Thanks a Bundle

Humble Bundle, the online gaming and book store, donates 10% of its revenue to charity.

Now you can decide which charity they support by choosing from the  list on their website.
So if you are into online gaming please think of us and help support the House of Joshua.  All you have to do is type our name in and click the "search" button.

Thanks a bundle for continuing to support us.

Pink Flamingos For The House of Joshua

You can't get a lot pinker than this video created to raise funds for the House of Joshua Children's Home.

Please watch and share across social network platforms to make it an internet sensation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOuRb_plks0

It came about when one of our trustees broke his leg and, whilst hopping around a hospital bathroom on one leg, had a crazy idea.

PINK - Its the new black

It has been almost two months since we launched our "Pink For A Purpose" fundraising appeal under the banner #wevebeenpinked and on the face of it not much has happened but that is all about to change.

This week sees the launch of a very pink dance video on Youtube.

On Saturday 18th April the residents and staff of the Grange Care Home in Bury St Edmunds will be hosting a Pink For A Purpose fun day with all sorts of pink games to play and food to eat.

Meanwhile a bunch of church pastors in the Philippines are in training for a PINK fun-run.  At least one of them has never worn anything pink before in his entire life!

Watch this space for more pink happenings.

#wevebeenpinked

ANY COLOUR YOU LIKE (As Long As It Is PINK) - showing our feminine side

Intended originally as a home for boys, The House of Joshua children's home has been up an running for just over two years now.

It opened in January 2013 with an initial intake of just 8 boys but is now home to 22 children who are permanently resident with us. Several others have passed though on their way, either to other facilities, or to being reunited with their families. There have also been a few who simply could not cope with the change of lifestyle, including the responsibilities that go with that, and have returned to living rough on the city streets.

In the last few months, out of necessity and for their protection, we have also taken in four girls; reorganising the bedrooms and dividing the top corridor in two to provide separate sleeping areas for boys and girls.

At present it costs around £25,000 a year to keep the home running, including feeding clothing, educating, and caring for the children. We also have to pay the utility bills and staff wages. Only about half the children currently have sponsors and, until we can recruit more sponsors, we need to dig into our reserves just to keep going. Whilst that is okay in the short term we cannot keep it up indefinitely without changing something. 

There is a huge need and we would like to be able to provide a long term home for more girls, but in order to do so we need to create a proper girls wing. There is still plenty of space in the main house to allow us to take 10-15 more children but it would be useful if we could build some separate staff quarters in order to free up additional rooms and facilitate that. We have the physical capacity to accommodate more children but the finances do not currently permit us to do so

We are therefore announcing a year of fundraising under the banner "PINK FOR A PURPOSE" to achieve the following objectives:-

• Bridge the current funding gap on running costs until sufficient new sponsors can be recruited.
• Alter / extend the building to provide proper staff quarters, including facilities for married couples.
• Fund the initial admittance of 10-15 extra children at £50 per head (clothes, shoes, school uniform, bedding, medical registration, school enrolment etc) on top of normal cost of accommodation 

Our initial fundraising target to do this is £25,000 and we are encouraging all our friends and supporters to engage in a variety of pink-themed fun events to generate interest and raise the profile of this campaign. You can do whatever you like as long as it is seriously PINK!

We have set up a separate  PINK FOR A PURPOSE Facebook Page where you can find some ideas and tips for organising events - it doesn't matter whether they are big or small; every Pound, Dollar, Pesos, Shekel, Euro or Yen will make a difference.We are encouraging participants to share the fun by uploading photos and videos from their fundraising events with the slogan "I/We've been pinked!" #pinkforapurpose. Please also "like" the Facebook page and share it with all your friends and family so that the message spreads out across the web as far as possible.

If you would like to support our PINK FOR A PURPOSE campaign you can make a donation via Paypal just by clicking on the button on this site - where there is the option to quote a reference or message the recipient please add the word PINKED so that we allocate the funds appropriately.

 however we do have to pay transaction charges on funds received via Paypal so, if you are considering donating a larger sum, please contact us first to see if their is a more cost effective option, such as direct bank transfer, cheque etcetera.

We are an extremely efficient charity - our operating costs are negligible because we have no paid staff and all our office facilities are donated free of charge - so every single penny (or whatever other unit of currency you use) will go straight into the appeal fund.

If this appeal takes off beyond our wildest dreams we will use any additional funds to pursue some, perhaps even all, of the following longer term objectives.

