Orphanage Is Progressing Right Along…

The master plan for the orphanage is to have a total of 6 homes with 24 kids per home. We have completed 3 of those homes to date. There’s still a lot to be done but I’m really happy with the progress so far!

If you remember the orphanage right now is 3 buildings connected with one wall that faces the street. Eventually every single house will be a set up like dorms. For now each home serves a different purpose.

HOUSE 1

Sleeping – The 1st house we will use as a bedroom for the orphans. We will have 22 beds in this bunkhouse. There are 6 triple bunk beds and 4 double bunk beds. The beds are welded together so every single bunk is like a full-size bed. So if three children want to sleep together – there’s more than enough space! We also will have two cribs and a toddler bed for our littlest ones.

Storage – We made little cubbies on the wall. Any personal items that the children have can be put in their own special cubby. I need to collect cloth drawers that will slide in and out of those cubbies. Under every set of bunk beds there will be a 3-drawer dresser.

As you see in the pictures the bedroom is a work in progress but we are moving along rapidly!

House 2

We are using the middle home as a playroom. We currently don’t have an area for the kids to play in that’s protected from the elements. So this is just one open space that we hope to fill with some toys and things the kids can play with. (The room was locked so I couldn’t get a picture today).

House 3

We are using the 3rd house as part of an Operational Depot and Clinic. On one side we will have sick beds, medicines, and a nurse’s station. On the other side we are building shelves to put all the food, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, toiletry items, etc.

Housing/Shower Area

We currently have 8 showers and 8 bathrooms. Instead of using shower curtains (which offer little privacy on a windy day) we  are now installing wooden doors! 🙂

Sandbox

In between home 1 & home 2 we are creating a large sandbox! Since the kids won’t have a lot of toys this will be a great play area for them! We will be getting the sand on Saturday!

Little Kitchen Area

Eventually the children will be eating over in the large cafeteria we just built. But for right now we will be using this area to prepare the food. We will have picnic tables on the porch of the 2nd home for them to eat at.

Securing the Courtyard

Our campus is under constant construction. Our next project is the school. In order to provide some security for our orphans we have fenced in the orphanage area! This way the kids can play in the courtyard without us worrying that they’ve wandered off.

Well – we’ve gotten a lot done and still have a lot left to do! It’s amazing what can be accomplished in just a few days! We remain confident that we will still open the first week of March!