Lord's Children
Three years ago, we established an orphanage (The Lord’s Children). Throughout God's Word, the Lord tells us to care for orphans. "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress." (James 1:27). Our motivation was simple. The need is great. It's hard to imagine seeing young children on the streets and wondering how they survive. We learned a long time ago that the needs are significant, and we can only do so much. But we also learned you could make a difference in the lives of a few.
A story comes to mind where we made a difference in one life. A lady we worked with in Tanzania approached Joan and told her the story of a pregnant young mother who had HIV/AIDS. Breastfeeding a child is common practice. Sadly, the virus can be passed on from the mother to the child through breastfeeding. The alternative is to give the newborn baby formula. But the mother lacked the financial resources to buy the formula. Seeing the need, Joan committed to covering the cost of the baby formula for approximately two years. The boy is now a teenager and does not have the virus. Water Is Life continued to support him in his educational process through the 7th grade. A little bit of money to us was saving a life for them.
We have helped many children in their educational journey. We've also established small schools in two communities to help them meet their academic needs.
Our next logical step was to establish an orphanage. It's heartbreaking to see children on these streets hungry for food and someone to love them. We first had to build a house for the children to live in and furnish it with adequate sleeping arrangements. The second thing was to get approval from the government to operate the orphanage. It was complicated to work with the government to legitimize the orphanage, obtain the proper permits, and get final approval from the government. The government was impressed by how well it is managed. Ezekiel, the Operations Manager, came off the streets at about eight years old. Water is Life put him through his educational process, and he ultimately graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
We now support 15 beautiful, healthy children who are no longer orphans because they are the Lord's children. The children are also receiving the blessing of education. One of the children was at the top of her class of 294 students. All this is equipping them for the future. In addition, they are being taught the Word of God and the Love of God. Jesus told His disciples,"Let the little children come to me." He healed little children, raised them from the dead, and He blessed them. The ongoing care of the children is an area of needed resources.