My Vision for Refugees Inc (501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization))
My Vision for Refugees Inc (501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization))
From Samuel Johnson
Support our mission of providing opportunities for former refugees and orphans to realize their full potential through education, emotional support, and the provision of basic needs. http://www.myvision4refugees.org/
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Recent Updates
Update #37
Due to the high fees for Fundly (7.9% of every donation), we are now switching our online donation Platform to PAYPAL. Please make your online donations on there instead, using our direct link: https://www.paypal.me/mv4r
or using our email address as recipient on the PayPal website: [email protected]
Thank you very much for your continuous support. We are very grateful for you all!
More Info
For more info, pictures and videos, check out the website for My Vision for Refugees Inc:
http://www.myvision4refugees.org/
Facebook page for MY VISION FOR REFUGEES INC:
https://www.facebook.com/myvisionforrefugees/
Email address: [email protected]
SAM'S STORY & INSPIRATION TO START THIS MISSION:
In 1998, when he was just 9-years-old, Sam Johnson watched from a hilltop as his village burned. His father lay dead somewhere below, one of the countless victims of rebel mayhem sweeping across Liberia. His mother hurried her five young children into the forest and then she led her family north, traveling at night to have a better chance of avoiding the roving militias. The Johnsons were the lucky ones. They made it to the U.N. refugee camp at N’zerekore, in southern Guinea, where Sam, his mother, and siblings spent the next eight years living in a tent, receiving one small ration of food per day, and hoping for deliverance. In February, 2007, Sam's mother also passed away, one month before the UNHCR transported them to Clarkston, GA. That’s where they came to the attention of Holy Innocents' Episcopal School. That summer, a group of teachers and parent volunteers provided intense tutoring for the Johnsons in English, math, and science; Holy Innocents' enrolled the four high school-aged children in August of 2007: Helena, twins Sam and Kartee, and Elizabeth. Their first day at Holy Innocents' marked the first time any of them had actually attended school.
Sam received his high school diploma in 2009, and then enrolled in Mercer University in Macon, GA. He literally took every course he could, even quitting the soccer team—leaving the game he loved and excelled at—to focus on his studies. “I wanted to learn everything,” he says. “Like when you don’t have food, I was craving education.” Sam graduated Mercer in 2013 after a remarkable career that included quadruple majors—Political Science, International Relations, Women and Gender Studies, and French. His next step was something he’d dreamed about since he set foot on the plane six years earlier in Conakry, Guinea; he returned to the camp in which he’d spent his childhood, the first step of his plan to help those who’d been left behind. “I kept my dream alive and saved up money during college,” Sam says. “I had work study and worked during the summer, and when I graduated, I had about $2,000 to help with.” After sharing his story with a number of Mercer faculty and friends, he received donations which brought that total above $5,000. With the wars in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, and Sierra Leone over, the U.N. had ended its mission in the camp, and the people who’d been marooned there, who had nothing and no one to return to in their native countries, had created de facto villages in its place. But they faced the same problems as before—a lack of safe water and no schooling for the children. They were also less than welcome in Guinean society, treated as outsiders and not allowed access to most government services.
Sam’s first trip back to Guinea lasted six months, and he discovered that little had changed. “Same as when I was living there, people had diarrhea, dysentery, parasites, and I knew the problem was water,” he says. “Bathing and doing dishes and drinking from the river, that’s how people get sick.” With the money he’d saved, Sam hired a local company to build a well that now provides clean water in the camp. His primary goal, however, was to provide education and a safe living situation for the orphaned children in N’zerekore who, just as he'd experienced as a child, were not welcome in the local schools. Receiving no help or interest from Guinean officials, Sam decided to take matters into his own hands. He returned to America and, with the help of friends and former teachers, founded My Vision for Refugees Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to improving the lives and prospects of the children, allowing them to stay together and attend school, while also having the support of each other, their teachers, and house parents. The organization also supports former refugee communities in Guinea.
In 2014, Sam married Mary Thompson, a native of Ghana and they both live in Atlanta. Sam divides his time between Guinea and Atlanta, overseeing construction and administrative needs of Home of Hope Orphanage in N’zerekore (Guinea), and raising support for My Vision for Refugees Inc. in America.
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Donors
Tricia Everett
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John Flechas
Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
about 6 years agoUpdate #44
Due to the high fees for Fundly (7.9% of every donation), we are now switching our online donation Platform to PAYPAL. Please make your online donations on there instead, using our direct link: https://www.paypal.me/mv4r
or using our email address as recipient on the PayPal website: [email protected]
Thank you very much for your continuous support. We are very grateful for you all!
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
about 6 years agoUpdate #43
New pictures of the kids on our Facebook Page! Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/myvisionforrefugees
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #42
Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. Our children at Home of Hope are thankful for your contributions and will be extremely grateful for your continuous support towards their care. Your contributions have been giving them a safe home, a good education, good medical care, healthy food & proper clothing, among others. We are all grateful. Thanks for helping them experience love and care.
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #40
Our Founder and President, Sam Johnson has arrived safely in Guinea. He will be overseeing the construction of the two additional rooms and office space at Home of Hope Orphanage, starting in February. We appreciate your continuous support; please keep him in your prayers also. The children at Home of Hope are really excited to have their "Dad" back!
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #39
We are grateful to God for a good year in 2016. We hope for even more support this year. A big thanks to all our supporters! We wish you the best this year!
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #38
Buying Christmas gifts on Amazon? Shop through AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) and select My Vision for Refugees Inc.as the charity to support. No extra cost to you! Share the joy of giving, especially during this Christmas season and bless the lives of those in need while sharing with your friends and family :)
Direct link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/47-4140533
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #37
Happy #GivingTuesday!
