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Spotlight on Orphans newsletter Spotlight on Orphans' Youth Site
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Feed Homeless African ChildrenFeed the Starving Children in Africa
Help Hearth to Hearth Ministries feed homeless African children that are starving in Africa. The Paragraphs below were adapted from a letter from Pastor Maurice, the administrator of Hope for Children Center. He has been working to feed the children that come to the gates of the African orphanage that he manages. Pastor Maurice has written many letters asking for help to feed African children. FEED AFRICAN CHILDREN PROGRAM One of the most important achievements that I can mention is the Feed African Children Program, which was organized by the older children in Hope for Children Center orphanage. They were so touched by the plight of the starving orphans outside the orphanage that they decided that they would forego one meal a day to share their food with the younger children dying of starvation in the streets or in their homes. Some of our donors/sponsors, when they became aware of what the children were trying to do on their own, decided to send support to assist in buying food to feed the starving children these African orphans were trying to help. Far more funds are needed if we are to meet the needs in a more meaningful way. This program opened an opportunity for Winifred Ajwang, an African orphan at Hope for Children Center Orphanage, to bring in one orphan (Mummy) that was starving in Africa. On one of the outings Winifred saw a starving African orphan that was so weak from hunger that she could barely move. Winifred begged to be allowed to bring the orphan she called Mummy into the orphanage and promised to care for her. Winifred's sponsor generously agreed to cover all the costs of Mummy's care until she was stronger. Thank God, Mummy is now sponsored.
As we go out into the surrounding area distributing food in the
Feed African Children Program, we met so many children
in the streets who are orphaned, homeless, hopeless, and desperate. Imagine it! Some were as
young as five or six with no mother, no father, no home, no food and no one to care
for them. I have been to the USA. I’ve seen how people there have extreme care
and love for children. I admire it. It is unimaginable to find a five-year-old
child in the streets of the USA without father, mother, food, shelter or anyone
to care. I never saw it and I just don’t think you ever have such a situation
there. It is truly painful here. We can no longer afford to feed the children at the gate from the food in our pantry. (This is because we are struggling to put away grain stores for the orphans already in Hope for Children Center Orphanage so they will have some food during the time of year when no grain is available. Editor) We can only feed the children at the gate whenever donors, responding to the great need, send funds specifically for that project. Under the Feed African Children Program and the Gates Project many orphaned children have been saved. I want to commend and thank those who have been supporting the Feed African Children Program and Feed the Starving at the Gates project. God wants us to care for His children. You can participate in these programs and have a part in helping to save even more children's lives. Click on the Donations link to help African orphans.
Every day orphans come to the gates of Hearth to Hearth Ministries' orphanages hoping to be let in, or at least get some food. Below is a fundraiser that Bless the Children is doing to help raise money for these orphans. Children at the Orphanage Gates Imagine...No parents, No home, No food, Dressed in rags… Your only Christmas wish that someone might give you some food, or a safe place to sleep. This is the situation for hundreds of homeless, orphaned children in Africa who arrive as early as 4 a.m. at the gates of the orphanages we help support. The children at the gates are actually small families of children who are trying to survive on their own, typically with no adults in their lives. Many times, children of 10 years or even younger are responsible for several smaller siblings. They do not have the skills necessary to grow crops, collect firewood, or even purify water, so the children suffer from severe malnutrition. This sets up a particular vulnerability to diseases. There are countless numbers of children who have walked for days to the gates asking the orphanage to take not them, but their little siblings. Often the older children turn to prostitution and other forms of crime in order to feed their little brothers and sisters. A lack of tears… They do not have shoes, they do not have blankets, and often they have no shelter. Most have no clean drinking water. It is unimaginable. The most shattering thing is the lack of tears. They do not cry, they just come, sit and wait. This is because children cry to be attended to, or get attention, and these children know that no one will respond. Will you respond? The hundreds of children who come to the gates generally stay out in the bush in some sort of structure or shelter they have constructed, or what remains of the home their parents made for them. Often, they have buried their parents themselves. Anything their family may have had with value is typically stolen from the children after the parents die. The children have no value other than as workers or servants. So, they stay out in the bush until it is nearly daybreak, and then make their way down little footpaths to the gates, hoping to be the first in line in case there is a meal, or even more hopefully, an opening for them. Their names are dutifully written down each day in a notebook, they are given a cup of porridge, and then they are told 'No, not today'...it is probably the only food they will have for the day. During times of famine, when food is severely scarce, we resort to feeding these children just three times a week. More children are saved this way because food reserves will last longer. Unfortunately, every day is a crisis for the Children at the Gates but you can improve the situation. Please share the spirit of this season with those you love and the homeless, orphaned children of Kenya. What you can do to help the Children at the Orphanage Gates: Fill out the form on the reverse side, make your donation and receive your holiday cards to share with family and friends. Contact info@blessthechildreninc.org or 727-631-0088 to get information about how you can further help these children. Spread the story of the Children at the Orphanage Gates to friends, family and co-workers so that they too can help them. Our goal this season is to give each of these children a special Christmas by providing an especially healthy and delicious meal, a new set of clothes, a pair of shoes, a blanket, a malaria shot and basic medical care. We also hope to find sponsors to help meet the children’s needs on an ongoing basis. THIS CHRISTMAS YOU CAN HELP THESE CHILDREN. YOU CAN MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. All proceeds benefit the Children at the Gates. All donations are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS guidelines. www.blessthechildreninc.org • info@blessthechildreninc.org 727-631-0088 • 411 Cleveland St., #195 Clearwater, FL 33755 © 2008 Bless the Children, Inc.
Keywords and links related to feeding orphaned children Feed orphaned Children, Feed the Starving at the gates, Feed the Children of Africa Feed African Children Feed the children at the gates Poverty and Hunger
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