Whatever a child can do on a sofa, it’s been done for decades at the Children’s Village in Kobryn, Belarus.
Many years ago, a German group built these 8 big houses for orphans and house-parents.
Generations of children have grown up giving the 8 enormous living-room sofas a serious workout:
Sitting, sleeping, bouncing (when Mom isn’t looking) — scrunching down behind them for hide-and-seek.
None of the sofas has ever been replaced. They’re truly awful.
Their springs are completely broken (adults sitting on the cushions sink into them uncomfortably).
After repeated re-upholstering over the years, it’s no longer cost-effective.
So house-parents have simply covered some of the sofas with towels.
The wear and tear has simply overwhelmed the furniture.
I hope we can provide brand-new sofas for the orphans at the Children’s Village.
They have to be huge because each house is home to as many as 10 children.
And they need to be custom-built to fit the curved spaces that the Germans built into each living room.
Children climbing on the backs of the sofas (against the rules) have often fallen into the gap and suffered significant injuries.
(Lesson learned — too late!)
A single sofa like this, custom-built in the U.S., might cost $5,000 or more.
In Belarus, the price tag will be just $2,000.
Still a lot of money ... but worth it.
And a dear friend who loves the orphans has offered a Matching Challenge:
If friends of New Thing will give a total of $1,000, he will match every gift dollar-for-dollar.
Together, we’ll put a new sofa in at least one home at the Children’s Village.
I invite you to consider making a generous tax-deductible donation today.
Your gift will go twice as far, thanks to the Matching Challenge.
And as always, every penny will go entirely into Belarus — no percentage off the top for any purpose.
I hope to hear from you soon, and I thank you in advance.
God bless you for caring enough to give!
Much love,
Doug Brendel
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