Miles In Missions

What’s Been Going on at C.A.R.E. Africa?

Posted: October 11, 2021 by Patrice Miles in African School, AWANA, Board of Directors, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Orphans, People of Egbe, Prayer, Seamstresses

From Canada to the U.S. to Egbe…..here a some beautiful pictures to illustrate what has been going on at C.A.R.E. Africa! Enjoy!

Guess Who Quit Her Job?

Posted: October 5, 2021 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Etsy, Nigeria, Orphans, Prayer, Sponsorship

We are pleased to announce that Diana Beville has accepted a staff position at C.A.R.E. Africa. She will be assuming the role of Child Sponsorship Coordinator.

In 2014 Diana and her husband,Stephen, made their first visit to C.A.R.E. Africa in Egbe Nigeria. It was to be a turning point in Diana’s life. She left Egbe knowing it had captured her heart and she would be back. Immediately on returning from Nigeria, she wanted to know how she could help.

Diana did a one table booth at a local farmer’s market selling jewelry the women in our ministry had handcrafted. Seven years later she has grown into a full, online Etsy store (http://www.CareAfricaStore.com in the US and Canada http://www.CareAfricaStore.ca ). Diana has expanded from a one table booth into huge exhibitor events at GMHC (Global Missions Health Conference), CAFO (Christian Alliance for Orphans), M3/Mobilizing Medical Missions Conference, and Paristown Flea off Markets. Her dedication and love for this ministry is evident and she has already returned to Nigeria three more times since her initial visit.

Diana is married and the mother of two beautiful girls, Kaitlyn and Charlotte. She graduated from University of Louisville. Diana previously worked at Shultz Career Consulting as an employment specialist for people with disabilities. In taking on the Child Sponsorship role, Diana’s goal is to deepen the relationships with our sponsors and their children in Egbe, while also finding new sponsors for more children. We are excited to see how Diana will take our sponsorship experience to a whole new level.

Diana’s first task is collecting letters and/or items for sponsored children to fill suitcases that are going to Nigeria in the month of October. If you sponsor a C.A.R.E. Africa child and would like to send a letter or an item, please email Diana at mailto:diana@icareafrica.org

If you do not currently sponsor a child please take a moment to visit our giving page at http://www.icareafrica.org to see the two beautiful children that are in need of sponsors.

Also feel free to visit our Amazon Wish List for items needed to fill suitcases for October at https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/36KCX0BCJG62W/guest-view

Help Us Fill A Suitcase….Send to Nigeria!

Posted: September 29, 2021 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe

We have the opportunity again to send needed items to our kids, staff and caregivers in Egbe, Nigeria.

In the month of May we sent out an Amazon list and everyone gave and gave and we filled 4 suitcases! It was so amazing to receive packages everyday for C.A.R.E. Africa! I had the honor of watching the body of Christ show up and show off for everyone in Egbe. They were so excited to receive all the needed items.

We need to do it again! With 78 children, 46 caregivers and 30+ staff now, our needs are never ending. Please consider checking out our Amazon list and purchasing an item or two to help us fill a suitcase. See the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/36KCX0BCJG62W/guest-view

Just a little bit more — Plantains Please

Posted: August 24, 2021 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, People of Egbe, Prayer, Titi

Here is another beautiful post by Titi…….
It seems just like yesterday when I was going through the process of applying to different colleges, plowing through all the uncertainties and doubts with complete blindness and a tentative faith in God. This was then followed by a hasty and quite inadequate preparation for leaving my country for an entirely different population group and […]
Just a little bit more — Plantains Please

Recent Attacks Make Shelter Need Urgent

Posted: August 5, 2021 by Patrice Miles in African School, C.A.R.E. Africa, Fundraising, Jos Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Outreach, Prayer, SIM

At C.A.R.E. Africa we try to reach out to the community monthly to support other ministries to encourage them. We recently visited a ministry in Jos, Nigeria and fell in love with the work they are doing. Meet Bibi, a teacher that was tired of seeing the children in Jebu sitting around with nothing to do. They had no money for school fees so she brought the school to them. The children come everyday now to learn to read and write but have to sit outside in the hot sun. Recently there has been attacks on their village and the need for a shelter is even more important.

Bibi needs a building for these children and has been raising funds all by herself. Help her buy the block, wood and roofing materials needed to finish her building for the children of Jebu Miango in Nigeria. Any amount will help towards the $500 needed. You can donate at https://donorsee.com/project/10366

Check out the progress of their library an educational center along with information on the recent attacks on their village at https://www.facebook.com/kangyangg1.

