Summit announced for mobilizing believers on behalf of the orphans

Posted: 27 February, 2009

USA (MNN) ― An orphan grows up with lingering feelings of not belonging to anyone or to anything. Multiply that one orphan by 132.7 million, and what you're left with are multiple generations of disconnect.

That's why several ministries who work exclusively with the problem banded together. The result was the formation of the Christian Alliance for Orphans.

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Reporter's Notebook: Children Orphaned by AIDS Cobble Lives from the Ruins

Posted: February 17, 2009, 12:00 PM ET

Ray Suarez is in rural KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, tracing the daily lives of children orphaned by AIDS. In this report he looks at their struggle for survival and the unique family units that form in the absence of parents.


During our reporting trip to Africa, we looked at several main areas: the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa; the rise in tuberculosis-HIV co-infection; and the rapidly rising number of young South Africans who've lost one or both parents to AIDS and must cope as best they can.

To look at efforts to deal with AIDS orphans, we traveled to KwaZulu-Natal province, home to some of the highest rates of adult HIV infection in the country.

Our first stop was a tiny hamlet in the mountains north of Durban, where we visited the tiny home of three girls left orphaned by AIDS three years ago. Their mother died in 2002, their father in 2006. The graves sit just feet from the front door of their home. Try to imagine being left without parents, with little extended family, and being able to look on your parents' graves when you walk out your front door every morning.

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Art exhibit helps orphans -Children in Uganda get profits from show

Brenton Hudson

Published: Monday, February 16, 2009
Updated: Monday, February 16, 2009

“There are about two million orphans in Uganda and 50 percent of the population of Uganda is under 15 years old,” Rossin said. “Uganda is not financially equipped to overcome certain things.”

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Church launching effort to help boys in Ethiopian orphanage

Published February 22 2009
By: Mila Koumpilova , INFORUM

Theresa and David Held returned from Ethiopia with a beautiful baby girl, an admiration for her countrymen’s scrappy spirit and awareness that Western adoptions help only a tiny fraction of the country’s 6 million orphans.

It was summer 2007, and the Fargo couple resolved to do more.

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SILEMBE UPDATE | 16 FEB 2009

Though I haven't been posting updates lately, much is continuing to develop in Silembe at our House of Faith Orphanage. We just received our 22nd child on Valentines day -Livity. She will be 7 years old in May, and her mother recently died.

We are nearing completion of the 4th home at the project that will give us the capacity to serve 48 children if need be. We are considering reducing the number of children in each home to 8 versus the 12 we have planned for. This will require additional homes should we make this change, and still build out to host 72 children. We will consider the demand over the next 12 months and then adjust accordingly in 2010.

More to come later on our plans for 2009. An update from Mike Jones in Zambia follows:

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Hey Scott,

Another group coming this year would be great. We are thinking of being in the States this November and December.

The children love to get into whatever I'm doing.

View of 4th house from outside of the kitchen fire place.

Plastering inside of 4th house.

I'll make a few trips this week hauling the ceiling and cement.

Inside partition walls in bath house.

I'm trying to get a clutch for my lorry. Should have it working soon.

Act 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

Sheri thinks a 4th quarter group to Congo would be great.

Zambia has a shortage of mealimeal. I got 5 of these bags in Lusaka, 2 at a time.

Sheri is playing blocks while teaching. She will be in the States in a few weeks, spending a couple of weeks in Zambia before departing Africa.

Sheri will help with Samantha and the chemo treatments, and sharing about the ministry for several months while in the states.

God Bless, Mike

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Thanks, and be blessed!

10 Ideas: Ministering to Orphans

FamilyLife’s Hope for Orphans

Today there are an estimated 143 million children who are orphans or are in a foster care system. Yes, it’s a big number. And it can be difficult to know how one person can make a dent in a reality so daunting. However, one Christian—every Christian—can make a difference. There are many things you can do on behalf of the orphan. Here are ten to consider:

1. Plead with the Father for them.

2. Speak up for them.

3. Give them what they need.

4. Support those who support them............................

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Often times we get asked about what people can do for these children. The above resource give anyone great ideas as to what they can do to help. If you'd like to somehow assist our efforts please contact our office at Global Orphan Relief at 303.840.1123.

5K run to raise funds for orphans in developing countries

By Mike Moore
Journal Times
Monday, February 16, 2009 12:24 AM CST

MOUNT PLEASANT — The course for the new 5-kilometer race will be clearly marked. The young men and women it will benefit have a murkier path ahead.

The nonprofit group A Full Life Inc. plans a 5-kilometer run and walk April 18. The Run to Spring fundraiser is designed to help orphans in developing countries who have “graduated” from the institutions where they were raised.

Kevin Cookman of Wind Point is president of the U.S. arm of the charity. He got involved after he and his wife adopted two orphans from Ukraine several years ago.

A Full Life provides shelter, medical care and job skills for orphans making the transition to life on their own. Because they often cannot attend mainstream schools, Cookman said the teenagers don’t otherwise receive that training.

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Oasis for Orphans plans mission to Kenya

Round Lake nurse leads team of 13

February 16, 2009
By Beth Kramer ekramer@scn1.com

Noah Leboo, an 11-year-old orphan in Kenya, was born with a birth defect that severely twisted his right foot. Despite this, Noah manages to play soccer with the other children at Trans Mara Children's Home run by Oasis for Orphans, an organization committed to Kenyan orphans.

His foot can be corrected with surgery and physical therapy, which inspired Ann Smith of Round Lake to organize a trip to Africa.

When Smith, 37, learned that a Grayslake family had decided to forgo buying Christmas gifts so they could fund Noah's surgery, she planned a two-week health trip to Kenya that will begin Friday.

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