The Four Of Hearts Foundation

The children of Guatemala are bright and love to learn. These children are lucky if they are able to attend a local one room schoolhouse, and extremely lucky if they make it to the 6th grade. As there are not funds for school supplies, we hope to provide each child in the village we sponsor with a school bag filled with supplies, so they can attend school and learn. We hope to stress the importance of education to them and their parents in order to change their lives!
Below is a list of supplies we need for each bag:

• 4 unsharpened pencils
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 box pre-sharpened or unsharpened assorted colored pencils (approximately 7" long, about 12 pencils to a box)
• 1 pair blunt-nosed scissors with metal blades
• 1 rubber pencil eraser (approximately 1" by 2")
• 1 straight edge ruler—not to exceed 12", with metric measurements
• 1 durable cloth bag made of heavy fabric or a backpack
• One notepad of paper

We will be holding additional clothing and shoe drives to gather these items to take with us to Guatemala. The clothing will be distributed to the families of Los Robles, and we hope that each child will receive several outfits. Many children have only one outfit or a few items of clothing. This "basic" need should not be something these children long for. In most families there are several children.  If there is money for shoes, the head of the family will often be the only one who gets shoes. We hope to provide at least one pair of shoes for each person in the village, to help avoid injury, infection and even amputation. 

The infants of Los Robles and their mothers are among those most in need. There are currently about 34 babies in the village and we would like to provide each mother with a kit to help them raise their infants. There will be more babies coming and we would like to know that they will get the essentials. The items for kits that need to be assembled are listed below:

• 1 double receiving blanket (2 regular receiving blankets or one fleece blanket-between 36" and 45")
• 4 flat fold (single thickness) cloth diapers (100% cotton Birdseye Cloth or 100% cotton diaper flannel), approximately 25". Please do not use pre-folded or disposable diapers.
• 4 diaper safety pins
• 1 pair booties or baby socks
• 2 regular-size bars of soap (Ivory or other non-allergenic brand)
• 1 newborn layette gown (please, no footed sleepers)
• 2 plastic bottles
• 1 pacifier
• Infant toy

The orphanage, Casa de Sion, currently provides one glass of Incaparina - a high protein drink - to 275+ children per day. For many of these children, it is the only source of nutrition they will receive each day. These children come from the nearby village of Los Robles. The cost of this program is approximately $550 per month for 275 children. They are in desperate need of donations to keep feeding these children. They are turning children away daily, as there is just not enough to go around!  Please help with any donation you can make!

Casa de Sion also has a formula distribution for the mothers of infants in the village. We are accepting any donated cans of formula. Last year over 80 babies, under the age of 2, died of malnutrition! Most mothers in the village are malnourished themselves, and they do not produce breast milk.  Formula is very expensive.  Please help with a donation of canned formula that we can deliver to the village!

This is a new project we've added for Utah families and orphanages around the world. 

Items needed:
1 yd fleece fabric

Directions:
1. Cut off selvage. 
2. Cut strips for tying on the short ends of the fabric. Strips should be 3/4" wide and 5" long, as seen below.
3. Tie each strip into a knot near the top.