the quarantine in India. The children regularly visit their guardians and their villages over the course of a normal year, and so this action is not a significant adjustment for the short term. However, they would not be at Angels’ Place if they had a stable long-term environment in these homes, and so we want to support their wellness as much as possible during this time. R. Sanga, our lead staff member in India, has regular contact with the children and is monitoring their situations. As the children come from a broad area, some from 50 miles or more from Angels’ Place, we are working to ensure effective contact with their families and their local communities.

2) We are ensuring the proper maintenance and staffing of Angels’ Place during quarantine. Jan Swensen, Executive Director of the James Connection, and R. Sanga are working together to ensure maintenance of the facility and staff of Angels’ Place. Some staff members live on site and will care for the facilities. We consider it essential to support all staff during this time in order to preserve continuity of personnel and expertise for managing Angels’ Place. We also must protect the health of all staff of Angels’ Place, in order that they remain strong in the current and future service of the children and the facility. Finally, we are maintaining continuity with our strategic partners in the area: the schools, the area medical facilities, other relief agencies, churches, and the entrepreneurs who help with our vocational education. 

3) We are planning for the future after quarantine. When the pandemic passes, Angels’ Place will need to be prepared to receive the children in a safe, healthy facility. We are formulating plans now, which include examining each child to make certain that they are well.

4) We will communicate with you throughout this time. Angels’ Place exists because of you, our entire network in the James Connection, and it is our responsibility to keep you well informed with facts and plans related to the current and future operation of Angels’ Place. We will be increasing communications during this time in order to affirm our accountability to you, and also to enlist the support of our larger community as we respond to the needs of the children at Angel’s Place and the staff who care for them.

5) We will need your continuing support during and after the pandemic. Your financial support has made it possible for us to build Angels’ Place and to nurture young children who already faced desperate circumstances before the Coronavirus emerged. Your ongoing support is needed now as much as ever. Please consider making a contribution that helps Angels’ Place and our children as they navigate the current pandemic.

We pray for the peace that passes understanding during a time of uncertainty, and for the lovingkindness of God to pass through us and into the world that so needs our generous action.

Please, do not hesitate to reach out to us with your questions and concerns.

Dreams Fulfilled!

Before coming to Angels' Place, these children you see pictured would never have dreamed of becoming a teacher, a social worker, or a bank officer.  They knew well, without an education and support, it could never happen, so they pushed their dreams aside.  But just last month, they completed a career survey, the first step on a path toward fulfilling those buried dreams.

One of the most important things we do at Angels' Place is help the children become successful and productive members of their community.  Of course, providing a good foundational education is a big part of achieving that objective.  But that is just the beginning of what we do.  There is much happening inside the walls of Angels' Place you may not even be aware of - far beyond the basics of math and science.  Career counseling is just one example.

First, the children from classes 8-12 completed the survey to assess their personal strengths and interests.  In addition to obvious questions about their favorite subjects in school and extra-curricular activites, there were also questions like:  "What challenge excites you?" and "What impact do you want to have in the world?".   There were also questions designed to help counselors identify potential psychological and emotional barriers to their success so they might better guide them through these obstacles.  Once the surveys were complete, each individual child had a one-on-one counseling session to discuss their responses and help them develop some career goals suited to their unique interests and personality.  As of this date, counseling sessions for all children in classes 8-9 have been completed and upper grades are currently in process.

We are so proud of the many children of Angels' Place who have gone on to successfully pursue their dreams, to become productive healthy members of their community  - and the world.  But there are so many more still waiting for someone like you to open the door of opportunity for them.  To learn more about what you can do, visit our Ways to Help page today.

Our New Vocational Director

This year Angels’ Place added a new staff member, Sangi Duhlian. Sangi’s primary responsibilities will be overseeing the new vocational program at Angels’ Place and providing academic counseling and mentorship to support the learning of the children there. She was contacted about the position in early 2019, and the opportunity to help the children held immediate appeal. She began her new position earlier this year, and we are delighted to report on the expansion of the staff and the program growth that comes with it.

Sangi comes to Angels’ Place with substantial credentials in education and work experience. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work, and completed a second master’s degree (MPhil) in December 2018, right before coming to the orphanage. Her years of education and work include participation in multiple conferences, where she has explored issues of social services and health care in rural India.

Her position at Angels’ Place follows a family history of service to the community. Sangi says that she grew up in a family that always puts faith into action. Her grandparents and parents are “always accepting and helping the needy,” and she continues by saying “they always believe in the principle that when you serve the needy, you serve God.” In her childhood, her father would bring her to spend time with orphans and destitute children, and as she grew, the wish to serve continued. In college and then in her graduate studies, she has pursued study of social work in order to help those in need, especially women and children. “I started developing a strong determination for working for society and giving back to the community to weave change.”

It is wonderful to add Sangi’s sense of generosity and caring to the community of Angels’ Place. In our next article, we will talk more about the program where Sangi will be working.

Angel of the Week: Lal

About the Angel of the Week Project: From 2014-2019 we featured stories about some of the amazing children living at Angels' Place. Each child received a special recognition presented personally by Jan, our founder, when he visited the orphanage the following year. The children were delighted when they were chosen to tell their story!

The first Angel we want you to meet is Lal, a cheerful young boy who dreams of being a scientist one day.

You see, Lal loves animals and he wants to help protect them.  He also knows it takes hard work and a good education to achieve this goal.  It was an impossible dream two years ago before he arrived at Angels' Place.  Today, thanks to his sponsors and the loving support of the caregivers at the orphanage, he dares to consider such a path.

Two years ago, before Lal lost his father to cancer, he was living with his family in a small poor village near the border of Burma (Myanmar).  Food was scarce and Lal remembers often being sick from malnourishment.  Things were pretty bad.  They became even worse when his father passed away and his mother was left with no source of income.   She had no choice but to give up her son.  He had dreams and she could barely feed him let alone get him the education he deserved.

Flash forward to 2019 and Lal is thriving at Angels' Place and talking about his future in a way he would never consider before.  He loves to read and play with his new friends.  The caregivers know him as "a cheerful boy with good leadership qualities".  Most importantly, he is getting the education he needs to pursue his dream of becoming a scientist and helping animals.  His dreams are no longer just the wishful imaginings of a poor destitute child.  Today, thanks to the James Connection, they hold real possibilities and he has the support he needs to make them come true.

There are hundreds of children, just like Lal, on the waiting list to get into Angels' Place.  Children with big dreams but no resources to realize their true potential.  Won't you consider helping one?  Visit our Ways to Help page if you want to learn how.

To read more stories about the children living at Angels' Place, click on "Angel of the Week" under Categories to the right of this page.