RECENT PROJECTS
CHRISTMAS WITH NO PRESENTS?
Imagine Christmas with no presents and no food for the children. That was the situation in Brazil, when the Curitiba Cancer Hospital contacted Dr Gammons. Receiving no government finances, the hospital is home to children with terminal cancer. Immediately we responded with hundreds of presents and months of food supplies. The Hospice Director, expresses the gratitude of the children to you precious donors, when she writes:
“How can we ever say ‘Thank You’? We had cancelled our annual Christmas meal at the Children’s Cancer Hospice, as we had no food or finances, and receive no government support. The children were so upset, as it was all they had to look forward to. You see, the sad reality is, their parents have left them here to be cared for until they die. Then ECHO came to the rescue; not only providing food for Christmas and the New Year Celebrations, but for weeks to come and hundreds of present for the children. It means so much to them as for many this may be their last Christmas.”
HOPE FOR BRAZIL’S STREET CHILDREN
Reports of six policemen caught shooting and killing the ‘street children,’ brought the plight of Brazil’s mass homelessness to the world’s attention. Thousands of children, many as young as three years of age, sleep under cardboard each night, having run to the big cities to escape parental violence, abuse or poverty.
“We are doing all we can to feed these children,” Dr Gammons explained, “But, how I wish we had the finances to do more.”
The ECHO team go into the most dangerous and notorious areas of Brazil’s favelas taking food, clothing and bedding for the homeless – entering sections even the police are afraid to enter!
Nine-year-old Sami, is an example of what your support is accomplishing. She had never in her life owned or even worn a pair of shoes, that is until Dr Gammons and the ECHO team distributed thousands of shoes, clothes, toys and food packages to the poor and homeless in her favela (illegal housing community - see photo above).
Your gift today can help us to continue setting up similar rescue centers for the world’s poorest cities.
SOMEONE IN NIGERIA IS PRAYING FOR YOU.
Someone in Nigeria is praying for you! Let me explain why. When little Sari Saidu was born with a cleft lip and palate his parents were broken hearted. His father was a poor farm worker and knew that he would never be able to afford surgery. So, they did the only thing they knew how to do – they prayed for God to send help. Six years passed and they still had not given up believing. Thanks to you, ECHO Partners, Sari was one of many surgeries we were able to sponsor.
Overwhelmed with emotion at the unbelievable change following surgery, Sari’s mother kept saying, “Thank your donors for doing this for my child. May the Almighty God reward you abundantly.” His father added, “You have been an answer to our prayer, so now we are praying for you, may God help you, as your helped us.”
HOPE FOR YUXIANG (CHINA)
When their son Yuxiang Li was born with a cleft lip, Mr. Li, from the Heran province of China, was devastated. Yuxiang was his first son, and he knew in his province the boy would be rejected because of his deformity. Living in poverty, Mr. Li knew he would never be able to afford to pay for surgery.
Then an ECHO sponsored team of surgeons came to little Yuxiang’s village and performed the surgery free of charge.
Mr. Li writes, “We really appreciate your love, donor! You have given my son a new start and brought us joy. ECHO has now given my child the opportunity to grow normally and happily in his future life.”
Thank you ECHO Partners! Let us keep changing precious little lives and bringing hope to the world!
MIRACLE MEALS
The ECHO EMERGENCY MEALS™ were developed by leading nutritional experts. They contain chicken, soy and rice with 22 vitamins and minerals and six vegetables. They themselves have been hailed a ‘Miracle’ by doctors who have witnessed children dying of malnutrition make incredible recoveries.
ECHO has shipped out literally hundreds of thousands of these meals on your behalf. Up until recently we kept 500,000 meals on standby ready to respond to emergencies around the world. However, financial restraints have meant that we recently had to give up our food storage warehouse. Please help us to quickly resolve this.
REPAIRING BROKEN DREAMS
When you give to ECHO, you have no idea whose lives you are changing forever!
Today, if you looked at little Linlin from Luoyang City, China, you would never know the pain this pretty little girl has been through.
Six years prior, when she was born, her parent’s dreams were shattered. Seeing the severe facial deformities of their newborn baby (who was born with a cleft lip and palate), they were overcome with sorrow and gave her away to another family. Two months later the foster parents returned her, also overwhelmed by Linlin’s deformity. As the little girl grew, she was continually teased by other children and unable to speak, because of the severity of her cleft palate.
