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JULY 2017

Wide Horizons For Children is dedicated to the well-being and security of vulnerable and orphaned children worldwide. To help a needy child, please mail your donation today or give online at whfc-donations.org/make-a-donation. Thank you!

Eight-year-old Libby on the “red couch,” a well-known fixture to our China families, at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou Province just before she arrived home to her new family in the US!

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A sponsored child in Ethiopia graduates

A safe, caring place in Guatemala

Serving up success in Moldova

Libby has a new reason to smileA family YOU helped make possible

A few weeks ago, that day finally came. Today, Libby has a new family. For Kerri, it was an emotional journey. When she first came across Libby’s video, she immediately felt Libby should be part of their

family. But they had just brought home a preschooler and toddler from China, and couldn’t afford to adopt again so soon. There were other pressures: their oldest daughter’s upcoming wedding, and college tuition for another. Nevertheless, Kerri just couldn’t get Libby out of her mind. “We prayed

that God would find her a family, even if it wasn’t us,” she says. Then you helped. Thanks to your donations, Kerri learned there were subsidies available for families who want to adopt kids like Libby — but need

For 8-year-old Libby, it seemed like Xinzhou Orphanage would be the only home she would ever know. Abandoned at birth because of hydrocephalus, she was unable to hold her head up. Even with surgery, Libby would need lifelong care. It felt like she would never be adopted. Yet, her nannies described Libby as a happy, talkative little girl with an infectious smile. Something she talked about most? Finding a mom. It was Libby’s voice that first drew Kerri’s attention. Kerri is mother to 11 children — nine of them adopted. She came across a video of Libby (then known as “Ava”) on Wide Horizons For Children's Facebook page. She was having a conversation on a toy phone with her “pretend” mom. “Come over, pick me up soon,” Libby said. “When are you coming?”

“ We truly can’t thank Wide Horizons For Children donors enough. Because of them, Libby will be cherished and loved like every child deserves." — Kerri, Libby’s mom

José: A safe, caring place in Guatemala Because of you, he still has a home — and lots of love

When José was just a little boy, he was left at Hogar Luz De Fatima — a private home for orphans in Guatemala. His dad was expected to return for him, but that day never came. Then, when international adoptions closed in 2009, José missed his chance to find an adoptive family. Yet, José is one of the lucky ones. He could have been living in an overcrowded, state-run orphanage where 40 children perished in a fire earlier this year.

He wasn’t. And it’s thanks to you. Because of your support, Wide Horizons For Children funds two private hogares in Guatemala. These small, loving homes mean safety and security for kids like José. When José arrived, he was a shy 6-year-old. Slowly, he began to bond with his caretakers, even as hopes for his father returning for him or being adopted slipped away. “José has become an integral part of our family,” explains Barbara Colfino Vides, director of Hogar Luz De

Fatima. “We have watched him grow from a timid child who did not speak into an independent and self-assured teenager who is filled with life and known for his infectious smile.” Today, José is a confident young man because of you. You keep kids who have nowhere else to go healthy and SAFE. Says Barbara: “We are so proud to share how the love and support of our ‘family’ here can produce well-educated and responsible citizens like José.” Our homes are always in need of more resources. If you can, please help another child like José thrive with your donation today. n

I write this letter today as a parent. Because I love my kids, I want them to have the best chance to succeed. This is something we all want for our children. And our kids are lucky enough to get what they need. But it’s different for

children without families. The odds are stacked against them. They face uncertain futures: often alone, without opportunities and with little hope. You're helping to change those odds for thousands of vulnerable children all over the world — one child at a time. Kids like… … Libby from China, born with hydrocephalus, destined never to leave her orphanage. Today, she has an amazing new family and a home full of love, thanks in part to adoption subsidies your gifts helped fund; … José from Guatemala, who was spared life in an overcrowded, unsafe public orphanage, because of your support for our hogares; … Dawit from Ethiopia, who once battled hunger and dreamed of attend-ing school, now a university teacher, all because you sponsored him; … and Lydia from Moldova, who faced life on the streets but now has a job and a safe place to live, thanks to vocational training you made possible. These are real stories of real lives changed. And YOU are the reason. On behalf of these children — and so many others like them who are beating the odds — thank you for your kindness and generosity.

Janice HoffmanPresident and CEO

Kids are beating the odds, thanks to you

José today — independent and self-assured

José at age 11 with Barbara Colfino Vides, Director of Hogar Luz De Fatima, and today (below). Your support kept José out of a dangerous public orphanage and made sure he was surrounded by loving, well-trained staff.

