In 2005, Judith and her husband Josiah started a women’s group (Women of Purpose Community Development Centre), which consisted of widows in the village of Bondo- Kenya, with the aim to pray to God and to study the word of God for solutions to their problems. These included poverty, illiteracy, hunger, healthcare and shelter as well as being taken advantage of by “wife inheritors”. This is an outdated cultural practice whereby a widow is remarried by the brother in law to carry on the name of the dead husband or to bring forth children with the widow, whom they don’t take care of. Our theme verse is James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after Orphans and Widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.
On February 15th, 2011, Judith, Josiah, and the women started 2 feeding centers. There was one at a public school and the other one was at Josiah’s late mother in law’s house. The purpose of these centers was to give hungry orphans a hot lunch. Ordinarily, they would go each day on an empty stomach, leading to poor academic performance, absenteeism, diseases and sometimes death. The program further taught the children on proper hygiene and nutrition.
In February 2013, the team officially opened Children of Purpose Education Centre with 10 orphans at the old house/home of the late Josiah’s mother. Since then, the school has grown to include Grade 8 with 150 children at the school. There are 45 students in High School and many are on a waitlist to join our school. The first group of learners/orphans performed so well, and are in High Schools. We also get a chance to teach the children God’s word through VBS (Vacation Bible School). There is also preaching available where a pastor comes each Friday to minister to the spiritual needs of the children, teachers, and the surviving parents. This has impacted the whole village and God’s word is certainly being spread, especially through the children who are hearing it. The school is registered by the government of Kenya (Ministry of Education)
Why give to this project?
Since we serve a community with many poor widows, they are unable to pay tuition or offer other financial assistance to us. It is a struggle for them just to meet their basic needs, let alone provide their children with an education. Most of the orphaned children have a surviving parent/grandparent willing to take care of the children, but due to poverty are incapacitated, so we handle children who are totally from poor backgrounds, and therefore are unable to support our efforts for a better community. Most children also face mental health challenges. They often suffer in silence from depressive or anxiety disorders, that require professional help and sometimes interventions. This is a global issue, not just a local one.
Additionally, we have the challenge of a lack of adequate teachers. We need resources to be able to train more people to become teachers and handle the children under our care. Weather is also a challenge. There have been poor weather patterns in the area. This makes it extremely challenging and difficult to work on farms and get the food required to feed people. This results in an increase in overall food prices which is just another barrier to overcome the ongoing hunger problems.
The Ministry believes in the power of prayer. There are 6 groups of widows praying for the ministry on different days during each week. They have been taught to give the “widows mite” each time/day they meet, to pray and bring to school however little they have to help in the feeding of the children. We ask that you pray as well, but we also ask that if the Lord would lead, that you join us in providing for these young ones. You can make an impact on these lives for years to come. The Bible says in Matthew 25:40, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Join us!
Team Lead: Judith Akinyi Sellanga
Email: jsellangah@gmail.com
