Times

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Dear Friends and Family of Fridsro,

I have just returned from a trip to Sri Lanka and Fridsro and my heart and mind are full. It was a busy time, touring some of our projects and catching up with all the kids and family. I was blessed to be able to be there for the memorial service for the 3rd death anniversary of my mom’s home-going and though I still miss her everyday it always comforts and amazes me when I see all the lives she has touched and how her legacy lives on in all the Fridsro kids.

There is a lot to catch you up on regarding the work - it has been a busy and happy time for us! In the following pages you will find some updates from our kids, reports from Vaddavan (the community we helped rebuild after the 2004 Tsunami), updates from the Community Based Rehabilitation Project that serves the special needs community in Sri Lanka and news from an exciting new project we are starting with a village in the East Coast where people affected by the war are building their lives afresh.

As always we cannot do any of this work without you - we are bringing you messages from two of our wonderful supporters as they share why they are involved in the work at Fridsro. We will be bringing you their stories in our next couple of updates and you can read about them right now on our website at www.fridsro.org. Steve and Kerima from Australia have been helping us and providing Christmas gifts to the kids at Fridsro for many years now. Mia from Denmark has started a wonderful, innovative project that you can read about as well as her motivation for doing so in the next few pages. As more and more people start thinking of new and exciting ways to be involved in the work at Fridsro we can help more and more. Thank you for everything that you all do - we are more than grateful!

As always for more information on any of our projects or to submit a question of comment please don’t hesitate to e-mail me and we will be pleased to help you in any way we can.

training and collecting supplies for this venture. We are very excited that God is giving us the opportunity to let other people benefit from the

,

.

Contact information is on the last page or please e-mail me directly at lorena@fridsro.org

I S S U E 4 : March 2010

On behalf of everyone at Fridsro as we labor together for equality, justice and peace

LORENA

,

a and Steve

Kerima has been a friend of Jacob and Anna Greta for many years, even having attended their wedding in Sri Lanka. She saw their sacrifice as they began their work to help poor orphaned children providing them with food, shelter and most importantly love, whilst raising children of their own. It was at that point that Kerima made a promise to herself that when she was in a position to, that she would help in the work of providing for the children of Fridsro. Despite the numerous years that passed and the various challenges that life had dealt her, Kerima never forgot that promise. In 1994, Kerima was involved in a conversation with friends about what they would do if they won the lotto. After telling her friends that she would donate a large sum of money to Fridsro, God spoke to her saying that Fridsro needed her help now. After explaining this to her husband, Steve, they immediately agreed to begin assisting Fridsro and started sending them financial assistance. After doing this for a few years, they decided to organise Christmas gifts for each one of the children at Fridsro. And with the help of family and friends they have done so, ever since. Their motivation was to ensure that each child knew that God loved them so much, that he would encourage a couple from a distant land to buy them gifts to celebrate the birth of his Son, Jesus.

STEVE AND KERIMA

How can people do the same?“What we are doing – anyone can do. All that is required is the desire to make a difference in someone’s life. Living in Melbourne, Australia, we have so much to be thankful for – we have been truly blessed and to see that children in Sri Lanka are deprived of the basic things we take for granted, just inspired us to make a difference. You too, can do what we are doing – it all begins with a decision – a decision to make a differ-ence in the life of a child.” Kerima and Steve.

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CBR Update

The Fridsro Community Based Rehabilitation Project is entering it’s 11th year now and we are blessed to have served over 1 million people with disabilities in Sri Lanka and currently have a volunteer force of 14,000 people.

I was privilaged to be part of our launch into a new district, Nuwara Eliya with inclusive teacher training, peer group formation and handing out scholar-ships to students with special needs.

I also was able to visit a few families in the tea estate area who have children with special needs as an initial CBR visit. It was touching and heartbreaking to see how these families live, in such poverty and struggling to care for their kids in situations of societial stigma and with no resources availalbe to them.

The picture is from an initial Fridsro CBR field visit to this family of 5 children, 3 of whom have special needs. Our workers will help them with their edu-cation, obtaining services from the government and livelihood training. This is in a tea estate where their mother is a tea plucker and the kids stay home by themselves all day. Together we will change the perceptions of the special needs community and enable them to live lives of dignity and fulfillment.

