Water, just plain water and yet life giving. So easily we take for granted our clean fresh water. Of course, for us who live here in the USA, we are solaced by the fact that the water faucet just needs a small turn and the life giving liquid will flow and usually never do we give it a second thought.

We are genuinely thankful for the opportunity to share and display this material about drilling wells together with Battelle. We want to do our part in providing water to some of the almost 50% in Haiti who have no access to an improved water source.

Some of our schools have no dependable source of clean water. For home use children help by carrying water from the public water sources far away; a stream, a water kiosk or a cistern. Also, many health issues are central to clean water; it is a statistical fact that clean water would reduce the number of deaths caused by diarrhea and other intestinal diseases by 50%.
We want Battell to partner with us and drill the first of many Battelle water wells in Haiti. This is a simple defined project with a clear start and finish, a new working water well.

We drill two sizes of wells in Haiti:

• Star of Hope together with grants from Blue Ridge Drilling in Haiti can drill a new well at a subsidized price in a water poor community for only $5,000 dollars. This will be a simple hand pump unit.
• For $27,000 dollars we can drill and build a solar powered water kiosk. The population served varies.

Let’s just break that down in a different syntax; warnings exist that only one in three on earth will have clean water in the future. Let’s drill now, so we can hedge the expected decrease of water and give improved water to people who have none.

Star of Hope a US 501(C)(3), established (est 1966) helps more than 30,000 children and young people across the world. We strive to motivate the children with an education so they can see a better future not only for themselves but for their communities.

Drilling Wells in Haiti - Project Information694.12 KB

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In our lives, we rely on and are shaped by the actions and influence of others. In our work, we emphasize the importance of understanding a child within their broader context. When our goal is to assist a child, we recognize that, beyond providing direct assistance, we must also collaborate with various individuals, groups, organizations, and government agencies that impact the child's life.

With the child at the center of our focus, we aim to collaborate with societal groups that hold substantial sway over the child's development and future through our projects. By placing this emphasis, our efforts can leave a lasting positive impact on children within a given community. The model we have developed helps us pinpoint the groups we deem most crucial for a child's future.

We often describe our work using four key pillars: free education, providing meals and school lunches, fostering community development, and delivering healthcare services. Once the first three pillars are firmly established, we introduce the fourth pillar, which involves sharing and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Tony B receiving a medical team

Star of Hope believes that local workers are usually the best ones to know the way to help their own people. Because they grew up in their own culture they understand the way people think and reason. They also understand the difficulties faced by the children and their parents. This gives us a strong resource when we evaluate how we work and what efforts we should make to help.

An example of this is Tony and Myrtha in Haiti. Tony lived the life of a poor rural farm boy. He battled for everything he has earned. Because he has lived the life, he understands so well what life is like for the kids we serve. Today Tony and Myrtha are part of what is good in Haiti. They want to make a difference and can fight for the children in ways that you and I cannot.

In Argentina, 40 years ago Tent Mission sent a young missionary to help the Toba people. He married a Toba woman and they have lived in northern Argentina and raised their 4 boys. Kenth became a local. Today he and Alba with two of their boys work tirelessly to share the love of Jesus with the unloved.

Trinidad, Ghana, Kenya, Romania. Star of Hope is blessed to have "Tony's" in every place we work. It is one of our distinctive human capital that we use the locals to manage and make decisions. This is one way that makes it possible for us to say that our projects are some of the most effective and best in the world.

The focus of the work of Star of Hope International is the child and his environment. We work with the various parts of society that touch the child. In addition to assuring that basic daily needs are met, we provide education for the workers at the various projects, provide assistance to parents and work to develop the child's community. When appropriate we encourage local and national governmental authorities to focus on the child.

Every year the world brings disasters, both manmade and natural. Unfortunately, we cannot prevent disasters from happening, but we can assist those affected and help in disaster risk reduction. The right help at the right time can save hundreds of thousands of people.

Aid is given through our local partner organizations and agencies we work with. It is the policy of Star of Hope International America that the organization does not advocate, support or practice unlawful discrimination based on race, religion, age, national origin, language, sex, sexual preference, or physical handicap.

Additionally, in matters of disaster response we have signed the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations in Disaster Relief, which in part reads:

"Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone."

Corruption resisted consistently by strict agreements with our partners. Our efforts are characterized by long-term responsibility. Many of the projects we currently support have started with a disaster response.

