21/01: Orphanage Update 1-21-2009
It would seem as the wind of change is blowing on the sails of the orphanage project. This may be why the Lord has halted the project in order to redirect our attention. Erssentially in Malawi there are two kinds of orphan care facilities. First is the community based orphan care system. 99%+ of all orphan centers in Malawi are of this type. The second is Resident orphan care centers…this is what we were planning on being.
Community Based Orphan Care Centers:
These are functionally speaking, day care centers Monday through Friday, during school hours. In the past we refused to look at this option as it did not get the orphans off the streets at night when they are most vulnerable. This is the format that the Government here advocates. They want the children raised by the community and not isolated from it.
Resident Based Orphan Care Centers:
These are functionally new permanent homes for the orphans (until they graduate school and are sent back into society). These are not normally permitted by the government, but by the Grace of God, these were written into our bylaws when the government approved our NGO (Non-Governmental Organizational) status – essentially recognizing us as a non-profit Christian organization in Malawi. So legally we can start these types of centers, but it would be a great fight.
While Maribeth and I were talking recently, she told me of a new initiative by some of the local community based orphan care centers. They function as outlined above, but additionally they have regular in home visits with the children to minister to the families or community care takers, and to insure they are being properly cared for. This would seem to not only cover our concerns about the children being protected from predators, but would also allow us avenues into hundreds of homes to share the Gospel and minister on a regular basis.
Additionally, there are still street children that are not being cared for by the community that may be possible for us to register with the police to take them in on a temporary basis until we can provide a community based home for them.
So then the question becomes, ‘What about all of the bedrooms and facilities?’ Well, the Lord may simply be partially combining our 3 phases into one. Once the current phase was to be completed we were planning on providing additional classrooms and missionary housing so we could bring regular teams in for medical, dental, construction, discipleship, evangelism, and children’s ministry.
Also, the maximum children we could serve would be 96 under our current planned useage for the building, but we could instead provide for 200-300+ on a daily basis. We could essentially care for more of God’s children with less funds. The models that are active now that we are looking at are costing $1,500 US per month to support the care (education, feeding, administration, utilities, and home follow up) of 100 children. That breaks down to $15 per month for a child. Our budget before was close to $45 per month for a child.
This would also eliminate the need to quickly finish the building to house the children. Instead, all of the men and churches that have contacted us regarding construction missions would be able to serve as they are called and equipped.
Community Based Orphan Care Centers:
These are functionally speaking, day care centers Monday through Friday, during school hours. In the past we refused to look at this option as it did not get the orphans off the streets at night when they are most vulnerable. This is the format that the Government here advocates. They want the children raised by the community and not isolated from it.
Resident Based Orphan Care Centers:
These are functionally new permanent homes for the orphans (until they graduate school and are sent back into society). These are not normally permitted by the government, but by the Grace of God, these were written into our bylaws when the government approved our NGO (Non-Governmental Organizational) status – essentially recognizing us as a non-profit Christian organization in Malawi. So legally we can start these types of centers, but it would be a great fight.
While Maribeth and I were talking recently, she told me of a new initiative by some of the local community based orphan care centers. They function as outlined above, but additionally they have regular in home visits with the children to minister to the families or community care takers, and to insure they are being properly cared for. This would seem to not only cover our concerns about the children being protected from predators, but would also allow us avenues into hundreds of homes to share the Gospel and minister on a regular basis.
Additionally, there are still street children that are not being cared for by the community that may be possible for us to register with the police to take them in on a temporary basis until we can provide a community based home for them.
So then the question becomes, ‘What about all of the bedrooms and facilities?’ Well, the Lord may simply be partially combining our 3 phases into one. Once the current phase was to be completed we were planning on providing additional classrooms and missionary housing so we could bring regular teams in for medical, dental, construction, discipleship, evangelism, and children’s ministry.
Also, the maximum children we could serve would be 96 under our current planned useage for the building, but we could instead provide for 200-300+ on a daily basis. We could essentially care for more of God’s children with less funds. The models that are active now that we are looking at are costing $1,500 US per month to support the care (education, feeding, administration, utilities, and home follow up) of 100 children. That breaks down to $15 per month for a child. Our budget before was close to $45 per month for a child.
This would also eliminate the need to quickly finish the building to house the children. Instead, all of the men and churches that have contacted us regarding construction missions would be able to serve as they are called and equipped.
