Update on the Orphan Basic Group Sponsorship Program in Malawi

The Orphan sponsorship program is off and running in Malawi. For a description of the program, please click on the link at the right "Orphans - How you can Help".

The initial objective of the program is to sponsor 2,000 of the 5,500 orphans supported by Word & Deed in Malawi. At this point, 320 orphans are being sponsored by families in North America. The remainder of the orphans are being supported through fund raisers and church collections. The sponsorship program provides a higher funding level on a per orphan basis (current funding is inadequate). Below is a picture of Peter VanKempen with some of the orphans.

The Lizulu Orphan Care Project is led by Everton Kamangire (below with a computer donated by Covenant Reformed Baptist Church of Orillia, Ontario), the volunteer director. The project has three centers with a total of 360 orphans (with an additional 100 orphans being added). Everton’s project was chosen first since it received the highest rating (best run) of the six Word & Deed supported projects located throughout Malawi.

The orphans at the Lizulu project are receiving nutritious meals and Bible based teaching on 4 afternoons per week (this exceeds the minimum of 3 afternoons per week established by the program). The regular diet of rice and beans has been supplemented this year with meat and eggs on some days as well as a nutritional diet supplement.

Recently a program was started to provide the orphans with a strong biblically based understanding of sexuality and marriage. There are 40 orphan children receiving secondary school education (all that are eligible) which is wonderful for Malawi.

A local chief has donated 40 acres of land for use by the orphan care center. The plan is to grow corn and soy. The orphans will learn farming methods in partnership with adult volunteers. The harvested crops will be used for the benefit of the orphans.

Everton reports that there is excellent cooperation between the children and their caregivers. The local project committee is in the middle of constructing some playground equipment for the children and they have also set up a separate hut for private counseling sessions.

Below is a picture of some of the care givers, volunteers and Lizulu Orphan Care Project committee members. Their dedication to the needs of the orphans are critical to the ongoing success of the project.

Below you can see some of the typical huts as well as the beautiful countryside of Malawi. The orphans live here with their caregiver families.

Finally, we are delighted to report that a group of businessmen in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area are funding the construction of a 90m well. Currently, water must be carried to Lizulu from a well that is located 1 KM away.

God has great concern for orphans. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). Repeatedly, especially in the Old Testament, God instructs His people to make provision for the fatherless (Deut. 24:17-21) and declares judgment on those who don’t (Mal. 3:5). If you are already sponsoring a group of orphans, we thank you for your partnership. If you aren't, please prayerfully consider it today.

In a world that has become a global village, may we respond with faithfulness, generosity, and gladness to the responsibility that God has given us in answering the plaintive calls of the orphans in Malawi.

To sponsor a group of orphans click on Sponsor an orphan or call Toll Free in Canada 877.375.9673 or U.S.A. 866.391.5728. We need your help!