Children Ministry (Operation Hope) is a ministry geared towards helping children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, to acquire education. This is done by finding sponsors who are willing to support these children financially with at least Kshs. 2,000 per month to give them hope for a brighter future. The program officers also visit abandoned babies in hospitals, and feeds children from poor families living in the slums as well as giving assistance to the needy families of the children under the program.

The base situated next to Kakuma refugee camp, offers certificate and diploma courses in leadership and discipleship. Other activities in the base include missions training, children ministry, evangelism and food distribution. Ephraim Children’s Ministry, which operates within the Kakuma base, feeds the Turkana children of the arid Northern Kenya and plans are under way to develop an orphanage in a plot in Kakuma to provide food, a home, education and spiritual nourishment to these children.

SUPPORT OPERATION HOPE CHILDREN

The current and most urgent need for the children in our program is food. Especially in the Eastern Province where most of our children are, there has been severe drought and famine due to lack of rain. Our children in Mwingi, Makueni, Kitui and Donyo Sabuk could use a lot of help in getting food, seeing as the area they live in is currently dry and parched.
When we visit the children in our program, we are able to identify the other needs that they have, such as needing school uniform, mattresses, blankets, hurricane lamps, shoes and clothes. They need sponsors for their continual upkeep.
We seek sponsors to be able to give food to these children, in this moment of need. You can write to us on acm[at]missionsafrica.org.  Your contribution will go a long way in helping these children.

In our Operation Hope program, we have planned to build an orphanage, the Watoto Village, in which we shall house the neediest children in our program:-

a)      Those who are sick (HIV Positive) – because they need continual medical attention, and they need to eat healthy too.

b)      Those who live with very aged and dependent guardians e.g. in cases where the guardians are blind, or too weak to take care of themselves and the children. In such cases, the children usually go out to look for food after coming from school.

c)       Those who live with their relatives, but those relatives are mistreating them.

d)      Those who are extremely poor and are not able to study and do their assignments in the evenings because they are too poor to afford kerosene for the hurricane lamps, for example. We would provide them with electricity, and they would be able to study both early in the mornings and late at night.

While at the orphanage, these children would be able to receive both medical and other needed forms of attention. In addition, we would be able to talk with teenagers in the upper classes who have a tendency of leaving school and getting married. We would provide an atmosphere where they not only enjoy school, but also embrace its importance for their future. We hope that this would instill discipline in them as well.

COTTAGES

The village, which will be located in Magogoni, a place near our ACMI headquarters, will be organized in units/cottages, that is, self-contained separate houses, in order to house children in a family set-up. Each cottage will have about 7 or 8 children, with a “mother” or a matron who will stay with them in that family set-up, gearing them better to normal life.

Each cottage contains 3 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen and washrooms. The boys and girls would have separate bedrooms, and the mother would have her own bedroom. The compound can contain 30 cottages.

We are looking forward to getting teams/churches who can volunteer to build one unit.

COSTS

1 unit/cottage costs Kshs. 1, 627, 792. (US$ 21, 140)

In financing, a team or individual can take part of the cost of the cottage as follows:

ITEM	DESCRIPTION	COST IN Kshs.	COST IN US DOLLARS
1	Foundation	565, 550	7, 345
2	Walling	325, 590	4, 228
3	Roofing	368, 412	4, 785
4	Finishes	368, 240	4, 782
5	TOTAL	1,627,792	21,140

May God bless you as you help these children.