Dear Friends and Family,
Each morning after second period, C. meets me in the building where we run our after-school program, and we spend an hour working on basic reading, writing and math skills. Although C. is 11 years old and is just learning the alphabet, it doesn’t matter to me. We are seeing growth. We are seeing movement. And we celebrate each small step forward.
Yesterday C. wrote his name for the first time. Eyes brightened by his accomplishment, he proudly showed his notebook to the others, and then we celebrated by playing a computer game for the last five minutes of tutoring time.
And we have many other reasons for celebration. I., a 10-year-old girl who lost both of her parents last year, is developing and learning in ways we never dreamed possible. T., a ninth grade girl who has given up on ever contacting her mother, is a role model for the other children not only in the way she helps them at homework time but also in the way she loves God. M., a 10-year-old boy who suffers from hydrocephalus and related behavioral problems, is learning to control himself and to play with other children. L., a 13-year-old girl who couldn’t sit in one place at the beginning of the school year, finished an art project yesterday all by herself.
While these baby steps forward are certainly a reason for celebration, we have begun asking ourselves how we can effectively support these children long-term. What obstacles will they face in the near future? Where do we want them to end up?
In 2007 a reform process of the residential care system for socially vulnerable children in Moldova began. There are currently over 8,000 children living in state-run residential institutions in the country, but this number is being reduced each year. Teams of social workers and psychologists are working to reintegrate these children into their biological families or with relatives, if possible, or otherwise into foster care or placement homes. The school where we run our after-school program is no exception as we are already seeing children with whom we have relationship being reintegrated into their families. It is likely that within the next five years, the school will no longer provide residential care for socially vulnerable children but will take on some other form yet unknown to us.
The question we are asking now is how we can best support and be present to these children and their families as they go through this transition. Many of the families are unprepared to take care of their children full-time for a variety of reasons, while others simply cannot afford the added expense of childcare.
One of the goals we set for ourselves for the 2011-2012 school year was to begin to get to know the families of the children with whom we work by making home visits on Fridays. We don’t yet have a plan for exactly how long-term support would look, but again, as our program for children was birthed in relationship, we want any support we offer to families to flow out of relationship with them. We believe that a family environment is the best environment for these children, and even though we don’t yet have a clear picture of how we could walk with someone like C. through the reintegration process, we do know that we want to be present to these families in whatever way we can. Please pray for us as we begin to deepen these relationships and continue seeking to celebrate small steps forward.
In other news, Rachel and I have been looking over our personal budget for 2012 and want to share that with you now. We have begun to notice over the last few months that the monthly outflows in our support account are beginning to exceed the inflows. As we look into 2012, we are in need of at least 25 more people to begin partnering with us by donating at least $20 per month. Included you will find an automated deduction form if you are interested in having your donation automatically deducted from your bank account. While large one-time donations are extremely helpful and appreciated, we really need the consistency of smaller monthly donations (even $5 a month helps!) to be able to budget and plan appropriately.
Following is our projected budget for 2012. Our desire is to be as transparent as possible about our financial needs with you, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Also, for clarity’s sake, this budget is just for Rachel’s and my personal needs. It does not cover La VIA’s (our local organization) ministry expenses. Donations to our personal account can be made by designating “John & Rachel Koon” under staff support, while donations to La VIA can be made by designating “Moldova” under ministry support. If you are not sure which account to donate to, please give to our personal account as we always transfer any surplus funds we receive to the Moldova support account.
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2012 Personal Budget |
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| Take-home Salary (day-to-day living expenses) |
$10,200 |
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| U.S. Income Taxes |
$1,800 |
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| Living Permit Expenses (to reside legally in Moldova) |
$350 |
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| Travel Expenses (includes airfare, field visits and staff conferences) |
$3,620 |
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| Health Insurance |
$5,300 |
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| Administrative Expenses (includes postage, printing, donor relations) |
$1,000 |
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| Staff Development (includes language lessons, books, continuing education, counseling and spiritual direction) |
$1,800 |
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| Medical (the equivalent of our insurance policy’s deductible for two persons) |
$2,000 |
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| Administrative and Processing Fees (allowing the U.S. office to continue supporting staff members all over the world) |
$3,895 |
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| Total Annual Need |
$29,965 |
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We are grateful to all of you for the prayers, notes, phone calls and financial donations that make our presence here possible. We look forward to sharing with you more small reasons for celebration as we see seeds of faith, hope and love growing among our children and their families.
With love,
R & J