A Night to Remember It was a night to remember, a landmark for IFC/Hohidiai. It was an evening with 300 of our closest friends and supporters. We all gathered to share the update and story of IFC/Hohidiai. The décor was Indonesian; the tables were set and decorated with Batik cloth, the traditional cloth of Indonesia. The platform had a wide display of baskets, paintings and ‘cakalele’ sword and shield from North Maluku. The dinner...

Semi had a broad smile as he put the sand and concrete mix into the mold. It is a job for a plodder – someone who doesn’t mind repetition. It can only be done one at a time and takes time to get a nice sized stack. This is an important job because we need every one of them to do the smallest building. We need huge numbers of bricks to do the larger building. Bricks are made one at a time in a press with a long handle. The mix of concrete,...

The excitement level was high with the three boys from Alaska. We were all going to the beach to enjoy the tropical warmth and splashing with the children and staff of the Hohidiai School. We all boarded the work truck for the long drive to the dock where we would get on traditional boats to make the 20 minute run to the island.  The truck ride is the favorite ride of visitors. We were all squeezed into the back of the work truck with its five...

I remember staring out the window in grade school hoping the day would end and summer would come soon. I know that far away look very well. I just returned to the U.S. after taking a team to work in the Hohidiai School. The children are advancing very well. It is a step-by-step process. I noticed the children who were struggling the most were getting a lot of after school help and they are moving forward and even the toughest children are...

Ten volunteers will be traveling to Indonesia this week. These are ten amazing people who have skills that they plan to use while serving at the Hohidiai School. The school is two years old and has around 50 children. It is taught a half day in English and a half day in Bahasa Indonesia. The children are being exposed to two languages and they are doing very well. The school is accredited and seeks a very high academic level. The Ten will leave...

This is an awesome story about a changed life. Asminah is a one-year old girl who was born with a cleft lip and palate (see photo of her as an infant). She was brought to the clinic on the island of Halmahera where the extents of her injuries were assessed. The team led by Esther Scarborough arranged for her to go to Australia to repair her cleft lip and rebuild her face. She is the most recent child that IFC/Hohidiai has sent out of country to...

Trouble and confusion would be good words to describe the later teen years of my life.  I wondered, “How can you be surrounded by friends and still feel alone?” I know I was not the only teen trying to navigate those years. I was not the only child to grow up with a dysfunctional home led by a single mother. There are many who, out of no fault of their own, face these circumstances.   I met a couple who offered me a safe and nurturing home. I...

2013  is a fresh start — a road never traveled. It has 365 days of hopes and dreams.  We all know it will bring its share of  challenges, but IFC/Hohidiai has always faced each year with optimism and hope.  Our passion is to help the poorest-of-the-poor as they come to our clinics and hospital asking for help. I so admire the leaders and staff at the base in Halmahera–they serve with compassion. They sacrifice so much to be a part...

You can call it fate or a Divine plan but over 50 children have come into our care over the last ten years. They walk around the base in Halmahera hand-in-hand or arms around each other’s neck. There are others riding bikes, sitting together, reading books or playing a game. Moses, Joshua and Yohanas who came to our base around the same time have become very close friends. These three are like brothers and even sleep in the same bedroom since...

I get to travel with the most amazing people on this planet. They are a rare group because they travel to a remote region of the world, pay their own expenses and volunteer their skills and time. It is shocking when you think about it. These volunteers are: doctors nurses dentists counselors teachers construction workers computer specialists college students mothers retirees and farmers. They come from all over America and have one thing in...