• Further improve facilities at the House of Joshua, including adding a filtering system to the water well to reduce the cost of drinking / domestic water supply, improving mosquito protection screening, expansion of educational facilities, ongoing maintenance and decoration.
• Recruit and continue to pay additional staff
• Purchase an additional vehicle to transport children to school and for other outings
• Acquire additional land to create a “House of Joshua Farm” and possibly allow building extension in the future.
• Expand our community outreach and education program "Growing Hope" which enables children from poor families to attend school and achieve their full potential. This program also provides support to their families.
• Establish a permanent "Endowment Fund" to put the long term funding of the House of Joshua onto a more secure footing so that, whilst we will always need our children to be sponsored, we will be able to cope with the inevitable peaks and troughs in our income stream.

#wevebeenpinked

The House of Joshua is a joint project with our sister charity in the Philippines, which both owns and manages the home, Lifenet Children's Foundation Inc. Out of necessity the House of Joshua  does have some paid staff who job is to care for the children.

Autumn Newsletter

Our autumn newsletter has just been published. You can read it here

Christmas Shopping for Charity

The "C word" doesn't normally get mentioned much in our house before the 1st of December but the adverts have already started on television and  I know that some people like to start their Christmas shopping a lot earlier than me. 

This year why not use your Christmas celebrations as a way to make a difference for somebody in need? And it doesn't have to cost you a penny extra! It really can be as simple as just changing the way that you shop. 

These days many of us choose to do the bulk of our shopping online. It's often quicker and more convenient than spending hours going from shop to shop on the high street. there is a much wider choice and  it can be cheaper too, even with delivery costs to take into account.

Easy Fundraising is a shopping "portal" - a gateway to literally hundreds of your favourite online retailers like Amazon and Argos as well as loads of insurance companies, hotels, holidays and other services. Every time you make a purchase your favourite charity earns commission on what you spend - at NO EXTRA COST to you. What could be better?

WELL THIS COULD BE BETTER: - at the moment Easy Fundraising are offering a promotional scheme. If you sign up to shop this way and support a charity and then refer a friend who does the same - once that friend has raised £10 from their online shopping your charity will get an extra £5 reward.

So don't put off buying all your presents until Christmas Eve - sign up today and get fund-raising the easy way.

Click here for details Easy Fundraising

Fundraising Coffee Morning

Please come along and join us on Friday 27th June 10am -12pm for a selection of home-made cakes & scones and fresh brewed Fairtrade coffee & tea.
Venue:-
The Gallery Highwaymans Risby, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6QP www.thegalleryhighwaymans.co.uk

All proceeds are going to The House of Joshua Children's Home in the Philippines 

We have been very kindly given the use of this splendid gallery in this beautiful location, a hidden gem in the Suffolk countryside. We look forward to seeing you. Please feel free to bring your friends and family along and spread the word. There are also beautiful walks, a gift shop and free parking.

All Happening at The House of Joshua

It is all happening this week at the House of Joshua.

The next few days will see a sudden influx of new residents as 12 children are transferred from another home in the city that has been forced to close. With a lot more mouths to feed we could do with finding a few new sponsors.

At the same time our sister charity, Lifenet Children's Foundation Inc. are launching a new community based ministry, called "Growing Hope",  to facilitate the education of children living in poor communities and provide holistic support to their families.

For some children this will mean funding their school education. Other children have dropped out of regular school in the past and will therefore join an "Alternative Learning Scheme" based in the learning centre at the House of Joshua. Their families will also be able to access educational resources at the house, including a new computer suite. So far 20 children have been enrolled in the scheme.

More information here

Spring News.

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Read all about it.... the Spring 2014 newsletter from the Conroy Rendon Charitable Trust is now available right here, right now.

Here Come The Girls

IT IS OFFICIAL: We now have a new 'Girl's Wing' at House of Joshua to rescue young vulnerable girls from the streets...... The first two girls have already moved in; sisters of boys who are already residing with us. We anticipate there will be more as there is no other such provision for homeless girls in the city

BUT - We are now really needing to find some more 'House Supporters' to help regularly support the ongoing operationof this rehabilitation ministry.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can you kindly share this with your friends, neighbours, church, family, workmates, club, scout-group, sport-team.....ANYONE who might be interested to help support this work so we can continue to help more children who desperately need a chance for a new life.....THANK YOU SO MUCH.

