Fund Raiser

JOIN HANDS WITH CHINA’S CHILDREN
7:30PM, Wed., Oct. 17th, 2007
St. Andrews Anglican Church
9691 4th St., Sidney,B.C.,Canada



You are invited to a fund raiser in aid of Sunbeam Children’s Village, a non-profit orphanage which houses 107 children in Beiwan, China.

Diana Satok, a Sidney resident and one of the founders of the orphanage, and Jan Hoover, owner of Tseheum Harbour Massage Clinic and a recent visitor to Sunbeam, will talk about their experiences and show slides from their trip to this beautiful rural area of China. Also, a video will be presented to show how the children lived before the Village was built in 1999 and the history of the project.

Admission is free. You may make a donation to support these children. There will be lucky draws as well as beautiful Chinese crafts for purchase.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information:
visit www.sunbeam.org or sunbeamchildrenintl.blogspot.com
or contact Diana at 656-3943


A Little History of Sunbeam Children’s Village
Sunbeam Children’s Village in Beiwan, Guangdong Province, China was started by a group of women living in Hong Kong. When they visited a small town in rural China, they found 22 orphaned children living in the ruins of a school in desperate conditions. At that point, the women were moved to develop a home for these children.
It took two years of hard work with volunteers of all professions and talents, including Mel Satok, Diana’s husband, to design and fundraise to build the project. In 1999, Sunbeam Childrens’ Village was completed and the first children moved in. There are now 107 children living there.
Sunbeam is operated by a Board of Directors who volunteer their time. Every dollar raised goes directly to the care and education of the children

That was then, this is now

There are now 107 amazing children living at Sunbeam. Sussi visited there in April,2007 and met up with Diana. As two founding members their hearts were filled with joy to see how these children were flourishing. One little girl had survived leukemia and was now becoming an excellent student after missing much school due to her cancer treatments. Please note that the children go outside the village to the local schools in the primary years and then go to the cities for continuing education. They are tutored at night by a team of teachers at Sunbeam. One of the older boys is now studying engineering in university and many others are receiving post secondary education and job training. This would not have been a possibility for them before Sunbeam.

One boy, who in the past had been distant and unhappy, had his deformed foot treated and was running around with his prosthesis and had become a laughing and happy boy. He was even up dancing one night. Sussi did yoga with the children and staff and they were naturals. Diana did some art classes and English classes and the students showed how talented they were. A group of children drew a picture of two decorated hearts and put their names and Sussi and Diana’s names on it and wrote “two hearts joined as one.” PUT IN PHOTOS)

What is miraculous is how children living in a huge residence can be so loving and caring to others. The Director at Sunbeam has her Masters in Social Work and says that she came to teach but these children have taught her. They are always hugging, holding hands or cuddling up to staff or visitors. When you awake at Sunbeam you hear the rustling of the activities of getting ready for school but always present is the laughter of these amazing children.

This could not have happened without the on-going care and consideration of the Board of Directors in Hong Kong. With Dorothy Wong at their helm and May Chan working tirelessly beside her and with many committee members dedicating their time and energy it would not continue to flourish. The Board are all volunteers who donate their time fund-raising and supervising the protocols and staff at Sunbeam. (Please note that every dollar raised goes directly to the support of the village.) They are so appreciated by the out of town members who have moved to other countries. Sussi divides her time between Sidney, Australia and Las Vegas and Diana lives just outside Victoria, BC in Canada. Sunbeam is a lifelong commitment and visitors coming to Sunbeam say they will never forget the time they spent with over 100 miracle children.

Sunbeam needs sponsors to assist in financing the children’s daily lives and their education. There is also a fund for medical care. If you simply want to make a donation send it to Sunbeam Children’s Foundation Ltd., GPO 6651, Central Hong Kong. A receipt will be sent to you. For further information on this project or on sponsoring a child you can go to www.sunbeam.org

Thank you for your heartfelt generosity.