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The community of Vaddavan that Fridsro helped rebuild after the 2004 Tsunami is well and growing (see more info on our website) Although we had to leave before some of the buildings were completed due to the war Fridsro is committed to this community and we hope to begin rebuilding again shortly. Also due to the war many of the homes we built have been damaged by shelling and we urgently need your help to be able to repair these so that the people of Vaddavan who have suffered so much already can live in safe and comfortable houses.

VADDAVAN

THOPPIGALA

URGENT NEEDS

Many of our dorms need urgent repairs - some are more than 30 years old and are be-coming unsafe. If you would like to donate to this cause please visit our website atwww.fridsro.org and use the “donate now” button. If you would like to speak with usabout bringing down a construction team from your church or organization for thispurpose please e-mail me at lorena@fridsro.org or use any of the contact informationon the last page of this letter.

THANK YOU!

On the East Coast the village of Thoppigala consists of 300families who are all currently returning from IDP camps and places where they fled during the war. We want to help this community to rebuild and to escape the bonds of the ex-treme poverty they live in, especially for the children in the Thoppigala school. For more info on this endeavour please contact us. Left: How the villagers of Thoppigala live

Far Right: Entrance to VaddvanMiddle: House built by Fridsro

at Vaddvan, damaged by shelling in the war.

lives, we have endeavored to be the voice for them in their communities and at the national level.

If you are interested in partnering with us and would like to make a donation, please see below:

Donations

UNITED STATES

Organization for Children as a 501(c)3 organization.Your donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent

allowable by law. Send check to the U.S. address.Make checks payable to WorldROC.

SRI LANKA

send checks to the address in Sri Lanka. Make checks payable to Fridsro.

SWEDEN

send checks to the address in Sweden.Make checks payable to Fridsro.

In Sweden:Postgiro 73 05 48 - 5

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A Word from our supporters and partners..

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In the U.S.: WorldROC is registered under World Relief In Sri Lanka & Asia: In Europe:

255 Peredeniya Rd, Kandy Hembygdsgatan 4 Tel: (081) 4473468 828 32 Edsbyn, Sweden

Fax: (081) 2215295 Tel: +46 27122568

WorldROC Headquarters Sri Lanka Missionen3157 N.Rainbow Blvd. #234

From the Children’s home

Our kids continue to grow and thrive! We follow their lives with joy and bring you just a few pictures from life at Fridsro. For specific questions or to catch up on a specific child please e-mail us.

From Mia Bastrup - Fridsro co-operates with disabled adults in Denmark � - an alternative kind of charity

What has Fridsro and an institution with workshops for disabled people in Denmark in common? Actually nothing, except me. While I studied at the university in Denmark, I had a part-time job at Nyborgvaerkstedet, an institution for physical and mental, adult handicapped in a Danish town called Nyborg. Now years later I live in Sri Lanka, in Kandy. Not that I ever continued working with disabled people – quite opposite I ended up working with technology – but I never forgot the time there, their needs and optimism of life.One of my friends here showed me Fridsro’s shop, and I immediately feel in love with the fabrics and the idea that I was supporting a children’s home by buying the many different items made out of the fabrics. I’m not the selling kind of person, so suddenly I realised, that this institution in Denmark has a second-hand shop, and that to sell items from Fridsro would be a totally different way of doing charity. If the disabled adults could sell these things, it would mean money and employment for Fridsro, and it would mean experience of being able to help others, even though the disabled themselves need help in their daily life. A triple win situation; the homeless children getting money – the weavers getting jobs – the disabled making a difference for others. If you happen to come to Denmark, Nyborg, you can right now buy items and beautifully bedclothes from Fridsro. To cooperate with the people from Fridsro and Nyborgvaerkstedet has been nothing but fun and joy. Always willingness to find solutions, and very professionel and skilled staff. To read more about Mia’s project and other people just like her who are changing lives everyday please visit our website @ www.fridsro.org

Las Vegas, NV 89108Tel: +1 (702) 481 5178

Volleyball at the playgroun Taken a week ago - some of the girls Always a Birthday party at Fridsro!