Today we want to share the words of our Kenyan staff member, Linda, with you. We hope it encourages you to see how your gift provides for these ongoing and emergency needs!
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Two and a half years ago, I started working at Open Arms.
Three months later, two babies, each only two weeks old, joined the Open Arms family. One of them had been rescued from certain death because she was considered a curse to her community. The other had been abandoned at the hospital.
Six months later, three more babies were brought to the Village. One of them was left in a bag; another left for dead in a maize plantation, and another was abandoned at a hospital.
After a few weeks, a toddler urgently needed a place to stay. His mother was arrested after she killed an attacker in self-defense.
Hardly a week had passed when two little boys joined us from the local rescue center. They had been living on the streets and needed urgent medical attention.
After just a few days, three teenage boys who’d also been living on the streets joined the Open Arms family.
At the beginning of 2019, a young boy came to us from an area of Kenya marked by famine, extreme poverty, and conflict. As a teenager, he was in danger of being recruited as a child soldier.
That same year, five more babies came to Open Arms Village, each with their own unique story.
Several months later, a child from Open Arms Academy came to live at the Village when his mother became very sick and died.
In 2020, we received four more siblings whose mother also died. They have been with us for a little over five months now.
In the 30 months I have worked for Open Arms, 22 children have been rescued.
Open Arms is one of the few homes around our region still able to operate during the pandemic. Some of our neighboring counties don’t have children’s homes, and so we end up taking in children from all over Kenya. This situation is not likely to change soon, which means it's more important than ever to keep our doors open.
Every child has a unique story - a story that is still unfinished. Thank you for joining me in helping the children we serve write a new story - one filled with hope, love, and redemption.
God bless you!
Linda
Open Arms International, Kenya