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Our Journey

November 2003, Open Arms International started with one main focus - enable orphaned and abandoned children to reach their full potential in Eldoret, Kenya.

As the needs of our local community have become more apparent, the growth and diversity of our work has exceeded our expectations and many more lives have been impacted by the work.

This is our journey so far…

A recording-breaking 215 mission team members serve in Kenya.
Open Arms begins a women’s mentoring program based out of the Village.
Open Arms hosts its first elderly outreach day – reaching over 250 elderly members in the community.

Children’s home ten is completed.
The Life Center opens for staff offices and medical clinics for the community.
Open Arms Village is home to 150 children.
Open Arms Academy educates 250 children.
The Kambi Teso feeding program provides daily nutrition for nearly 500 children, as well as weekly employment and life skills training for over 30 families living in desperate situations.

Children’s homes seven, eight, and nine are finished and starting to fill. We now have over 130 children living in families at the Village.
The Life Center now has a completed roof.
Over 9,500 people in the Eldoret area receive medical attention through teams.
Aquaponics is introduced to our Village- a closed system, recycling water to raise tilapia and vegetables as part of our goal to be self-sustaining.
Over 30 women in the Kambi Teso slums are enrolled in our mentoring program, tailoring and selling clothing.

Construction begins for three more children’s homes – numbers seven, eight, and nine.
Construction of the Life Center begins.
A posho (grain) mill is built and equipped to grind maize for the Village and the community.
Bakery ovens supply bread for the Village.
The first storage silos are built and introduce the community to a new, healthier way to store grain.
Open Arms hosts over 80 team members to Kenya on mission trips.
Prayer and medical care given to over 3,000 Kenyans through medical teams.
The gospel is shared with hundreds of Kenyans and over 150 people commit their lives to Christ through evangelistic outreach.

Open Arms Village expands to 110 orphaned and rescued children.
Kambi Teso feeding program feeds over 500 children on school days.
Open Arms Village welcomes over 160 team members during the year.
Medical team clinics treat over 5,600 Kenyans in rural communities.
Beginning steps for an irrigation system are put into place.

Eighth grade is added to Open Arms Academy.
A new Open Arms preschool opens in the Kambi Teso Slum.
106 children live in families at Open Arms Village.
The baby home expands, increasing capacity by 50%.
Water filter system is put into place so the river water is safe to drink and the Village is no longer dependent on the public water system.

Seventh grade is added to Open Arms Academy.
Open Arms Academy grows to 130 students, as it opens to the surrounding community.
81 children call Open Arms home.
Open Arms’ feeding and mentoring program in Kambi Teso slum expands to 180 children.

Sixth grade is added to Open Arms Academy.
A newly constructed baby home is opened for infants.
Seventeen orphaned children, including 10 infants, join the Open Arms family.
The fifth children’s home is completed and construction of the sixth begins.
A playground is added to the Open Arms Village.

Open Arms Academy begins with pre-school-fifth grade classes for our children.
18 more children join the Village.
Guest lodges are built for Western volunteers and visitors.

Eleven more orphans, including two infants, join the Open Arms family.
Construction of new children’s homes begin.

Kenyan Government approves Open Arms to run an orphanage.
Open Arms welcomes 18 orphaned and abandoned children into our family. Our first families are housed in the existing mud homes on the property.
A feeding program begins for 100 children in the Kambi Teso slum of Eldoret.

Open Arms purchases 52 acres of land near Eldoret for the future home of Open Arms Village.
First team arrives in Kenya to the dedication the property for Open Arms Village.

Open Arms receives NGO status in Kenya – equivalent to nonprofit status in the USA.
Open Arms begins health advocacy programs in India and Rwanda.

First official Open Arms team arrives in Eldoret, Kenya.
Open Arms team becomes the first Westerners allowed into Eldoret’s prison system.
Tsunami relief team goes to India and Open Arms establishes partnerships with ALMA and Orphans Unlimited in Mozambique.

First Open Arms mission teams travel to Uganda, Rwanda and Bulgaria for medical clinics, children’s ministry, pastors’ conferences and evangelism.

David and Rachel Gallagher visit Eldoret, Kenya and the needs of the children pull at their heart strings. A dream of starting a nonprofit that sends medical and evangelical teams around the world!
2003 - Open Arms International is founded in November 2003.