Our emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural and manmade disasters. Our efforts are concentrated in the localities where we have a working presence which allows us to quickly and efficiently come to the aid of those in need.

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Star of Hope International provides emergency and reconstruction assistance to victims of both natural and man-made disasters. The correct help at the right time can help save hundreds of thousands of people. Each relief effort that we provide is tailor-made to meet the needs of the people at that time and place. In these efforts, we use professionals who have the knowledge needed for any given situation. The work on the ground is carried out through our local organizations.

Our efforts often become a long-term responsibility. Many of our development projects of today, started as an emergency relief effort.

  Star of Hope Norway is, like the rest of the Star of Hope family, working to give all children a good start in life.

 To give children a good start in life is one of the most important things we can do. To change a nation and a society, we need to focus on what happens tomorrow, and how we can effectively do something about that today. Star of Hope believes with all our heart that the change comes through the up growing generation. That's why we passionately work with children, giving them a good start in life, so that they can influence the society tomorrow. What we have found to be the key is quit simple; Education. But unfortunately many children in developing countries never get the chance to go to school, due to the poor environment they grow up in. This is where Star of Hope comes in. We give children a chance to get a good start in life. When children get the ability to go to school, they also get the tools to change their own future. You can take everything a way from a person except values, knowledge and character. Through education, love and care we can empower children so that they themselves can create development in their own countries and societies, unbound by poverty in all its forms.

Why?

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' Mt 25:40

Star of Hope's staff work around the world and are knowledgeable in many areas. To speak with our people about any relating topics, please contact our media contact.

We have an extensive database of photographs and can give insight into the countries where we work.

On this website you will find the latest news at:

http://starofhope.us/news/latest-news.html

http://starofhope.us/news/blogs.html

Our Flickr database is at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/starofhope/sets/

Our YouTube is on two sites:

http://www.youtube.com/user/starofhopeplay

http://www.youtube.com/user/onekidforme

Our phone number is (620) 564 3355

Our CEO is Mark Presson 1 620 204 186 (five)

Star of Hope® and Star of Hope International® are registered marks of Star of Hope International America Inc, a 501 (c)(3) organization.

It is important to emphasize the equal value of all children, especially the ones who have various disabilities. We work to change attitudes and the continuing education of the people who work with these special children.

We also provide professional assistance with training and rehabilitation. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for these children and their families. We strive to see them integrated into schools and their societies.

Star of Hope Finland is a non-political and religiously non-aligned humanitarian aid organization based upon Christian ethical and moral values. Our work is based upon Christian principles of equal rights and a belief in the intrinsic value of every human being, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion or social standing.

The aim of our activities is to help empower those who are most in need to become self-reliant and to take part in initiating development processes that lead to better living conditions and a fairer distribution of resources. Star of Hope Finland brings help to the most needy persons across the world and fights for the rights of those with disabilities, those with chronic illness, the powerless poor and against elder abuse.

Star of Hope Finland has projects in poor countries around the world. Our priority is on developing countries and the Eastern European block. We are not so small that we cannot take part in major disaster recovery nor too large to give help to the individual in need. When we take on a project or a family we finish the project and are satisfied that the project can sustain itself without our direct assistance.

Children and their environment are the focus of our aid work. We believe that we can take part in the development of the countries we are working in, by helping to provide children with schooling, social care, and build their self-esteem, as well as giving them hope and belief in their own future. We believe that children have the ability to change seemingly hopeless situations for the better. Our work is carried out by supporting orphanages, schools and special schools, as well as helping families living in poverty. In addition to sponsorships, we also have regular humanitarian aid deliveries to Eastern Europe.

The work of Star of Hope is carried out by our local workers and organizations in our project countries. Our local workers have the best knowledge of the particular circumstances in each country and they are best informed as to what the most critical and immediate needs are. Thanks to this, we can use every euro donated in aid more effectively. Our ultimate aim is to eventually make our projects self-reliant.

We help children with schooling, food, health care etc. but our mission is also to enable children to play and have fun – simply, to be children. By helping the children we also hope to have a positive effect/influence on their environment – families, villages and entire societies.

Rigaud Haiti. The rebuild is underway on the main school building that was damaged during the earthquake of January 2010.

Since the earthquake the children have been attending school in makeshift or temporary structures. The education, nutrition and emotional recovery have continued. Know they see the work on the school progressing.

Dennis Thern, Star of Hope reports:

"This morning we went to Rigaud to check on the renovation in Rigaud. It looks good. Work is proceeding well.

