We are running a fund raising campaign at the moment and several new folks have come into contact with us. So maybe it is time for one of those "why do we do this?" posts?
That is both an easy to answer question and not so easy one at the same time.
Easy part: Children, all children, deserve to grow up in a home. A home with family who loves them. A home where family cares for their needs. A home where they are safe. A home where they can be who they were created to be. A home that provides hope in the future.
Easy enough to explain. The children deserve the life we are providing for them. We believe it is our responsibility to work towards providing these children with a future and a hope.
The harder part of the why question is, why us? Why does it have to be Kate and Johnny in Kenya caring for orphaned/abandoned Kenyan children?
Honestly I am not sure why it has to be us, and some days I really wonder, "Why me?"
I suppose the best way to explain it is that I took the following passage from the Bible seriously:
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
Several years have passed since I read that and found the inspiration to move to Kenya with Kate and our children. Much has changed since then, yet one thing has remained constant. I believe that we are to be here in Kenya helping orphaned/abandoned children find family. That is our destiny. Our fate in life.
The majority of orphaned and vulnerable children here in Kenya do not have anyone willing to make sacrifices on their behalf. There is no foster care system. The government run orphanages, which there are few, are terrible places. Many of the private run homes are horrible as well. Even the "nice" missionary run homes are still institutions designed to corral as many orphans as possible in as little space as possible using as little money as possible.
We took in nine girls more than seven years ago. Nine girls who had no one who was willing to care for them. We did not know them. We are not related by blood, culture, or even language. Yet when we learned of their stories we could not turn them away.
Each of those girls was destined for a life of servitude as maids (called house girls or house help here in Kenya.) In fact the majority of them were maids before coming to our house. Working all day long for little or no pay. In constant danger of molestation by the man of the house or his friends. Zero freedom, no hope, and absolutely no human dignity.
Which is why we do what we do. We believe that children, all children deserve a Future and a Hope.
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