Bhawani Children's Home is being rebuilt, thanks to Austin Ventures!

With the help of Austin Ventures and several generous donors, The Miracle Foundation is proud to announce that we are building a new Children’s Home that will house over 200 orphans between the ages of 5 and 12 years old, near the site of the current Bhawani Home for Children location a few miles outside the city of Jharsuguda in the state of Orissa, India.

 

The Bhawani Home for Children was taken over by The Miracle Foundation in March of 2007, and since that time some improvements have been made to the structure, but thanks to a commitment by Ken DeAngeles from Austin Ventures, a much needed, new structure is being built in 2009.

Ken visited Bhawani in 2007 with other Ambassadors and agreed that the current structure provided shelter, but it just wasn’t big enough or equipped enough to nurture the 200 children that were living there. The structure is one large building and currently serves as both their home and their school. In addition, Bhawani supports about 50 children from the surrounding villages who come to the orphanage each day to attend school and receive meals. This service is provided free to the villagers by a program The Miracle Foundation started when we took over; it is our current Lunch & Learn program.

In 2008, Ken came to us and offered help. Ken and Austin Ventures committed to raising half the funds necessary to build a new structure; $150,000! With that commitment, The Miracle Foundation was able to purchase land near the current site to build the new children’s home. In November of 2008, several generous donors stepped up and committed to sponsor cottages, cafes, playgrounds and other structures to create a more substantial home for these children. Once the home is built, the current building will serve as their school.

Thank you to these generous donors!
(list of donors from the Nov fundraiser and the building/cottage they are sponsoring about 30 people)

The Miracle Foundation goal is to create an intimate family environment for the children, where they receive individual attention from their housemothers. Each cottage will house 10 children and their housemother, with two cottages sharing a café or common area for meals. The cottages are built around the playground and cricket field, where the children can play. Our core philosophy is to follow the family principle as close as possible, with attachment to parents and the feeling of a home, being the most important.

Construction on the new Austin Ventures Children’s Home has begun, and our Grand Opening is scheduled for March of 2010. Thank you to Ken DeAngeles, Austin Ventures, and the generous donors listed above for creating this miracle!

It’s not too late to help with the finishing touches for the new Austin Ventures Children’s Home. Visit the Give a Miracle catalog at www.MiracleFoundation.org to donate furnishings and other items to fill these cottages.