VeAhavta Volunteers Make Television Appeal
Amidst a decades-old civil war, in one of the world's most impoverished regions, and recently challenged by one of history's deadliest natural disasters, the island nation Sri Lanka faces a complicated struggle on many levels.
From the perspective of the Grace Care Center in northeastern port town Trincomalee, VeAhavta volunteers appeared recently on "A Closer Look," a public affairs program aired in the Detroit area on CBS affiliate WWJ-TV. Click here to see the entire program. (Requires Adobe Flash Player; get it here.)
To help understand the crisis facing Sri Lanka - and the children and elders of Grace Care Center - this 22-minute appearance outlines the nation's recent history, the establishment of VeAhavta and the orphanage complex, and the challenges of an uncertain future.
Southeast Michigan volunteers appearing on the program were reporter James Mitchell, pharmacist Lori Kostoff, teacher Erin Whaley, Mercy Home co-planner Dr. Cheryl Huckins, attorney Lynn Helland and physical therapist Tara Rondy (who is among the most recent team to visit Grace during an early August 2008 trip).
The situation for our neighbors in Sri Lanka has not, sadly, improved for the children, elders and staff of the Grace Care Center in Trincomalee. In spite of generous donations of time, money and effort by VeAhavta's volunteers and supporters, more funding is needed to help our friends maintain the Center and survive long enough to know peace in their beautiful, troubled land.
VeAhavta would like to thank "A Closer Look" producer Kris Kelly, host Ken Bryant, Jr. and the staff of WWJ-TV for their support and cooperation.
Donors can financially sponsor children and elders for a modest sum ($30/month for children; $40/month for elders). Sponsorship is easy to do, online (click here) or by completing and mailing a donation form. When you sponsor, you will receive a profile of your child or elder (including photographs), a document entitled "Sponsorship FAQs") and a yearly update. (To see a sample profile, click here.)
(Our thanks to James Mitchell for contributing this article.)
