Dear Aura's House Friends and Donors,

We Did It!
Happy New Year! Thanks to you, Bacilio Ramirez (10) and family of Honduras will soon have a safe, sturdy brick home that will protect them from exposure to the elements, disease, and accidents from the flimsy construction of their current house.

We weren't sure if we'd be able to raise the full $5500 by the end of 2007, but thanks to our generous donors, we made our goal, with an additional $452 raised so far for furniture as of 1/5/08.

We'll keep you posted with photos, letters, and text as the construction begins. Meanwhile, if you'd like to help furnish Bacilio's new home, we are still accepting donations. As you can see from the photos, this family still needs our help.

The completion of our virtual house means we can now start building the real one.

Small Project #17 Complete!
Thanks to our donors at Aura's House, $670 was raised for Small Project #17, going over our original goal of $550!

Soon Eswin Chavez (9), and his family of Guatemala will receive the following gifts: 2 bunk beds, 1 pressure cooker, 4 blankets, 10 corrugated tin sheets, 8 wooden sticks, and 2 pounds of nails for roof repairs. The extra funds raised will also go to Eswin's family and they will determine what they need most. Stay tuned and we'll bring you updates and photos as soon as they receive their gifts.

Small Project #18 for Maria (11) of The Dominican Republic Launches
Our goal is to give Maria Arias Rodriguez of Small Project #18 and her family of The Dominican Republic the following gifts: 1 bed, 2 fans, clothes, and food items. We are hoping to raise $500.

Meet Maria and see photos of her family and living conditions.


An Update From The Philippines Classroom
Recently we heard from one of our most dedicated repeat donors, Steven Krumholz of Wisconsin, USA. He just returned from visiting his sponsored children through Children International in The Philippines.

While he was there, he also visited the Santo Nino Elementary School where Aura's House donors had a new classroom built to relieve this cramped school. Please read below for the detailed account of his trip.

What's Next?

We're currently speaking with The UN's World Food Programme to see about helping a rural school in Liberia with school feeding, a feeding shelter, supplies, and more. We also have some other potential projects on the table such as helping a preschool in Mexico through Children International.

It's just a matter of logistics, so we'll let you know very soon which project we undertake next.

We hope you enjoy our latest newsletter. We wish you health, happiness, and all the best for 2008 and look forward to another year of helping needy children and their families.

Best wishes,
Kristen, Anastasia, Mike, Christina, and the Aura's House Team