Thank you for giving to My Vision for Refugees Inc. We appreciate your generosity. We hope you will continue to support our mission of caring for refugee orphans in Guinea. Your donations help us give them a safe home with all basic needs provided, a good education and medical care.
Through your help, they will have the opportunities to grow, realize their full potential and become successful, contributing members of society.
Children are the future and need our support and love! Our children at Home of Hope Orphanage are thankful for the support of generous donors like yourself!
Every dollar counts and makes such a big difference in these kids lives.
Thanks again..
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #36
Happy #GivingTuesday!
Thank you for giving to My Vision for Refugees Inc. We appreciate your generosity. We hope you will continue to support our mission of caring for refugee orphans in Guinea. Your donations help us give them a safe home with all basic needs provided, a good education and medical care.
Through your help, they will have the opportunities to grow, realize their full potential and become successful, contributing members of society.
Children are the future and need our support and love! Our children at Home of Hope Orphanage are thankful for the support of generous donors like yourself!
Every dollar counts and makes such a big difference in these kids lives.
Thanks again..
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #35
Planning to Shop at Amazon? Go to Amazon Smile (https://smile.amazon.com/) and select My Vision for Refugees Inc. as the charity to support. That way, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to My Vision for Refugees Inc. at no extra cost to you.
Please support and spread the word.
Support My Vision for Refugees Inc. every time you shop and help us give a good education to our refugee orphans at our Home of Hope Orphanage and provide their basic needs.
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #34
Hello Everyone!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day! As we enter this season and spend time with our family, let's not forget those in need and those who don't have the means. Let's reach out and in our very own little way, give to others who have no way of helping themselves. It might be to your local food bank, a homeless shelter, a neighbor who needs help, a homeless person on the street, someone in your church or school, refugees, orphans abroad and many others in need.
Our kids at our orphanage, Home of Hope in Guinea, depend solely on the benevolence of our donors to live a normal life with access to basic needs including shelter, good food, clean water, clothing, good medical care and education. We are very thankful to all our donors and supporters.
We appreciate you very much and encourage more people to join our cause and donate to support these children. WE NEED YOU! Please visit www.myvision4refugees.org to learn more. Children are the future and need our support and love!
Check donations can be made to:
My Vision for Refugees Inc.
217 Roseman Way
Woodstock, GA 30067
You can also donate online by clicking our "DONATE" button on Facebook or visiting our Fundly page: https://fundly.com/my-visionforrefugees
Remember, November 29th is Giving Tuesday!!! This is the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday and an opportunity to nationally celebrate and support giving and philanthropy. We encourage you all to take part and support Home of Hope Orphanage and our mission to care for refugee orphans!
www.myvision4refugees.org
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #33
Check out the pictures from our soccer camp fundraiser!
Saturday:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BywECJlZsUSjLW5ndk5LLWFoTE0?usp=sharing
Sunday:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5XQPFSGfGYpcVZQcE5PdnJIdU0?usp=sharing
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #31
Check out the pictures from our soccer camp fundraiser!
Saturday:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BywECJlZsUSjLW5ndk5LLWFoTE0?usp=sharing
Sunday:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5XQPFSGfGYpcVZQcE5PdnJIdU0?usp=sharing
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #31
Check out the pictures from our soccer camp fundraiser!
Saturday:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BywECJlZsUSjLW5ndk5LLWFoTE0?usp=sharing
Sunday:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5XQPFSGfGYpcVZQcE5PdnJIdU0?usp=sharing
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #30
Some of our wonderful kids at Home of Hope Orphanage. Please visit our facebook page for more pictures : https://www.facebook.com/myvisionforrefugees/
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #29
Please check out this soccer camp for kids and support a worthy cause!
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
over 6 years agoUpdate #28
Friendly reminder everyone! Our campaign is still ongoing! We need your help to raise funds! Please give and/or share! God bless you!
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
almost 7 years agoUpdate #27
God is so good! We have received $1,217 between Aug 10 and Aug 21st towards the urgent expansion needed at Home of Hope to prevent the orphanage from shutting down!
A very big thanks to all who have given. We appreciate you so much!
We need at least $4000 more to start construction! Please share the word, we need more support.
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
almost 7 years agoUpdate #25
We want to say a big thank you to all our supporters and donors!
The donations we have received on Fundly after our urgent plea for funds to build additional space in Home of Hope Orphanage amounts to $367 as of 8/17/2016. God bless all those who have given! We still have a long way to reach our goal!
The total amount shown on the page reflects the online donations we have received over the past two years and have been used already in the initial construction of Home of Hope Orphanage. .
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
almost 7 years agoUpdate #24
Urgent Need for Funds: Due to new regulations from the Guinea government, we are now required to build additional space for the onsite director and staff for our orphanage, Home of Hope. We must comply or the orphanage will be closed and the orphans we support will lose their home. In order to complete construction by the deadline (April 2017), we must begin soon, before the rainy season!
We need your help! To start construction, we need 200 people to donate $25 each. Will you join us?
Online donations can be made at https://fundly.com/my-visionforrefugees. Checks can be written to My Vision for Refugees Inc. and mailed to 217 Roseman Way, Woodstock, GA 30188.
For more information on our 501 (c) non-profit organization, please visit our Website: myvision4refugees.org
Please share this post to get the word out! Thank you!
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Samuel Johnson posted a new update:
almost 7 years agoUpdate #23
As little as $14 can buy text books for one orphan at our Home of Hope orphanage for a whole school year. $20 can buy a shoe and school uniform for one orphan. $79 covers the average school fees for one orphan for a whole school year. We currently have 16 kids in the orphanage. We appeal to you to give to our campaign, to help these orphans to have a good education and realize their full potential. Education is the key to a better life and it's our wish to provide these opportunities to these little orphans, who in turn can become influential members of the society and help others too. Let's make a difference in the world!
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