A Word from Tom Davis

Thanks for coming to the Scared book site.

Scared is a work of fiction, but the world and life stories described in the book are very real. I’ve experienced them up close in my work as CEO of Children’s HopeChest.

I’ve met hundreds of kids who’ve lost parents, or whole communities of adults, to AIDS. I’ve held a starving child, and I’ve put my arms around a young girl the age of one of my daughters who’d been abused by a family member. I’ll never forget the five-year-old boy, coming from his empty hut miles away, carrying his two-year-old sister on his back to get food at a carepoint.

There aren’t words to describe your emotions in the face of these circumstances.

I write this, like Scared, not to shock, but to give voice to these children – to make them heard. And to bring them help.

At HopeChest, we meet practical and pressing needs. That’s the bottom line of caring for orphans. But we do more through a unique model that helps kids to overcome their circumstances and impact their world. One of the greatest ways is education.

That’s why we’re launching the Scared $1 Million Education Fund and Writing Contest for high school kids in Swaziland.

Starting December 1, 2009, you can play a part with your vote!

In the meantime

• Click around the Scared site to learn more.
• Keep checking back for updates from the field – and giveaways, including a trip to Swaziland to work with children at carepoints.
• Tell people about the Scared education fund – and cast your vote in December!

 

When it comes to kids like Adanna, involvement changes lives.

For the Fatherless,
Tom Davis