News Archive 2011

Thanks to a generous grant from the ECHO (Every Community Helping Orphans) Foundation, Inc., OFA-USA is able to transfer significant funding for humanitarian assistance and development to our partner in Sierra Leone this month. We will also be providing seed funding for our partner in Uganda, Orphans for Christ in Africa, to start a small agricultural business at their Tororo site. We pray that God would bless this endeavor and that it would grow to support the orphans at OCA.

Our partner in Kenya has started a feeding programme in response to the severe drought. The programme provides hot meals for the orphaned children at YPPCC's rural sites. Please pray for this vital work which is having a real impact by preventing hunger and sickness.

"We are starting the programme by faith. The drought is so severe – people have started dying of hunger. It is a pathetic situation here, even the cheapest vegetable is hard to come by or if you get it, it is very expensive. Thank you for praying for us and supporting our children."

Josiah Sellanga, Director of YPPCC

Three of the children from Young People of Purpose Community Center were selected by the Kenyan Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Nairobi Province, to take part in a six-day Youth Exchange Programme. The group tackled a range of issues including youth empowerment, cohesion, team building and conflict resolution.

In other news, all three students at YPPCC's sewing school who sat the Government Trade Test (Grade 3) in December passed the exam!

After two years as VP of OFA-Canada, Noel Kabore has recently stepped down from this role. We would like to thank Noel for his faithful service and wish him God's blessing for the future.

We welcome Shannon Scott as OFA-Canada's new Vice President. Shannon is a research scientist in Animal and Meat Science by training, and has worked on an agricultural development project in West Africa for five years. A desire to ameliorate the desperate plight of the many children that she saw on project monitoring trips prompted her to get involved with Orphanages for Africa. Shannon is a native Canadian, born in Saskatchewan, and now living in Edmonton, AB.

This month Orphanages for Africa's Founder, Catherine Evans, was interviewed by Alhurra, an Arabic language satellite television network for the Middle East. "Alhurra" is Arabic for "the free one" and is sponsored by the US government.

The interview was broadcast on Alhurra's Al Youm programme on Sunday May 8th as part of the programme's special Mother's Day feature. It told the story of a single woman who is a surrogate mother to orphaned children in Africa.

We thank God for this opportunity to let people across the world know what He is doing through Orphanages for Africa and pray that the interview will touch many hearts in the Middle East.

Young People of Purpose Community Center, our partner in Kenya, has recently installed two new water tanks which will allow them to store and provide clean water to the children they care for. The tanks were provided by OFA through the support of a generous donor in the USA.

YPPCC have also started two feeding programmes in Barchando and Ajigo (Western Kenya). These programmes provide lunch to children during school days and once a month they meet for Bible study.

This month OFA has been able to transfer funds to Orphans for Christ in Africa via our micro-enterprise and child sponsorship programmes. The funds have enabled OCA to purchase the necessary agricultural tools and implements for their farming business, as well as to pay meal fees for the children at school and purchase supplies and pay utility bills.

Orphans for Christ in Africa continues to minister to 43 children, who gather together each weekend in the Kampala Slum for a Bible Club where they learn Bible verses, sing worship songs, play games and sports and just have fun. This month OCA introduced a new Craft Making Skills Training Programme aimed at training the children in craft making using local materials. This new programme is part of the weekend activities OCA carries out with the children. All of these activities are aimed at providing life skills and spiritual nourishment to the children so that they can grow up with skills that they can use to earn an income.

A former volunteer, who spent time with OCA in July 2008 and again in June 2011, recently offered to help OCA purchase new computer equipment to replace some of their old PCs. OCA was able to use the 20 new PCs in one of the IT Skills training labs at Kamwokya Child Support Centre. Join us in thanking God for his generous provision of this new computer equipment!

Young People of Purpose Community Center, our partner in Kenya, has entered into partnership with the government of Kenya in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Staff at YPPCC have visited those identified as HIV positive, offering counseling/guidance services and praying with them. Join us in prayer that YPPCC will be able to offer the love of Christ to many who are suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In other news, the orphaned children taking part in YPPCC's feeding programme are receiving regular meals. The children are active and healthy and their teachers have noticed that their academic and extra curricular activities have improved. There are currently over 200 children on the waiting list for YPPCC's feeding programme. We thank God for a recent donation of $500 to OFA-Canada for the feeding programme and pray that we can enable many more children to receive much needed food.

Praise God for His last minute miracles! Our partner in Sierra Leone has been in need of funds to pay the tuition fees for two young adults who grew up in their orphanage. Lawrence and Fanta are both studying at local universities and have completed their first year. The fees for their second year were due this week and the semester starts on Saturday. Thanks to a kind donation, OFA-USA is able to provide funds for them both to continue their education.

"We rejoice at what God is able to do, the many surprises when we are about to give up... He sees the deepest needs of his children. A few weeks ago we asked people locally to donate clothes and shoes for the children and the response was overwhelming. The children were more than happy when we handed over the clothes.

One of the orphans approached me and said "we need sweaters – when go to school in the morning we feel cold". We promised the boys a sweater each. We saw the simplicity and the genuineness in them and reflected that it is no wonder Jesus tells us to be like little children so that we can inherit God's kingdom. We will get them sweaters.

On the same day we were able to show the children DVDs on the power of prayer in the lives of children and on the love of the Father. As children begin to connect with the Father and pray for the needs of the community, surely there will be peace..."

Shelter for Orphans Ministries opened their grocery store business on 16th November. We thank God that this store is now open after many months of prayer and planning! Profits from the grocery store will be used by SOM to help meet the running expenses of their pre-school, which provides free education to over one hundred orphaned children. SOM had been planning to set up the store on land they have recently acquired, which would reduce the outgoings of the business. However, due to setbacks in building the premises, SOM decided to open the business in a temporary location until the building works are complete.

This month, with the help of funds provided by OFA, our partner in Sierra Leone was able to finish renovating their well. The picture to the right shows the finishing touches being put to the well which will provide fresh clean water to drink for the orphans at our partner's children's home.

In other news, Orphans for Christ in Africa, our partner in Uganda held a Christmas celebration for orphaned children at their Tororo location. In Zimbabwe, several of the children at Community Orphan Care Ministries came down with typhoid fever. However, we thank God that OFA was able to make an emergency transfer of funds to buy medicines and all have now completely recovered.