If you would like to know more about supporting the House of Joshua please click on the link below

House Supporters Info Link Here.

Changes At Facebook

In their drive to increase advertising revenue Facebook have made some changes to page feeds which mean that, from this week, only about 2% of our fans will actually be shown our updates. 

Instead your newsfeed will become increasingly full of advertisements from companies you are not terribly interested in.

If you want to continue to receive updates from us you need to do more than just “like” our page.

 You also need to take the following steps

1.       Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Conroy-Rendon-Charitable-Trust/80103247237

2.       Click on the “Liked” button.

3.      Select “Get Notifications” AND the “Following” button.

That’s it. You should then get all our updates

To all our dear friends and supporters.

 

The House of Joshua Children's Home has now been open for almost a year and we are

so grateful for your help in making this miracle possible.

 

Thank you for standing with us throughout the year as we have sought to share God's love

with people in need, especially in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. Total donations received

by us for this appeal have now topped £13,000.

 

When we look around us we see a world that is so much in need of healing, so much in

need of the "Son of Righteousness" (change of spelling deliberate!)

 

We pray that you may know His peace that passes all understanding this Christmas

Autumn 2013 Newsletter Published

Read all about it.......

Get our latest newsletter here

Typhoon Haiyan Relief Update

The total donated by our supporters to our Typhoon Haiyan relief appeal has now topped £10,500. A huge thank you to everyone concerned.

A second "Compassion In Action" mission team, including staff members from the house of Joshua left for Northern Cebu and the Bantayan Islands today to distribute aid to remote areas that have had little or no other support since the typhoon struck the Philippines a month ago. A further mission trip to Leyte is being planned for January.

Compassion In Action is a joint initiative involving several churches and other organisations, including Lifenet Children's Foundation, in Cagayan De Oro City. It was set up as a direct response to the urgent need to provide practical assistance to victims of this devastating storm.

Relief On The Way For Typhoon Victims

Since we first appealed for funds to provide aid to the victims of  "Typhoon Haiyan" we have received over £6000 in donations. Thank you to everyone who has been so generous!

An initial payment of £2000 was sent out to our mission partners last week to fund the purchase of medical supplies, 40 sacks of rice, noodles, canned food, cooking oil and other groceries to be distributed to the needy on the island of Leyte, which has been so badly affected by the storm.

14 volunteers from Lifenet Children's Foundation and various churches in and around Cagayan De Oro City set out this evening in a very heavily laden Jeepney which has been loaned for the trip. The fuel has also been sponsored. They will pick up some more volunteers and also pick up another truck loaded with further supplies along the way and should arrive in the town of Ormoc tomorrow.

The plan is to set up a feeding station and cook hot meals for up to 1,000 people, treating injuries, providing counselling and moral support as well as much needed packs of rice and groceries.

A further outreach trip is being planned for the first week of December.

In the meantime the House of Joshua has also been asked if they can take in 20 out of 70 orphans who were evacuated from a children's home in Tacloban before the storm struck. Their home has been totally destroyed and they have nowhere else to go.  If we are to be able to help them we urgently need to recruit more sponsors to cover teh cost of looking after them.
 If you would like to know more about The House of Joshua and our sponsorship program please click here.

The first of several boxes of groceries 

Bags of donated clothing too  

2 Tons of rice

Jeepney loaded and good to go

Typhoon Relief

The full scale of the devastation in and around Tacloban City caused by Typhoon "Yolanda" (International name Haiyan) is now beginning to emerge.  Relief supplies of food and drinking water are already arriving as the international relief effort gathers momentum. Here in the UK the Disasters Emergency Committee will launch a public appeal tomorrow.

Many of the staff at our sister charity, Lifenet Children's Foundation are familiar with dealing with the aftermath of a typhoon having spent several weeks providing food and water to flood victims after typhoon Sendong ripped through Cagayan De Oro City in December 2011.

In conjunction with a number of other mission agencies, churches and charities, Lifenet are organising a relief aid team to go to the island of Leyte in the next few days to help with the aid efforts. They will be starting in Omroc and then looking to get out to the more remote areas that the bigger international aid agencies have not reached.

We have already received a number of donations and have sent out an initial £2000 to help facilitate this.

If you would also like to support them financially you can do so using the Paypal Donate button on this site (please use the comments box to quote the reference "Typhoon Relief" so we know what the money is intended for.

