Malawi (MNN) — An organization that has focused mainly on India, is now reaching out to the lost on the African continent. Hopegivers International is sending a team to Malawi this week to begin helping AIDS orphans, says the Chief Operating Officer for Hopegivers Michael Glenn.
Glenn says Malawi was thrust into the headlines when Madonna adopted a little boy from there. “We’re going there not to adopt one baby, but to get involved and to establish at least four Hope Homes and to put in a long term commitment to assist those who are needing medicine and food and the great Word from the Bible.” That’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ, says Glenn.
According to Glenn, a Hope Home is more than just another orphanage. “When we set up a Hope Home, the parameters are basically two parents that are overseeing a home of 10 children,” Glenn says.
He explains that most of these children are orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. “There are over four million people and they estimate that at least one-million of those are orphans and then 700,000 of that one-million are orphans because of AIDS.”
While establishing Hope Homes is Glenn’s top priority, “We’ll also deliver about $200,000 in emergency food and nutritional supplements and also $1-million worth of medicines to hospitals and clinics around there to assist those that have been affected by HIV/AIDS.”
Hopegivers will be working through the local church, enabling them to do the work. Glenn is asking Christians to pray, “That God leads us to put it in the right area and get something established on an ongoing basis. We don’t want to continue to bring food and medicine in without helping Christians in Malawi the chance to be caretakers of their own ministry and take the Gospel to their people.” He adds, “We don’t want an American approach to evangelism.”
Funding is needed for this new project. Pray for that issue and for wisdom as they partner with the local church there.
