GENTRY -- The public library in Gentry was filled with children on Friday morning. Some were participating in a science lesson and many were reading or sitting in a group and listening to a book being read. And it was all a part of an annual read-a-thon conducted by Ozark Adventist School to raise funds for another school in Uganda.
The event was organized by Megan Sutherland, founder of Weight of Glory Orphan Care, as a result of a visit to an orphanage called L'esperance Children's Aid in Uganda nine years ago. L'esperance Children's Aid provides housing and schooling for Ugandan children who are orphaned or whose parents cannot afford to raise and educate them.
As a result of a recent government-imposed move, the orphanage was in need of dormitory and classroom space for its students, as well as food, clothing, books and educational materials. To assist in providing for the orphanage, Sutherland founded Weight of Glory Orphan Care to help raise funds to support the orphanage and school.
And the busy reading activity at Gentry Public Library on Friday? It was a part of a read-a-thon to raise funds to help meet the needs of the students at L'esperance Children's Aid in Uganda. The children took pledges for donations in connection to their time reading. And the exercise was a benefit to both the children at Ozark Adventist Academy and those at L'esperance Children's Aid.
To learn more about L'esperance Children's Aid, visit the L'esperance Children's Aid Facebook page. More information on Weight of Glory Orphan Care can be found at www.weightofgloryorphancare.org.
Community on 04/17/2019