We are grateful for our sponsors, donors, and supporters who give generously all year long. Each November, Global Servants participates in Giving Tuesday, a global movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple day encouraging people to do good. It has grown into a movement that inspires hundreds of millions worldwide to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. We are excited to celebrate our Giving Tuesday 2021 success with humility and gratitude.
As we reflect on Giving Tuesday 2021, the most important thing we want to say is “Thank You!” In keeping with our focus on education, we believe that teaching our girls real-world skills that give them a leg up in life is very important to their long-term success. We are teaching these skills by providing textile arts vocation labs at both Houses of Grace. In Thailand and Ghana, being a seamstress is a very sought-after skill that yields a comfortable way of living.
Communication is the key to success in any organization. This is especially true for Global Servants, where we rely heavily on computers to keep us in touch with our international team members. With the donations received last Giving Tuesday, we were able to equip the Thai team with new desktop computers and the Ghana team with iPads and printers. We are excited to be able to increase communication between our teams, the girls, and our wonderful sponsors. Thank you!
Global Servants provides education pathways for more than just our House of Grace residents. We also offer education to children through our village initiatives and Trinity Foundation School at our West Africa headquarters in Anwamaso, Ghana. Keeping our children up with the world of technology benefits them during their initial education and as they enter college and the workforce. We are excited about the new computer lab at Trinity Foundation School and all of the possibilities it opens up.
Do you know how much it costs to ship $10,000 worth of books to Ghana? A LOT. When we initially tried to purchase the books for our new library from Scholastic, the cost was about equal for the books and shipping. Several titles were blocked from shipping to Ghana, and there were few Christian literature choices. We purchased some of the books from Christianbook.com, and the rest from Book Depository. Both companies shipped to our USA office for free. We sent some of the books by mail and brought another 150lbs of books with us on our most recent trip to Ghana. The girls have been waiting patiently for our arrival to open the boxes.
The new library is being constructed as part of the three-story vocational lab building. The bottom encompasses the bakery, the second floor is a beauty salon, and the top contains the library. Work on this new building should be completed very soon.
In Thailand, the new vocation labs at House of Grace are fully functional. Our girls are learning to make all-natural, organic soaps and cleaning products in the soap lab. The bakery is a massive hit with cookies and confections. We are fortunate to have team members available to teach in both labs.
As we began work at both homes to incorporate the new vocational labs and build a spirit of entrepreneurship, it became apparent that the girls had many great ideas for their future small businesses. At this time, everything the girls produce in the labs is used at the home or given as gifts. However, some girls may start a product line when they leave House of Grace. It is our desire for every girl to be able to financially support herself. We realize that university is not the ideal option for everyone, and we want to ensure that all of the girls feel they have the skills necessary to become financially stable.
Thank you for being so supportive and making these opportunities possible! We are so grateful for your support. We praise God for every girl at House of Grace.
