Orphan Home Improvement Project

As Global Aid Network volunteers walked into an orphanage in Pinsk, Belarus, they saw a handwritten sign in Russian above the main entryway. It said, “Hurry to be kind - life is short.”

Because life is short we continue to move with great urgency in sending teams to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and to show His kindness to orphans and other needy people. In hundreds of orphanages across the former Soviet Union, heroic caretakers love these children with a deep, enduring love. They are very creative in finding sources for the immediate needs of food, medicine, and clothing for their children. In fact, they often turn to the church to plead for help. While the churches want to have an active role toward helping to meet those needs, they typically don’t have the money or resources that enable them to help. As the pastors of these churches turn to ministries like Global Aid Network for help, we want to be able to provide the tools they need to minister to these hurting children and adults!

Kitchen When we join the pastor to meet with the directors of these facilities to plan our visit with humanitarian aid and Christian volunteers, we ask what they want to provide for the orphans and the home where they live.

The top requests are always the necessities of life - for food, medicine, vitamins, and clothing. And we are always working to gather and deliver these items. So we ask the orphanage director to dream a little beyond the basics. The answers are humble but also eye-opening. In the past, they have asked for items like:

Water heaters so the children can have hot baths
Refrigerators to keep food from spoiling
Washing machines so they do not have to wash clothes and diapers by hand
Shoes for every child in the orphanage
A computer to teach skills for later in life

We can help sustain life with gifts of food, medicine, and warm clothing. But we can also improve the lives of the orphans and other needy children by helping to improve their home life. Can you imagine trying to wash clothes and even children without hot water? Can you imagine not having sheets or blankets for babies? Can you imagine having to do laundry for 100 children without a washing machine or dryer?

Life is hard for these children and their caretakers. As the local pastors try to share about Christ, sometimes words are just not enough. How can the caretakers understand about an abundant life in Christ when they must spend most of their time figuring out how to make these children’s physical lives better?

Director with new washing machine By ministering to the physical needs of these children, the caretakers must ask the question, “Why did you do this?” The pastor will then be free to share the unconditional love of Christ that compels us to help—the love of Christ that provides for all His children. When the caretakers come to know Christ, they will want their children to know Him, too.

These orphanages are home—temporary or not—for these children. It is our desire to provide for these children—both spiritually and physically. We are now meeting with directors at orphanages and other sites to prepare for the summer mission this June. As we ask the directors to share their secondary needs, we really desire to show them God’s love by providing these “home improvement” needs as well as the urgent needs. But we need help to do that.

Would you prayerfully consider a gift to help provide Orphan Home Improvement Equipment? Your gift, combined with others, can help us supply an orphanage with items such as: Washing Machine in Siberia

A washer and dryer for the children’s clothes
Toilets and sinks for their bathrooms
Children’s beds
Sheets and blankets for their beds
Cribs, mattresses and bedding for baby houses
Water heaters for hot showers and baths
New stoves for cooking meals
Computers for education
Sewing machines for learning a trade
Medical equipment
Cooking pans

Visit this link Orphan Home Improvements to see how you can help