Alaska Catholic students accomplish project for East African orphans

WASILLA — Students from Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School (OLV) in Wasilla accomplished their mission of sending gift boxes 11,000 miles from Alaska to a group of 30 orphans in Tanzania, East Africa.

Sent this past winter, the gift boxes arrived in July for the children at Christ Hope Orphanage in Tanzania. The effort began with a request from Elaine Bradford of International Evangelism Outreach, an Evangelical Christian organization that runs schools, hospitals, trade schools and churches in Tanzania. Students and staff at OLV answered the ecumenical the call for help with zeal.

Beginning last fall, students and teachers worked on the project, earning money for practical necessities as well as requesting donations from local businesses for toys to place in the gift boxes.

Opened in 2007, Christ Hope Orphanage houses 30 children with an eventual goal of 200. Each child is sponsored at $30 a month to meet their needs while at the orphanage, but additional costs require gifts beyond the monthly support. According to the orphanage website, “AIDS, alcohol and illness take many lives in Africa, leaving children parentless.”

The gift project at OLV was organized around the central idea of filling a shoebox-sized gift box for each orphan. The boxes were uniform so each orphan received the same gifts, but the boxes were also personalized in that the students from OLV wrote letters to each recipient. The basic needs of the orphanage were evident in the contents requested for the gift boxes: metal spoons, washcloths and toothbrushes. Students at OLV added little extras such as crayons, miniature balls and action figures or dolls.

They also sent religious items such as small crosses and rosaries. The project required students to earn money to purchase items for the boxes. Each student was asked to earn at least $3. By the end, they had amassed more than $150 through performing chores like washing dishes, vacuuming and “cleaning under my bed.”

The personalized letters describe life in Alaska, including stories about family life and the beauty of the wilderness. One student stated that it was a way to “share Alaska” with the orphans. Another student eagerly explained, “We had joy in what we were doing.”

The project aimed to teach students of Jesus’ command to love one another.

—Joel Davidson/Karen Smith