I Don’t Need Landscaping

Posted: July 29, 2021 by Patrice Miles in African School, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Nigeria, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer, Sponsorship

Four years ago I met with the benefactors of Foundations Academy in Jos, Nigeria in order to create a sister school in Egbe. I also toured Foundations Academy’s prestigious school called Park Ridge. Park Ridge started in 2012 and runs much like an American School. They use mainly Nigerian curriculum to prepare students for Nigerian exams, but they infuse curriculum from around the world to help the students have a broader worldview. I knew one day we would have exceptionally bright children at our school in Egbe and wondered if this could be an option for them. Park Ridge’s reputation opens doors at Universities all across Nigeria and provides a better chance for study abroad.

Over the past two years we have had three of our middle school students with exceptional scores on their testing and marks in class. Gloria, Idowu and Segun. Recently they went to Jos for their JS2 excursion (similar to trips American students take to Washington DC). It was decided they should take the entrance exams and interview for the Park Ridge school in Jos. Two of them tested well and would be allowed to attend. This was a huge opportunity for these two students. After some prayer we decided that Idowu and Segun were ready for this opportunity and Gloria would wait another year.

We reached out to their sponsors praying that they would help but knowing we would need to raise a lot of funds to transport them to Jos and to cover the higher school fees, boarding and meals. Segun’s and Idowu’s sponsor immediately said yes. It was such an answer to prayer, but I was a little worried about Idowu’s sponsor when she said yes so quickly. The increase in fees was significant. I talked to her and offered to try to find someone to partner with her in sponsoring Idowu. Her response brought tears to my eyes. She said she had been saving money to have landscaping done on her home. She said the money targeted for landscaping plus increasing her monthly sponsorship from $35 to $50 a month and talking to family and friends, she would raise the money. Idowu’s education was more important to her than landscaping her home!

She has never personally met Idowu or spent time with him or his family, but she would take her savings and go to her family and friends and raise the money so this little boy could have this amazing opportunity.

Stories like this encourage me and keep me going as Executive Director at C.A.R.E. Africa. When I see someone sacrifice for one of God’s children it gives me goose bumps and warms my heart. I can see how our children at C.A.R.E. Africa are changing lives just as much as our sponsors are. If we could all sacrifice our landscaping, agendas, finances, comfort and time for God’s people all over the world, the world would be such a better place!

We are so grateful for all our sponsors and know that everyone sacrifices every month to make it possible for these 78 kids to have an education, learn about Christ’s love and more. God bless you as you choose to be His hands and feet to the world.

**Idowu and Segun’s sponsors talking to them about their future via Facetime.**

Why Are You So Stubborn?

Posted: June 29, 2021 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Egbe Nigeria, Jos Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Orphans, Prayer, Sponsorship

Meet Elijah and Inioluwa. They are brother and sister and double orphans. We met them several years ago when their father had just passed away. Their mother was destitute and barely managing to care for Elijah, Inioluwa and their older brother Segun. C.A.R.E. Africa took all three siblings in and now provides them with an education, discipleship and mentoring. We also began working with their mother to help with empowerment and discipleship.

Unfortunately, within a matter of months their mother passed away. We located the maternal grandparents and they took all three children in. It was very hard on the elderly grandparents as Elijah, the youngest, was full of energy and never slowed down. The grandmother constantly begged us to take all the children and adopt them out. We worked and prayed with the family and after a few months we felt like they were beginning to settle in. Then unexpectedly the grandmother passed away. This left the care of the children up to the aging grandfather. Shortly after the grandmother passed away the neighbors began to obsess about the deaths and started claiming the children were evil and needed to leave.

We moved Elijah into our transition home, Inioluwa moved into foster care and the oldest Segun stayed with the grandfather to try and help. These kids have experienced too much death and rejection in their short years here on this earth. As a result we began to see acts of bad behavior, stubbornness and lack of interest in school work. During this time we had hired Gloria, a counselor for our C.A.R.E. kids. We sent her to Jos for some training and when she came back she was able to work directly with Elijah, Inioluwa and Segun to assess the trauma. She observed them and came to the conclusion that not only had they suffered severe trauma but they all suffered from different learning disabilities.

Learning disabilities in Nigeria are everywhere but very few Nigerians in the smaller villages recognize or know how to help children with them. These children are normally classified as stubborn or too playful. They fall behind in school and eventually drop out because they cannot cope in the classroom.

Gloria, our school counselor needs more training and resources to help not only Elijah and Inioluwa, but other children in our ministry. We have found training specific to dyslexia in Jos, a city about 11 hours away. These professionals have agreed to evaluate Elijah and Inioluwa for a fee and to provide Gloria with the training she needs to effectively work with children who have learning difficulties.

