Students Travel to Lebanon to Serve in Children’s Home
Published 04.13.2016
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During their Winter Break, a pair of Pennsylvania College of Technology students traveled to Lebanon, where they spent two weeks volunteering at a children’s home near Beirut.
George Settle III, a student in the welding and fabrication engineering technology major, and Tyler D. Hodge, who is studying building automation technology, stayed, worked and played at Home of Hope in the village of Kehale, Lebanon, about 10 miles from Beirut. The home provides shelter, education, socialization and recreation for street children, many who have been abused or abandoned.
While there, Settle, who hails from Dillsburg, used his welding know-how in the home’s shop, where he worked with a few of the boys to build two steel picnic tables and four steel-framed dining-room tables, along with some smaller projects.
Hodge, a resident of Gillett, spent much of his time helping to clean and organize donations received during the Christmas season.
When they were not helping with projects, Hodge and Settle spent their time with the children, usually playing, watching movies and working out in the gym.
It was Settle’s second visit to the home. In 2014, he traveled solo to the home and spent seven weeks teaching welding skills to the children and completing several projects. He was touched by the challenging circumstances many of the children have overcome and immediately began planning his return.
“As a reflection back to the last time I was at the home, I can attest to the great improvements that have occurred in the last year and a half,” he said, attributing the progress to additional local volunteers, three new missionaries and generous donors. “The school has developed significantly with new teachers, structure and learning tools.”
Home of Hope is a nonprofit organization that serves misfortunate, abused, abandoned and orphaned children. It was established by the Lebanese Evangelical Society in 1999.
According to the home’s literature, the majority, if not all, of the children who come into the Home of Hope come from a background of violence, abuse and neglect. Many of them are street children who are forced, usually by their family or child-labor ringleaders, to beg or steal in order to bring in money. Others, meanwhile, come from more heart-rending situations, such as sex trafficking, drug experimentation and human organ trafficking.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
George Settle III, a student in the welding and fabrication engineering technology major, and Tyler D. Hodge, who is studying building automation technology, stayed, worked and played at Home of Hope in the village of Kehale, Lebanon, about 10 miles from Beirut. The home provides shelter, education, socialization and recreation for street children, many who have been abused or abandoned.
While there, Settle, who hails from Dillsburg, used his welding know-how in the home’s shop, where he worked with a few of the boys to build two steel picnic tables and four steel-framed dining-room tables, along with some smaller projects.
Hodge, a resident of Gillett, spent much of his time helping to clean and organize donations received during the Christmas season.
When they were not helping with projects, Hodge and Settle spent their time with the children, usually playing, watching movies and working out in the gym.It was Settle’s second visit to the home. In 2014, he traveled solo to the home and spent seven weeks teaching welding skills to the children and completing several projects. He was touched by the challenging circumstances many of the children have overcome and immediately began planning his return.
“As a reflection back to the last time I was at the home, I can attest to the great improvements that have occurred in the last year and a half,” he said, attributing the progress to additional local volunteers, three new missionaries and generous donors. “The school has developed significantly with new teachers, structure and learning tools.”Home of Hope is a nonprofit organization that serves misfortunate, abused, abandoned and orphaned children. It was established by the Lebanese Evangelical Society in 1999.
According to the home’s literature, the majority, if not all, of the children who come into the Home of Hope come from a background of violence, abuse and neglect. Many of them are street children who are forced, usually by their family or child-labor ringleaders, to beg or steal in order to bring in money. Others, meanwhile, come from more heart-rending situations, such as sex trafficking, drug experimentation and human organ trafficking.
For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.