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Losing one or both parents to the AIDS virus is bad enough, says Concordia Lutheran Ministries (CLM) President and CEO Keith Frndak. But for too many Kenyan orphans, that loss is only the beginning of a tragic descent into even greater hopelessness and poverty.
"It's bad enough when your parents die of AIDS, you may or may not have the disease, and you're living in extreme poverty without any family structure," said Frndak. "But if we can help connect orphans with a family, good things happen."
Connecting Kenyan orphans with Christian families is the goal of "1001 Orphans," a home-based care program now being coordinated and launched by CLM, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), and LCMS World Relief and Human Care (WR-HC). Ministry leaders developed the program as an opportunity to make a lasting difference for children who might otherwise end up destitute on the streets. CLM is providing funding for the program's first year, with the goal that 1001 Orphans will become self-sustaining in subsequent years through the support of caring Christian donors. (See the accompanying story for information on how you can learn more about 1001 Orphans.)
1001 Orphans also is an opportunity to expand the number of children being served by WR-HC and ministry partners, including through the Kenyan Orphan Support program, which has matched about 200 children with sponsors.
"1001 Orphans is an opportunity to reach out with mercy and give orphans what we want every child to have – a loving family and the love of Christ," said Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III, WR-HC executive pastoral assistant. "Our brothers and sisters in the ELCK already do so much to help children. Now, we can help our partner church build capacity and touch even more young lives."
An estimated eight percent of Kenyan adults are living with the HIV virus, and 1.2 million Kenyan children already have lost at least one parent to the disease, says Rev. David Chuchu, Diakonia Compassionate Ministry project coordinator for the ELCK.
Without a family, an orphan's future is bleak. Most are forced to drop out of school because they no longer have family to pay school tuition, which is required in Kenya. Many orphans are exploited through child labor. Orphaned girls often suffer sexual exploitation and become prostitutes.
The 1001 Orphans program, Chuchu says, will guide at-risk children away from dangerous pitfalls and into the homes of loving families who can help them grow up as responsible Christians.
The program grew out of conversations with Chuchu and ELCK Bishop Rev. Walter Obare about how LCMS partners could help the Kenyan church most efficiently care for more orphans. Ministry leaders developed 1001 Orphans based on the ELCK's strong human care foundation and designed to meet three main needs:
- Family and spiritual care support, by placing each orphan with a Christian family with ties to a local ELCK congregation and an ELCK deaconess.
- Family budget support, by providing money or food to supplement the already stretched-thin resources of a Kenyan family who takes in an orphan.
- Education support, by providing funds that enable an orphan to attend school.
1001 Orphans will care for children in 20 ELCK parishes. (In Kenya, a parish includes four or five congregations.) The ELCK will operate the program, working through 20 deaconesses who are responsible for one parish and will oversee the care of about 50 orphans.
The 1001 Orphans program name reflects CLM's roots. Today, the LCMS Recognized Service Organization is best known for senior care, serving older adults in western Pennsylvania through retirement living centers and other services. But the Cabot-based ministry began as an orphanage. From 1881 through 1954, Frndak estimates that CLM cared for 1,000 orphans.
CLM seeks to help provide care for 1000 Kenyan orphans – "plus one lost sheep," Frndak says. "We made the number 1001 as a reminder that there's always another person who needs care, and that the church's work is never done," Frndak said.
Kenya's extreme poverty may be hard for most Americans to fathom. "Take the average standard of living we have in this country, and reduce it by 85 percent," said Rev. Jamison Hardy, a CLM board member and pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Mount Lebanon, Pa.
Hardy has visited Kenya 10 times, including project trips with WR-HC. He has seen first-hand the tremendous needs of Kenyan children – and the youngsters' tremendous gratitude for every gift of assistance, no matter how small. "Most Americans eat at least two meals a day. We have so much," Hardy said. "The reality is that we probably eat more food at one meal that the average Kenyan child will eat in one day."
Kenyan children cannot imagine American closets and drawers filled with clothing and shoes. Many Kenyan youngsters dress in tatters. If they attend school, they have one uniform, which is required to enroll in classes.
The Kenyan culture includes a strong sense of family. Even families already struggling to feed their own children take in orphans. "With Kenyan families, it's not about numbers; it's about need," Hardy said. "If an orphan needs a place to sleep, a family puts two children in one bed."
Support provided through 1001 Orphans will ease the financial burden on Kenyan families who care for children in need. In addition to giving orphans a family home, the program will connect them with an ELCK church home.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to meet human need while also sharing the Gospel message," Frndak said. "Our brothers and sisters in Christ in Kenya are trying to meet unbelievable human needs. We can each be a partner in meeting needs and doing something for the glory of God."