Please consider helping us make this trip possible by donating towards Gloria’s travel expenses and training. We have also created a Amazon list of resources Gloria will require in order to work with children who have learning challenges. Click the links below to donate towards Gloria’s training and or purchase items at Amazon for her resources.

Donations towards Gloria’s dyslexia training in Jos https://donorsee.com/project/10142

Amazon List for Gloria’s resources for working with children with disabilities. https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/FM34NRI4CXMM/guest-view

Make A Difference

Posted: June 10, 2021 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Oke Ere, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer, Sponsorship

When I moved to Nigeria I had my first experience with absolute poverty. Adults and children with no electricity or sanitation and unable to meet the basic needs for food, shelter and drinking water. No access to social services such as healthcare or education. No assets.

As of 2015, the three countries with the greatest number of people living in extreme poverty are:
– India (175 million)
– Nigeria (86 million)
– Democratic Republic of Congo (55 million)

It was overwhelming. How was I going to make a difference when the needs were so much bigger than me? How was I going to make an impact in the most populated and poverty stricken country in all of Africa?

Have you ever felt this way? So many ministries and nonprofits in need of support. It’s overwhelming. The need is so great. You wonder how your donation can make any impact?

Or perhaps you are cautious. Will my donation even reach the needed recipient after all the fees and ministry costs?

Well, most of you know where I am going …all that I do begins and ends with C.A.R.E. Africa.

We began C.A.R.E. Africa with just two small children.

We always want to think big…Build a School, Dig a Bore Hole, Feed a Village, Stop Sex Trafficking. These are all worthy causes but some of us want smaller, obtainable causes.

So, sponsor just one small child. Provide that one child with an education and access to healthcare. Put your focus on just one child and maybe that child will Build a School, Feed a Village, Dig a Bore Hole or Stop Sex Trafficking when they grow up – thanks to you.

Or sponsor a lunch feeding program for children. This program provides the nutrition many of these children lack. Instead of focusing on their hunger they can focus on their schooling. They will make better grades giving them the confidence to achieve more and go further in their education. A small change that will make a big difference in their future.

Or you could help with needed vehicle repairs. Small and obtainable but with a big impact. Without transportation – attendance to school and our Awana and discipleship programs would be disrupted. Our vehicles are essential as many of our children live remotely and depend on us for transporting them daily.

Small Changes Make a Big Difference!

These are just a few examples of how you can help us make small changes with big impacts. The best part is that all our small changes come with update videos and photos so you can see your donations at work in the lives of the people you helped.

Start making small changes now so you can help us make a huge difference globally.

Follow us on Donorsee to stay updated on all our projects. https://donorsee.com/icareafrica.org?follow After every project is funded, you and all the other donors will receive a follow up video so you can see your donation at work and hear from the recipients you helped. You will be able to see, know and hear that your donation to that small project made a big difference.

Jeremiah 20:9
But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Recycle with C.A.R.E. Africa

Posted: May 27, 2021 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, People of Egbe

Recycle With C.A.R.E. Africa Please! We need your chip and cookie bags!

A dream of mine has been to have the women at C.A.R.E. Africa learn how to make the candy wrapper purse so we can sell them at markets. These adorable purses are not easy to make! Each purse takes 6 strips of 50 pieces each. That is 300 pieces that have to be cut and folded and joined together. Check out the video attached.

Please save you bags! The sale of these purses will help put food on the tables of several women at C.A.R.E. Africa. If you live in Louisville I can pick them up once you have a box filled. If you don’t live in Louisville then you can ship to me. They are so light and shipping them isn’t expensive. Email me at patrice@icareafrica.org and I will give you my address for shipping.

Thanks for recycling with C.A.R.E. Africa!

Send to Nigeria

Posted: April 27, 2021 by Patrice Miles in African School, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Orphans, People of Egbe, Prayer, Sponsorship

We are excited to have the opportunity to send some needed items to Nigeria for our kids and our school. Can you help? Check out our Amazon Gift List at https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/36KCX0BCJG62W/guest-view and donate in any way you can.

We always do our best to buy in country and support the Nigerian economy. Sometimes there are items that we either cannot buy there or the quality isn’t the same so we prefer to purchase in the U.S. Thank you for helping us in anyway you can to get these needed items to Nigeria. If you are local to Louisville and want to donate items, email me at patrice@icareafrica.org and I will be happy to pick up.

We also would love to send letters from our sponsors. If you are a sponsor you should have received an email from me already about sending your child a letter and picture. If you didn’t receive it please message me at patrice@icareafrica.org.

We are also seeking donations for the $400 in luggage fees we will need to pay. Those donations can be made to our general fund at give.icareafrica.org.