H.E.L.P. Help End Local Poverty is an organization with this mission:

To be a global tribe dedicated to ending extreme poverty by helping to rescue orphans, restore their hope and renew their communities.

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We visited Yahve Shamma today, which is an orphanage and school run by an amazing man named Pastor Gaetan.  And, when I say “amazing”, I really mean it.  Only six weeks ago, there was no school.  It was only the bare side of a hill.  Now, there is a school with over 120 students divided up into 5 classes.

Before January’s earthquake, he was taking care of 14 orphans, as well as his own 2 children.  He now has 32 children in his care.  The real tragedy here is that only a few of the children are “double orphans”, meaning both parents are gone.  Most of the children have been dropped off because the parents could not care for the child any more.  Sometimes, the parent will return, but for most of the children, the Gaetan’s will be the only parents they will have from now on. Read more…