The important support walls on the back of the building are almost finished. Work on the front walls (not important for supporting the second floor) will start soon.

The room on top of the building is also going fine. Renovation work is scheduled to be completed in April."

This is the first part of the rebuilding for Rigaud. Much more will be done with your help. Please join the effort with a tax-deductible gift.

Star of Hope International works tirelessly to help in the development of the local villages where we work. Our largest activity is assisting the local people in recognizing their own needs, their own resources, possibilities and helping them find ways to meet the needs they have identified for the community.

At Star of Hope, we prioritize faith in Jesus Christ and sharing the gospel as one of our four pillars.

While some of our projects are purely humanitarian, we also run projects that integrate the gospel into day-to-day activities or specifically focus on evangelism and pastoral training. In disaster relief and projects that meet people's needs, we don't restrict our help based on religion but are ready to share our faith when asked.

Our work in our project countries reflects our Christian values and beliefs.

We are a non-denominational Christian organization.

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 Meet Gustaf Söderberg, a 24 year old man from Sweden, whose response to the 2010 catastrophic earthquake in Haiti was, "I had always wanted to do something to help others. Now I decided to do it". This was his opportunity. Following two weeks of watching and reading reports and doing an independent study of the situation, he recognized that the greatest need would be clean water. In his words, "Without that [clean water] the rest of the rebuilding of the country could not take place."

His research led him to a company [in Sweden] that was producing a piece of equipment that was an ideal for Haiti's need of clean water. It was a water purification machine called a PORTABLE PRO. From the website we read;

The steel-framed Portable Pro is used at the point-of-need, where there is a combined demand for premium water quality and a high volume output. Equipped with wheels, the unit weighs about 125 kg and is easily transported in the terrain. . . . . . Polluted water from the ground, wells, rivers or lakes is purified by removing e.g., particles, odor, taste, heavy metals, bacteria and viruses, in compliance with the quality regulations of the WHO [which means no added chemicals]. Portable purifies between 0,5 and 1up to 264 gallons] of water every hour, is delivered ready to use and does not require skilled personnel for its operation."If you have ever read anything about Haiti or better yet if you have visited Haiti, you know that the specifications listed for this machine could not be a more perfect match for the conditions in Haiti.

According to Gustaf, because of its reputation as a "serious organization and with its longtime knowledge of and presence in Haiti," he chose Star of Hope to be the recipient of this magnanimous gift. As you can imagine, the technology involved in producing such a sophisticated piece of equipment, is costly - $22,000. He spent 10 months procuring the money to purchase the Portable Pro, the majority of the funding came from corporations. He then approached the air freight companies of which one did consent to carry the "precious cargo" to Haiti at NO charge. The normal cost would have been $2,000.

As soon as the Pro arrived in Haiti and had cleared customs, Gustaf then traveled to Haiti, at his own expense. He wanted to make sure they understood the versatility of this wonderful machine as well as show them how to use it.

The Star of Hope Haiti staff chose the school in Rigaud to receive this machine. The school project is well managed and they have an adequate supply of water to take full advantage of the machine's capabilities to purify large quantities of water. That increases the probability of a sustained operation. Machine, power, water tanks and plumbing will all be installed inside the school yard.

The plan is to sell the excess potable water. This will benefit the entire community. A small kiosk, like the one in the picture below, will be built with a window that opens outside the school yard. People will be able to bring their own containers and purchase water. The funds generated from these sales will provide money for the maintenance and expendable supplies the machine uses.

Star of Hope Haiti, just like every other Star of Hope operation, sets a yearly budget January 1st for all school operations. The money is designated for all of the various projects. The Portable Pro is in Haiti. It has cleared customs (for a fee) and is ready to be installed. Unfortunately the $16,439 needed to build the kiosk, do the plumbing and purchase the tanks to get to get the project started was not included in the budget.

This is an excellent project because it doesn't just "give" them free, clean water. It also gives them a "business" that will help support the school while combating cholera and other water borne diseases. Undoubtedly, many will assume that the administrators should rob Peter to pay Paul. That is not realistic in these situations. We cannot take food out of the children's mouths even to provide clean water.

For this reason we ask your support to complete this project. Every day that this machine sits idle means more children are getting sick - unnecessarily.

One young man in Sweden committed a great deal of time, effort and money out of his own pocket to realize this project. The greatest amount of time and expense has already been invested. Please consider helping us cross the finish line and get this thing in full production.

