Background Information

Whether you know it or not, you are Opportunity Foundation India. You are receiving this newsletter because someone directly involved with Opportunity Foundation has identified you as important to their involvement with the organization. It may be your encouragement, prayers, emails, or friendship which contributes to serving the people in India, but it is all needed.

In 2006, Sue Simpson wanted to find a place to serve near Hyderabad. After many years of supporting other ministries, Sue was ready to branch out on her own. Through a number of connections and doors opening, Sue was given land in a slum near the municipal dump near the north edge of Hyderabad, India. After asking the people what they needed, it became obvious that the children needed a school. A wood building was quickly built and made into 4 class rooms, a few teachers hired, and the school, Opportunity Foundation India, opened in 2007. The school was completely run by local Indian leadership until November 2008 when Lance Summey arrived, a graduate of the Baylor School of Social Work. Lance provided great guidance for the school and brought about a change in leadership inviting two other Americans to come and live long term and work with the school. Mark and Liz Van Wieren arrived February 2009 spending 6 months working to register the organization with the Indian government, get the children birth certificates, and transition the older students into another registered school. In the last 4 years, those four classrooms have expanded into four elementary schools (Maggi, Eve, Jordi, and Mark Schools) and a Baby Care Center in total serving over 400 children and providing jobs for over 30 staff. Last month, Scott and Kristen Mulhern arrived to spend 7 months as advisors for the Indian staff. Mark and Liz went back the first few weeks of January to help settle the new volunteers into their new life in India. This newsletter is meant to better acquaint you with Opportunity Foundation and keep you updated with what happpening there. We pray this newsletter will bless you and more deeply connect you with those in India.

Scott & Kristen - First Impressions

It has not taken us long to fall in love with India. Even though we are halfway around the world from everything that is familiar to us, we feel at home. The teachers and the children at the school have been so good to us and have welcomed us in so many different ways. Their hospitality has been overwhelming from the meals that they offer to just coming along in the car to help us find something at the store. The pace is slower, yet still, at the end of the week, we are left wondering how the time flew by so quickly. Each day we have encountered new needs of the school and are doing our best to utilize our skills and knowledge to be a blessing to everyone that we encounter. It is encouraging to see how receptive the teachers and the children and their wiliness to learn more. They are like sponges – soaking up every bit of us and the things we have to share with them. Through this, we are also learning more then we could have ever imagined. Our experiences and the memories we are creating grow each day. Join us in our journey to help this amazing group of people here in India. To read more about what we have done so far, please check out our blog – www.kristenandscott.com. We look forward to sharing with you more about our time here.