If you are a UK Tax Payer please also click here to get a gift aid declaration - you can email it to us using the contacts button on our main website. (note - an original signature is not needed on teh Gift Aid Declaration - you can just type in your details)

We have absolutely no operating costs so every penny given will be spent on bringing help and relief to the typhoon survivors who are in such urgent need.

The big aid agencies will probably spend about 3 - 6 months getting the situation under control but they will then hand over the ongoing work of recovery and reconstruction to the Philippines Government. In Cagayan De Oro 20,000 people had to live in a massive tent city for almost 2 years before enough new houses could be built to accommodate them all. It is likely to take quite a bit longer in Tacloban where the numbers are increased ten-fold.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” —2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)

The devastation caused by typhoon "Yolanda" (international name Haiyan) has made headline news around the world and a number of people have been in touch with us, concerned to know if everything is okay.

The storm passed about 100 miles north of Cagayan De Oro city so, although there was heavy rain and strong winds there was no impact on the House of Joshua.

The main area of the country affected is in the central belt of islands known as "Visayas", particularly the islands of Leyte, Samar and Cebu.

As many as 4 million people may have been affected in some way, with many having been evacuated from low lying coastal areas. It is now thought that over 1000 people may have died and anything up to 100,000 made homeless by the storm. 

The Red Cross has launched a disaster appeal - details here. http://www.redcross.org.uk/typhoonappeal/

Staff from our sister charity in the Philippines, Lifenet Children's Foundation, are organising an aid relief response - watch this space for more information in the next day or two.

In the meantime our thoughts, our love and our prayers are with the Filipino people

When we visited the House of Joshua back in April this year the boys were just beginning to enjoy playing with a big box of  Lego that we had shipped out in one of our  aid containers.
However they didn't really know what they were supposed to do with it and consequently just made solid blocks of bricks covering the base plates.
We showed they how to make different designs, building and vehicles and they soon got the idea.

Now they are getting really good at it as these pictures taken today show. Clearly we have a house full of inventors and designers, which just shows what tremendous potential these boys have for their future. All they needed was pointing in the right direction to get them started.

With the closure of Aid to Hospitals Worldwide it might be difficult for us to contemplate shipping another full container load of aid. And indeed without them it would be hard for us to actually source enough equipment to fill a container. Nevertheless we keep on chipping away at making a difference in the Philippines.

The need doesn't go away. Children still need education. Families still need help to climb out of the poverty trap and to achieve independence. People still need to know that God cares about them and their situation

Yesterday saw us loading 11 boxes (well 10 boxes and a package actually) full of teaching equipment, school books, educational resources and medical equipment to improve the lives of people in Cagayan De Oro City.

It may not be much (about a quarter of a ton and a cubic metre) but, to quote the Tesco adverts, "Every little helps".

Some of this equipment will go to the House of Joshua children's home. Some will go to a local school and some to Barrangay health centres and community hospitals, many of which are badly underfunded and ill equipped.

Shipping like this is costly, but much of what is in these boxes is simply unavailable in the Philippines. Even where it is available it is out of reach unless you have the money to buy it.

Well, Well - It's a Bit of a Bore

In the West we tend to take water for granted. We turn on the tap and there it is, clean, healthy and fit to drink; but is is certainly not so in many parts of the world.

There is no shortage of water in the Philippines, it falls out of the sky on a fairly regular, albeit seasonal, basis  and most urban areas have a mains water supply that works most of the time; although sometimes the flow drops to a trickle or stops all together when there is a power cut at the pumping stations.

However the tap water is not entirely safe to drink. Even in urban areas it often falls short of accepted safety standards and around 4000 people die every year from drinking contaminated water. Consequently most people, who can afford to do so, opt to buy bottled, purified, drinking water  but it doesn't come cheaply.

When you have a house full of children you get through a lot of water. In the case of the House of Joshua it was costing over £100 a month just for drinking water, as well as tap water for laundry, cooking, washing, toilet flushing and the like. And not to mention watering the kid's vegetable patch!

Thanks to a couple of generous donations we have been delighted to fund a well boring project. The drilling team hit the water table at just over 50 feet but when down another 30 feet to ensure a reliable supply even in the dry season. It doesn't look much but fitted with an electric pump and storage tank, as well as a filtering system,  this well should provide all the clean, safe, water that the house needs at negligible cost.