Market of Hope

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Urban Organics’ Inc. founder Ana Soriano was born in Los Banos, Laguna Philippines. Between the age of 1 and 2 years old her mother experienced one of the worse challenges a mother ever had to face and that was to run out of food to feed her children. Life was very hard back then in the Philippines and continues to be difficult for so many Filipinos to this day. Her mother was panic stricken and devastated but fortunately she was able to turn to a neighbor and ask for food so that she could feed her children. Anguished and embarrassed her mother realized that she needed to find a way to provide a better future for her family. She was one of the fortunate ones who were able to migrate to the United States, finish her education, work and petition to be reunited with her family.

The situation in the Philippines literally hits home. There are still millions of people who are not fortunate enough to have the same opportunity as Ana and her family did. We’d like to send a special thank you to The Navigators for their commitment, hard work and ministry around the world especially in the Philippines.

Democratic Republic of Congo – Paul Carlson Partnership

Need: Feed 100 malnourished children for a day at a cost of $15.00 Each of the main hospitals has a nutrition program for malnourished children who come to the hospital for various ailments. At the hospital they cook local food in combinations that provide the most nutrition, and they teach mothers how to provide better meals for their families.

Solution: Urban Organics’ Kids and Young Adults (ages 5 yrs to 22 yrs old) helped feed 2,000 children for a day.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

June 2006 a cover story in Time magazine featured “Congo: The Hidden Toll of the World’s Deadliest War.” Four million people died in or as a result of the civil strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 1998 and 2004, making it the deadliest war the world has seen since World War II.

And the dying continues. Each month 45,000 Congolese die from war-related causes - 1500 people every day. Some violent deaths; many die of disease and starvation that are among the war’s legacies. Nearly half of them are children. The diseases are “preventable and easily treatable”, but there are few resources to treat them. The death rate is 40% higher than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the world is not paying attention. Time calls Congo “a forgotten nation.” Congo has fallen through the cracks in the world’s compassion.

In June 2004 the Paul Carlson Partnership launched its Congo Project. The results have been moving and significant - over a quarter million patients cared for, establishment of work among the people, education and shelter and businesses developed within the villages. - www.paulcarlson.org

South Africa - Bridges of Hope

Need: Sponsor an orphan for boarding school – cost $100.00 per child. A sponsorship will provide an education that opens the door to a child’s hope for a better future.

Solution: 5 orphans were sponsored and have an opportunity to an improved quality of life.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

• # The AIDS pandemic has ravaged the nation of South Africa. They are in the midst of a health crisis but even beyond that exist many challenges such as: A staggering unemployment rate of over 40%
• # A huge lack of housing with millions and millions of people living in squatter camps and in sub-standard housing
• # An educational system that is lacking for the majority of the population Racial tensions left after decades of Apartheid that must continue to be addressed and healed.

As we look forward to 2009, our goal is to provide you beauty products that are effective and functional, and most importantly stories and content of what true beauty is all about. We thank you most of all for supporting our efforts and we hope you’ll continue to visit our site.

We’re ordinary people seeking to make an extraordinary difference in this world. The people in the various charitable organizations, who work tirelessly to help those in need, inspire us. We’re privileged and humbled that we have an opportunity to make the life of another human being just a little better than it was yesterday.

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