Then someone told Linlin’s parents about ECHO sponsored surgery and their lives were forever changed.
“She is so beautiful now and able to speak,” Linlin’s mother excitedly shared, with tears in her eyes. “Thank you! I do not need to worry now.”
PASS ON THE LOVE
When four-year-old Yu Fu was born in the Xin’ar District of China with a congenital cleft palate, her father could not accept the fact. She was also unable to breast-feed as any food given to her flowed through her nose. As she grew she was also unable to speak properly, because of the massive hole in the roof of her mouth.
Were it not for you precious ECHO Partners, little Yu Fu would have been condemned to a life of hardship and sorrow.
The good news is Yu Fu is another of the small children whose life has been turned around through surgery sponsored by ECHO’s donors.
Her father asked us to tell you, “If it was not for you we could never afford the surgery. You have given her a new start. We will teach her to pass on your love to others.”
AFRICA'S ORPHAN GENERATION
SOME ALARMING FIGURES
29.4 Million Africans have HIV AIDS
2.4 Million deaths a year in Africa from AIDS
1 Million children under 15 are HIV positive
50% Of the population of many cities are HIV positive
42 Million AIDS orphans
Every month 200,000 people die in Africa from preventable diseases, the equivalent of a tsunami every month! Unfortunately the amount given to assist them is very low.
Ugandan health care workers report that in some villages 40% of newborn babies are HIV positive and 65% of secondary school students are AIDS orphans.
Since 1988 ECHO has been active in caring for the orphans of AIDS. Over twenty five years ago, Dr. Gammons, built the first AIDS Orphans Village in Kampala, Uganda which he called the 'Reach out Village', to care for 250 precious children, who had lost their parents to the AIDS epidemic.
Today, the need is even greater. In Uganda alone 1.7 million children are now orphans as a result of AIDS.
PLEASE CALL NOW AND DONATE A GENEROUS GIFT TO HELP US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Work on the second floor nears completion.
Some of the first children to live in the orphans village
Dr Gammons friend, the late Prime Minister and Vice President, Samson Kisseka officially opened the orphans village.
ECHO ASKED TO PARTNER WITH PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT
Manila Mayor, Lito Atienza awards Dr Gammons the key to the City of Manila, the highest award. Already feeding thousands in Manila, at a Christmas day meeting, Dr Gammons presented the President with a stratergy to eliminate child hunger in the Philippines.
Some of the homes of the families that the E.C.H.O feeding program help to feed.
. The people line to receive food packages from Dr Gammons and the ECHO team
Dr Gammons takes a few moments out from food distribution to play basket ball with some of the towns young people.
IDEA: GET A JAR, PUT AN 'ECHO' LOGO ON IT AND START A 'CHANGE FOR CHANGE' FUNDRAISING PROJECT IN YOUR STORE OR WORK PLACE.
HURRICANE RELIEF
"Bush pledges Katrina Probe"
"President suggest Bureaucracy to blame for slow response"
"Congress investigates 'woeful' effort"
These headlines, from the Financial Times, illustrate why ECHO needs your support NOW!
On day one after Hurricane Katrina struck we immediately dispatched a quarter of a million emergency meals, four days before the "Red Cross" arrived. With flights cancelled, Dr Gammons and truck loads of meals drove down to New Orleans to set up emergency food stations.
Sadly, FEMA (the Government Agency) turned up days late and proceeded to mess things up further, turning away rescue boats, food supplies and offers of airlifts, even as people lay starving and dying on the streets.
Despite the immensity of the crisis a very foolish appeal was also made by FEMA to "Only support Red Cross". As a relief agency who has provided food for hundreds of thousands of hurricane victims, Dr Gammons was shocked to say the least by this irresponsibe comment. He stated:
1. Red Cross is not a Government agency.
2. I am impressed by thier handling of finances, when the average donor is an old lady sacrificing from her pension, yet directors like the CEO of Red Cross draw saleries of up to almost half a million dollar a year (figure for 2005 from their annual accounts).
3. May share my view that the eight billion dollars donated annually to Red Cross could be used far more effectively by many of the smaller ''hands-on' relief charities which are driven by compassion and served by volunteers.
Your gift to ECHO today, will help us to make a difference to thousands of lives.
