CRITICAL NEW ARRIVAL, ALBERTINA Thirteen-month-old orphan female, Albertina, is the definition of neglect and abuse by her grandmother. I personally have never seen a child this badly neglected and malnourished. The grandmother dropped her off at the hospital 3 weeks ago with malaria, and a Hbg (hemoglobin) of only 6. She weighed only 11 lbs./5.7 kg! She should weigh at least double that! Her Aunt cared for her
NEW BICYCLES FOR BALAMA BBC A BIG BLESSING from a very generous donor has provided us with 4 new bicycles for the 4‑man BBC team. This team works with the children who live within 5 miles of Balama town. Their old bicycles were so worn out from traveling an estimated 1000 miles/1,667km since 2020, that repairing them was becoming very difficult. 4 very happy children’s Pastors! With
JUNE 1st, NATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY! Our children received a special party on Saturday, June 1st given by the CIS company. CIS provides the food to 100’s of workers at the Balama Graphite Mine. The children were blessed with rice and beef tips, chips (French fries), chicken pieces, coleslaw, and 3 different desserts! CIS made a BIG cake just for our children! That is something that doesn’t happen easily
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BEANS! Our Bean Barn is now full, holding a whopping 110 TONS of beans! The following photos and videos will better explain what a MASSIVE program this really is. 5 a.m. start each day. The churches brought beans the night before to avoid delays in delivery. Starting before dawn on May 20th, we spent the day weighing over 900 sacks. Each sack averages 132
BEAN BUYING BEGINS For the next 10 days our entire staff will be up to their ears in beans, no joke! We need 1,800 sacks (110 tons) of beans this year to meet the needs of the orphans we assist. On Friday, 600 of those sacks came in, with the other 1,200 coming in on Monday and Tuesday. If all goes as planned, our team of 90
BUSH BIKERS FOR CHRIST (BBC) DOUBLES IN SIZE TO REACH 1000’S MORE WITH THE GOSPEL The new 8 man, 4 motorbike BBC team now consists of 2 teams of 4 men each. The 2 teams took off into the remote areas of Balama this week, visiting 10 additional villages (20 villages in all). The seasoned Youth Evangelists, Carlitos and Daniel, are the 2 team leaders. BBC now
HIDDEN MALARIA, THE SILENT KILLER On April 30th, I am doing my normal morning health checks on the 35 little children in our care, when I notice that Crecencia, 2 years old, has no energy. Upon questioning the mothers, they stated that she lost her appetite a few days ago, but was now eating better, but not like she should be. She had no fever
PAYING IT FORWARD It is tradition here for the friends of a person who lost a relative to visit them, giving an offering as well as comforting words. Many of my friends did just that a few days after the loss of my father. I wanted to share this beautiful gesture with all of you, for I know my father would have wanted me to
JUMAIDA IS HOME!Our Balama Nutritionalist called me 8 a.m. Saturday, April 13th, bringing music to my ears! He told me to come get Jumaida, as she was ready to go home. The appetite enhancer worked, and she is eating, PTL! Her fever is gone, she is playing, and looking good. Her weight is her biggest problem. At 9 months old, she only weighs 5.9kg/13 lbs. She should weigh at
THE BABY RESCUES CONTINUE… On Tuesday, our newest infant, Baby Boy Bonito, 7.5 months old at 4kg/8.8 lbs., was released from the hospital after a 2 week stay. Admitted for malaria, his lab tests revealed a Hgb of only 4.9! YIKES! That is death’s door! He looked it too, as he was very weak, and not able to suck a bottle. He urgently needed blood, receiving his first of