It is easy to be a part of this project. Simply make an on-line donation to help complete the installation.

If you are interested in company that produces this machine go to: http://www.josab.com. If you only wish to read more details about this specific machine go to: http://www.josab.com/Brochure/Aqualite_introduction_2007.pdf

Star of Hope International believes that every child deserves access to education, including learning reading, writing, and math.

We prioritize education and support it in various ways, such as building pre-schools, elementary and vocational school complexes, and providing teacher training. Additionally, we provide necessary materials, books, and supplies for classrooms and offer programs for early childhood, elementary, high school, and vocational level education.

We strive to include faith-based teachings in all our schools and grades. We also help children achieve their academic goals, even up to the university level if their sponsor is able to provide support. Furthermore, we provide community education for adults in literacy, agriculture, and self-economic improvement, recognizing that a self-sufficient family unit is vital for a child's success.

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Children should learn to care for themselves and others in their community. We teach biblical manhood and womanhood and aim for children to become positive contributors to their communities. We work with parents, churches, caregivers, and government officials through conferences, workshops, community events, and school programs to achieve this goal. Check our areas of involvement to learn more.

Please check out the various areas of involvement to see exactly how we are working in this area.

WHERE WE WORK

We teach simple effective health care and  provide advanced health care to each child as needed.

People around the world wash their hands with water (when they can get it and it is not always clean water) but very few wash their hands with soap at the critical moments (while cleaning a child, before handling food, after using the toilet). Most neglect using soap out of ignorance and/or believing it must be conserved for laundry and dishes. Handwashing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrheal diseases and pneumonia but sadly it is seldom practiced and is often difficult to promote. If washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could become an ingrained habit it could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention. It could reduce deaths from diarrhea by almost one-half 3and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter 4

You may be asking yourself why using soap is so very important. Using soap takes longer, adding to the time spent washing. Just as when we use grease-cutting detergent for our dishes we use soap to break down the grease that contains the microscopic germs. It is recommended that friction is applied for 20 seconds. That means rubbing hands together in a handwashing motion while singing Happy Birthday two times through. The actual rubbing motion dislodges the germs and when rinsed they are carried off. Washing also leaves the hands smelling nice. The kind of soap is not important. They all work equally well when they are used properly.

The family is vital to a child's development and growth into a mature, secure and productive person. The home is our first school where we learn life's most important lessons. We in Star of Hope International desire to strengthen the family and the role it plays in the development of the child.

One way is to encourage parental involvement in the child's school. At many of our projects, evening classes are held where adults are given the opportunity to learn how to read and write, the importance of nourishing foods and basic healthcare.

Unfortunately, in many locations, the mother is alone in carrying the burden of supporting her family. In these cases, we strive to empower the mothers through education and opportunities to be involved in income generating activities.

A healthy child learns better, is happier, and has a positive outlook on life. Star of Hope focuses on prevention and community health issues as some of the most efficient use of funds and the best way to impact the quality of life.

Water, sanitation, and personal hygiene are all integrated into our school projects. Teaching the best way to wash your hands is a simple but effective method to save lives. Safe drinking water is a major impediment to health in many of our project areas, so water is a key element in our health efforts.

When needed Star of Hope has stepped in with acute and emergency care. Recent examples include Ukrainian refugees and disasters in Haiti.

One goal is to make sure that every child in and around our projects worldwide has safe drinking water, and adequate sanitation and is monitored to assure that they are thriving.

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Star of Hope International is always working to improve the efficiency and outcome of our program. To help us improve it is necessary to measure the results of our work in order to make changes that will see the most efficient and effective use of our people and your donation. This also helps us improve our project to provide continually improving development assistance to children.

What we do not want...

We are constantly learning, evaluating and looking at our work with a critical eye towards the end that we can reach our goals.

Star of Hope International works through local nationals in each nation. We believe that they are the best suited to help children in their own societies. They know the culture, the language and are able to see the true needs of the children. In this way, we strive to use every penny of our resources in the most effective manner.

We hold our partners in the project nations to the same high standards that we hold ourselves too, and that you expect. In each country where we carry on long-term development projects, we work with indigenous organizations, their boards and within the cultural norm for making decisions.

This makes it possible for the recipients of assistance to improve their own lives and contribute to their own development. Their abilities grow along with the confidence to do more. Our goal is to produce positive development across the entire society.