Thanks to his sponsor, Dawit was able to earn his degree from Mekelle Institute of Technology in Tigray, Ethiopia, and has been appointed an associate lecturer at the university.

Dawit: A sponsored child in Ethiopia graduatesThanks to you, he has a bright future

You have the power to change a life When you sponsor a child, you change everything for them. Our sponsors are currently supporting nearly 600 poor children in Ethiopia — children like Dawit.

You can help them build a brighter future.

Make no mistake. These children know someone is rooting for them! They know someone far away cares.

Transform your own life. Sponsors tell us they have been transformed by their connection with their sponsored child.

There are many others like Dawit who dream of going to school. Can you help? Please visit whfc.org TODAY to get started! n

Dawit and his grandmother once lived with little hope. But your giving changed their lives!

As an orphan growing up poor in Ethiopia, Dawit could not have imagined that one day, someone he never met would step up and be his hero ... and change his life forever. Dawit lost both parents when he was small. He and his siblings were raised by their elderly grandmother. She tried her best to provide for them, but couldn’t do it alone. So Dawit spent most of his time helping in any way he could. With all his responsibilities, he wasn’t able to focus on his studies. He knew that an education was the best path out of poverty.

Then, a kind and generous friend like you became his sponsor. Sponsorship provides a small monthly stipend that pays for basic necessities, as well as family counseling and support. That’s how it was for Dawit, a hard-working young man who only needed an opportunity and someone to believe in him. Someone like you. Because of sponsorship, Dawit could finally focus on his studies. Grateful for the chance he was given, he worked as hard as he could … even making it through college. He attended Mekelle Institute of Technology in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where he

graduated with a near-perfect 3.97 GPA from the computer science and engineering program. Today, Dawit has a bright future. He has been appointed an associate lecturer at the university — a job that allows him to help his family. Because of you, Dawit and his loved ones don’t have to wonder whether they’ll have enough to eat or if they can attend school. Thank you for changing a life. n

“ I owe my success to the generous donors at Wide Horizons For Children who believed in me. I am so grateful for all you’ve done.” — Dawit

help with the costs. “We just knew this was our sign to proceed,” she says. Because of friends like you, Libby no longer has to pretend she has a family. She has the real thing — big sisters and brothers who can’t wait to spoil her, and parents who will cherish her every day. “Libby is quite an amazing little girl,” says Kerri. “She’s incredibly bright, funny, happy, determined — and so much more! I can’t wait until she starts speaking English, so we can understand all she has to say. I don’t think it will take her long with so many brothers and sisters to teach her.”Thanks to your gifts, parents who want to adopt children with medical needs but need financial help can now create new families. You connect kids waiting to be loved with families longing to love them. n

Libby has a new reason to smile

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Together we change

lives!DONATE TODAY

Return the enclosed card with your gift,

or donate online at:whfc-donations.org/make-a-donation

Wide Horizons For Children375 Totten Pond RoadSuite 400Waltham, MA 02451800-729-5330781-894-5330contact@whfc.orgwhfc.org

Libby with mom Kerri in China. “I couldn’t wait to get her home so she could meet the rest of the family.”

Serving up success

Lydia, 17, was once like many destitute teenagers in Moldova: alone and without hope. Now she has a job and a future — all because of you.

When she was a young child, Lydia’s mother died. She was sent to a state boarding school to live.

The sad reality is that children like Lydia often "age out" of state care without jobs or a place to live. Desperate, many turn to crime or prostitution. Others fall victim to street violence, drugs or human trafficking.

Not Lydia. She had you by her side. Today, Lydia works as a chef in Chisinau, Moldova’s capital city, all thanks to vocational training funded by your gifts.

Since 2008, Wide Horizons For Children has partnered with Insula Sperantelor — "Island of Hope” — to provide job skills, employment, and housing for young adults facing life on the streets. Nearly 100 Wide Horizons-supported students have graduated from this life-changing program.

And you’re the reason why. Thank you for giving Lydia a brighter future.

Vocational training costs $1,400 per year, or you can give a $500 scholarship to help with housing and job placement. Imagine the difference you can make. To donate, please visit whfc.org today. n

You helped Lydia learn job skills and become independent

“ Thank you for this chance,” says Lydia, in a letter to her sponsor. “May God bless you with much joy, happiness, and love.”