Orphan Hero Open House 

Press release 

9/1/2007 - Last Thursday evening local supporters were welcomed to SOS-USA headquarters in Washington, DC. Braving the rain and traffic of DC, many of our loyal supporters turned out for an inspirational night. When they arrived, our staff met them at the door and gave a quick tour of our office space before our program began.

Both new and long-time supporters turned out to learn more about SOS Children’s Villages and meet others who believe in the cause. Lissa Ramespaul, a new village sponsor from Gaithersburg, MD, told us about her personal connection to our SOS children. “I grew up in foster care here in the U.S. I grew up in an institution and it leaves a lot to be desired. The idea of supporting kids growing up in a home environment, in a loving environment, is something that I just couldn’t pass up. We often forget that the whole world’s children are our children. And it doesn’t matter if someone’s growing up on the other side of the world. Everybody was a child once.” Lissa currently supports two villages and is looking to take on a third.

Adekunle Francis was another smiling face at the celebration, and he is another committed SOS supporter, as he has been involved with SOS Children’s Villages for the last two decades. After volunteering at the village in Lagos, Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, he has also worked for Fundraising Initiatives, the company that seeks to find SOS donors in local malls. “I believe strongly that SOS Children’s Villages is an opportunity for individuals to provide hope for these kids around the world. The situations that bring these children to the villages are beyond their control. You may think a dollar a day can’t even buy you a bottle of soda here in the U.S., but with the currency value in the countries where these kids live, you can change their lives significantly. These children look up to you - contribute to making their dreams come true!”

Our program began with a brief SOS video that highlighted the great work of four SOS Children’s Villages across the world. Heather Paul, SOS-USA’s Chief Executive Officer, thanked all present for their support and introduced Tumanie Manneh, a former SOS child from Gambia. Tumanie eloquently spoke about his experience with SOS and the opportunities SOS provided him. “A big thanks to all of you for what you are doing – it is something bigger than you can see.” When he finished, there was a great excitement in the room as many commented on Tumanie’s inspirational story and discussed various ways they could help get the word out about SOS. Some are excited to run events to fundraise for SOS during our upcoming World Orphan Week, October 1 – 7. Thank you to both our new donors and our long-time supporters for coming out!