Students long to live outside themselves to serve others, so this summer The Movement students in Nashville have decided to help the Department of Children Services by revamping their Safe Room. The Safe Room is a place where children who have been removed from their families go during their time of transition into foster care. While the unknown conditions of their situation can be very scary for these children and teenagers, the Safe Room is a place filled with toys, games, movies and activities where these kids can have fun and be distracted from their worries. DCS and the Safe Room currently are moving to a different building, which is a great opportunity for the Movement to help. We are excited to see the ways our help and service with DCS will encourage and comfort kids during a vulnerable time of their lives.
Movement Students have been going twice a week to pack up boxes, sort through donations, and paint. To help with the costs of paint, toys, craft supplies, and games, The Movement has partnered with our local Chick-Fil-A to raise funds for our summer service projects. If you live in the Nashville area, we invite you to join us at the Brentwood Chick-Fil-A (330 Franklin Rd Brentwood, TN 37027) tomorrow, Thursday, July 28th from 5-8 pm. When you mention Show Hope/ The Movement, 15% of the profits from your meal go to The Movement service fund. Please come support our students’ summer service and bring your friends and family!
Before I started interning for Show Hope this summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Liberia, Africa. This is where my passion and motivation to help orphans began. I had never been to Africa before, so I was really excited to go on a mission trip to help orphans at the Safe Home Children’s Village at the end of May. Liberia is just coming out of a decade-long civil war, but most people in the world are unaware of the injustice happening there. Their civil war destroyed and corrupted most of the development. Before the war, they had electricity, running water and a good school system. Today, these things are almost nonexistent. The country is in a great state of rehabilitation, but there are very few resources for the impoverished people.
After a very long plane ride and drive to the orphanage, my twelve-person team arrived at a village called Aflala. Although exhausted from our journey, we were encouraged at the sight of the whole community waiting for our arrival. The people of Aflala put the phrase “Southern Hospitality” to shame in the ways that they were so intentional about making our team feel welcomed in their country. The purpose of our trip was to work with the orphanage and the school many of the orphans attend. All of the lessons taught at the school are based on what teachers remember from before the war. My team and I focused on helping these teachers and students improve their reading skills through the use of Phonics. Our time working on the orphanage was so rewarding. These precious children longed to be loved and to simply have the freedom to enjoy childhood. I miss the children at the Safe Home Children’s Village everyday.
I am so excited for the opportunity to go back next year. Until then, I will be at Show Hope advocating on behalf of orphans from my desk in Franklin, Tennessee. In Liberia, I came face to face with orphans and the true need for orphan care. It is in remembering this very real purpose and passion that I find motivation while I am hard at work helping Chris Wheeler keep The Movement going through the summer. I have been finding students to participate in an awesome service project with our local Department of Children’s Services. We have also been brainstorming for the next round of Movement Clubs that will be introduced at high schools this fall. I have experienced first hand how life-changing it is to join the movement to care for orphans. Please Check out The Movement facebook page and website to learn more ways students are helping orphans this summer!
