Jim Brunner Ministries

The Shangilia Orphanage Home and Rehema Day Care Centre in Kenya

The Shangilia Orphanage Home and Rehema Day Care Centre in Kenya were established to care for the increasing numbers of orphaned children. Pastors Kefa and Lonika Kadenge labor here. This couple was of great assistance to Jim and Barbe Brunner on our ministry visits to Kenya. Kefa was tireless in making preparations for meetings and was always ready to help with transportation. We got to know them well and to know that their heart is toward the Lord Jesus. After graduation from Bible College in Ohio in 2002 they visited our home here in Tucson.

The vision of SHANGILIA CHILDREN HOME is “caring for the needy holistically.” Our mission is to give shelter, food, clothes, teach and train the destitute and needy children. To equip them to be faithful citizens with a servant heart. To sensitize them to appreciate that there is no illegitimate child in God’s eyes, and to show them the abounding love of God. To train them on domestic work, farming, Christian values and small business.

REHEMA DAY CARE AND ORPHANS CENTER
The project has benefited the Korogocho community much. It has calmed down the most pathetic condition that has been affecting the community be rehabilitating youths, orphans and other destitute. This has been achieved through educational programs, training skills, counseling, feeding programs and arrangement for guardian to properly know how to take care of the orphans they stay with.

Since the beginning with 20 children in a church hall, it has then advanced to 280 children by year 2004 January. The number has been maintained to December 2004. This year we handle 350 kids. The project has 16 staff working voluntarily, earning little wages. We do look and hope for open doors for all wishers and donors who can volunteer to support the workers to supplement by sending them gift monthly to uplift their payment.

The orphans do not pay any school fees, thus this will need proper sponsorship and support from donors and well-wishers. In additional, a caretaker to be at the center 24 hours will be needed and an extra cook employed.

The budget per year, for an orphan is a total of Kshs. 44,000 ($580) as follows:-

One child budget per year:
Food (three meals a day) $198.00
Educational materials 39.00
Cloths and uniform 26.00
Medication/Nursing care 53.00
Beddings 13.00

Outreach – recreational 119.00
Administration costs 132.00
Total $580.00

Please pray about being a sponsor of one of these orphan children in Kenya. $50.00 a months will completely support and care for one of the children. Contact us if interested.

When we visited Kenya for the first time in the early 1980s, Kefa was the manager of a Coffee Factory and had converted his pickup into a "mutatu" (a Kenyan taxi) and was ferrying people to and from the meetings. But it was the need of the orphaned children in the Mathari Valley outside Nairobi that God put on their hearts. The poverty conditions there are enormous. I walked the sewage-covered streets lined with cardboard shelters for houses. There were starving children everywhere. When I saw the bloated stomachs, their look of desperation and questioning hope when they saw my white face I understood something of the call that is on the heart of Kefa and Lonika. The Orphanage and Day Care Centre help care for these children. Without parents these children, orphaned primarily as a result of HIV/AIDS and epidemic diseases like malaria, have no one to provide or care for them. A whole generation has been reduced by over 14% by this plague. The gospel answers have not changed, i.e. one man and one woman faithful to each other for life providing a safe and secure environment for their children. People are coming to the Lord and life is changing slowly but the price that these children must pay is horrendous. Many are born with AIDS. They simply need someone to care. Kefa and Lonika are among those who are ministering to the Lord as Jesus said they could in Mt. 25:34-46 by their care for these children. Kefa reports in a recent letter: "Besides the orphanage and its feeding programs, there is a Primary School Education program that is helping to solve some of the problems. Parents cannot afford to pay for the education for their children. Therefore, they are flooding the schools. More facilities are needed because over-admission of pupils of up to more than 100 per class and understaffing of qualified teachers is a great challenge. In addition to Carpentry and Tailoring, we started raising chicken as a supplementary project to raise funds to meet part of the running expenses of our Centre. For a period of one year the project has done well and needs expansion so that we can be able to meet the demands of our market. We are trying both the eggs and meat poultry."

JBMI and its donors have been supporting Kefa and Lonika for many years. We want to give you the opportunity help them if the Lord so directs. The US Dollar can do so much over there right now. Exchange rates are excellent. Kefa is not asking for us to sponsor one child but to help in the care of multiplied hundreds who need food and shelter now. Their mailing address is PO Box 35550, Nairobi, Kenya, E.A.

Do pray about helping them in their work. Such an enormous need makes our efforts seem like a drop in the bucket. Yet, in doing our part the work will get done and God's will of spreading the love and caring of the gospel of Jesus Christ will cover our world. All God asks of each of us is for us to do our part and the rewards for our small investment is great.