Project #1 - Adopt an Orphan (continued)
... it becomes apparent that there is an entire generation that is gone - from HIV\AIDS.
My family and I
spend $40 on one meal. $28 will feed, clothe, educate, provide
a home, and provide the waters of eternal life for an orphan
for one month. One child, at $28 a month is $336 a year. I realize
that $366 is monthly rent for a lot of people in the states or a
car payment for many as well.
HOW IT
WORKS
When you send your
Adopt an Orphan gift of mercy to Friends of Mercy, we submit it for
a matching gift from LCMS World Relief and to Thrivent Finacial
(when applicable). When the gifts are matched, they are in turn
sent to Kenya 
to
support children in a specific orphanage. The funds will be used by
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) to provide
"room and board" for a child in an
existing orphanage.
to
support children in a specific orphanage. The funds will be used by
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) to provide
"room and board" for a child in an
existing orphanage. To save on
administrative costs and because of the local culture, we don't
assign a specific child who will communicate with a person who
"Adopts an Orphan." Rather, the orphanage is assigned and the donor
will receive photos, information, updates, etc. at least twice a
year from several children in the orphanage. 
Below, we
explain why this works best.
Below, we
explain why this works best.ORPHANAGES IN THE
VILLAGES
The ELCK believes
in building orphanages in the midst of the local village where
there is a local Lutheran church. The ELCK works through the local
pastor and congregation to identify land, build the facilities, and
provide a program to care for AIDS Orphans in and around the
village.
Many family members still desire
to help raise the orphans in their villages, however, they don't
have the means to add on to their 
mud\dung
huts, nor do they have the means to feed the children and provide
the money to enroll in the public school system. So, by building
the orphanages in the village, the extened family remains in
contact to assist and help raise the orphans. The orphans are not
"sent off" to the orphanage, 
rather,
the orphanage becomes a place for the orphans to sleep, receive
food and clothing, academic and Lutheran education, and remain a
member of the village.
mud\dung
huts, nor do they have the means to feed the children and provide
the money to enroll in the public school system. So, by building
the orphanages in the village, the extened family remains in
contact to assist and help raise the orphans. The orphans are not
"sent off" to the orphanage, rather,
the orphanage becomes a place for the orphans to sleep, receive
food and clothing, academic and Lutheran education, and remain a
member of the village.When you give to Friends of Mercy,
your gift of mercy will provide the badly needed funds to provide
for the orphans in the context of the village and local
congregation. Because the children have family in the village where
their orphanage is located, often the children will come and go
from the orphanage as they sometimes sleep in the homes of their
extended families or in the orphanage itself. Therefore, the the
food, clothing, education, etc.will support many more chldren that
the 28 who live "full time" in the orphanage. This is why a
specific child is not assigned in our Adopt an Orphan program. Your
gift will support the needs of orphans in an
orphanage.