Building Self-Sustaining Communities for Orphans in Developing Countries

 by: Anita Lam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alamosa, CO , May 16, 2008 – Imagine a family-style orphan community that sustains itself economically, while at the same time contributing to its neighborhood’s welfare. With a pioneering project in hand, Our Family Orphan Communities, Inc. (OFOC) is holding a new key to making life better for some of the estimated 107 million orphans around the world.

            Founded in 2004, OFOC aspires to improve life for orphans regardless of nationality, race, religion, or gender around the world. With the goal that every orphan child can proudly say, “This is my family and this is my home,” OFOC is currently launching its Ethanol+ Project to bring self-sustainability to orphans in the Ninh Binh province of Vietnam .

            A bio-ethanol refinery that consumes sugarcane and some other non-food feedstocks would serve as the base of the Ethanol+ Project. Ethanol produced would then be sold in the host country market for profit, financing an orphan Community that houses about 160 children and 40 surrogate parents and grandparents, as well as a Community medical clinic.

            Bob Miller, the executive director of OFOC, remarked, “Using non-food feedstock is the key to secure food supply in the developing countries. Anywhere in the , , or even , you can see the effect the use of corn for ethanol is having on the economy.”

            In face of a petroleum shortage and an ever-rising oil price, ethanol serves as a viable and competitive alternative. “This is exactly what makes our work very interesting to the developing countries, especially if we can do it without the host-country government having to pay for it,” Miller added. The Ethanol+ Project is a modern, practical application of what the world knows about renewable and sustainable resources.

            The children will live in a family-style Community and receive quality education, including computer, living, and job skills which prepare them for their future and that of their country. Other components of the project would likely include aquaculture, hog farming, biogas and solar power generation, solar food drying, vocational school, and an activity center.

The self-sustaining nature of the project is what makes it unique, in contrast to most orphanages throughout the world that are compelled to ask for grants and donations every year for their operations. In addition, the project would benefit its immediate neighborhood and the host country through job opportunities, tax income, and less pollution.

            Miller’s interest in orphans dates back to the early 1990s. While making his living as a management consultant, he decided he wanted to pursue something different, “not just sitting there and writing another check to another charity somewhere,” he said, but rolling his sleeves up and doing something himself.

            In 1993, he went to and started volunteering at an orphanage in Guadalajara . He dedicated himself to the 120 kids there, and found his passion and enthusiasm in it. “It just hit me like an emotional brick; nothing ever touched me that deep in my life,” Miller said. He even adopted two brothers when the orphanage shut down in 1994.

            As the land donation by Ninh Binh province for the Ethanol+ Project is secured, Miller and his group are now working toward the fundraising for an on-site feasibility study. This is needed to get all the required licenses and permits for the construction to begin.

            OFOC is committed to sustainability, and it has plans for several other countries, including , , , and countries in Africa , that are currently under consideration and/or development. With the success of the Vietnamese project, Miller expects others will soon follow its lead. “This is how an orphanage or any other non-profit organization should work; we seek not only to be given, but to sustain ourselves and to give back to the community in the long run,” Miller commented.

Press Contact:

Bob Miller, Executive Director

Our Family Orphan Communities, Inc.

719-379-2509

bobm@orphancommunities.org

http://www.orphancommunities.org

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