Miles In Missions

Currently C.A.R.E. Africa has 30 children enrolled in our program. All of these children are either double or single parent orphans.

Wale is 15 years old and is one of the reasons C.A.R.E. Africa was formed.  He was abandoned by his parents and left with his grandpa at a young age. His grandfather owns a farm and was able to put Wale into school when the farm was doing well. Recently the farm has not been doing well so he sent Wale out to look for work to pay for school fees. Wale showed up at the hospital thinking we would put him on with our temporary workers. We told him to go home but he begged for work so he could go to school. His need along with many others is what planted the seed for C.A.R.E. Africa. Wale is in school now and doing very well. He also plays soccer two days a week and is hoping to get to play in a game soon. Wale is our little negotiator and talker. He is always trying to instigate or talk people into things. Pray for him to use this gift for God’s glory and not his own. He is a sweet boy and we know God has great plans for him.

Success is one of the founders of C.A.R.E Africa. He was abandoned by his parents at 2 years old. He has been raised by his grandma. She is very old and unable to work. Success wanted to go to school so he came to the hospital with his friend Wale. They thought they could work as temporary labor. When the project manager saw how small they were he told them to go home. They begged for work so they could pay school fees. His need along with many others is what planted the seed for C.A.R.E. Africa to begin. Success is our trouble maker. He is always being the bully or class clown. His has a beautiful spirit and will excel at anything he puts his mind to. We just have to pray for him to put his mind to school and church and not fighting with friends. He has improved a lot since we enrolled him in the program and we are excited to watch him grow in the Lord.

David is one of our youngest orphans I met David when we first arrived to Egbe. He played with Cason and Jolie almost everyday and then he disappeared for awhile. We later found out his Grandma wouldn’t let him come to play anymore. On his way home from our house everyday he was evidently getting into trouble and not coming home till late at night. When I talked to his grandma she told me he was always getting into trouble. His mother had left him with her and disappeared. She could not support him and her two daughters financially and was exhausted with trying to keep him out of trouble. We enrolled him in our program and with our accountability he has improved. His grandma says he is coming home now cause he knows we will check in on him. He is doing his studies at home after school and helping out around the house more.

Toyin is 15 years old and one of the oldest in our program.  He was abandoned by his parents at a young age. He was left with his grandfather who was out of work. When things got tough Toyin traveled alone to the next town looking for food and work. He  met a boy named Wale. Wale’s grandparents allowed Toyin to stay with them. He currently is still living there sharing a room with Wale. Toyin is a very confident young boy. When you talk to him you think you are talking to a man. He is a natural born leader among the boys due to his age and calm demeanor. He is a boy, so he does get into trouble, but we have high hopes for him. His marks in school are good and he seems to catch on quickly. He has struggled a little in reading due to not being in school for several years. An after school tutor is helping him everyday.

Flororunso is 14 years old.  She is a single orphan, meaning her mother is still alive. A teacher from the school we send all the kids enrolled in CARE Africa approached us one day. She said she had a very intelligent little girl living next door to her. She told us that her mother had 5 other children and the father had abandoned them. She loved this little girl and knew she could go far in life if she just had a chance. When we met with Folorunso and realized how bright she was we knew we had to give her this opportunity.  She has a beautiful smile that never leaves her face. She has done great in school so far and always helps with the other kids. Her mother is still struggling to take care of her other 5 children but we pray God shows us a way to empower the entire family.

Blessing is our oldest orphan and one of our newest. She is 16 and in secondary school. Her Aunt Duro works in our housing compound with one of our missionary couples. Blessings father had died a few years ago and recently her mother tragically died at the young age of 35. She left behind Blessing and two other children. The children were split up amongst the family. Blessings was in the same school as all the other CARE Africa kids already. Once her mother past away her school fees were not getting paid. Her Aunt Duro asked if we would consider enrolling them.  They were a perfect fit for our ministry. Blessings has been a great help with the other orphans. We are excited to get to watch Blessing grow and God willing go to university.

Kadijat is 15 years old and a M&slim.  She is a single orphan, meaning her mother is still alive. Her Father died recently and the mother and 2 other children were left with the Father’s family. The family could not support them so they sent them to the next town, Egbe, to look for work. Kadijat’s mother heard about our program and came and begged us to enroll Kadijat. She of course was a perfect candidate. She is a Chr*stian school now. She takes Christian religion classes and has her own Bible. On Saturdays when we get to meet with all the kids she is told about J@sus and how much he loves her. We pray that one day she will ask Jesus to be apart of her life.

 

Bolu is 15 years old and one of the oldest in our program. At a young age Bolu was abandoned by his father. His mother, Joy, tried her best for several years to make ends meet. She eventually could not cope with her circumstances and had to give up Bolu to her mother. Bolu is currently being raised by his grandmother. She has no job but does try to sell small items here and there to provide for her family. When we first met Bolu he was very shy and didn’t say much. He was not in school and had not been for many years. When we enrolled him in school we found out very quickly he could not read. After months of tutoring he is improving and his confidence is building. He is our most emotional one and seems to get his feeling hurt very easily. He loves football (soccor) and is the best in our group. He is very dedicated to it and practices everyday. He is a beautiful child and wears his heart on his sleeve

The Gift family came to us over a year ago. Gift is a widow and started out in our seamstress program. She was doing manual labor in the town and 3 days a week coming to learn seamstress work. She was unable to afford to send her kids to school while in training so C.A.R.E. Africa came alongside her to help with the children. Favor is 14 years old and he was running away almost everyday. His attendance to school was very poor but since he has joined our program we have seen a huge change in his attitude. His sister Susanna is 8 years old. She is very shy but understands school and is doing well. Thankgod is 6 years old and very quite. His smile is to die for but you have to work at it to get one from him. Ngozi (Goodness) is 4 years old and she is the sweetest and most affectionate child. We love this family and recently were able to help them move to a new home.

Mariam is 15 years old and was abandoned by her father many years ago. Her mother has been managing her care along with her grandmother who lives in another town. She walked one day to my house from the town her grandmother lives in. She told me that someone had advised her that I paid school fees. I told her that at the time we were not taking new applicants due to finances. She started crying and begging me to help her. She said she wanted to be a Doctor. I had to get a guard to send her away as she wouldn’t stop crying. The next 3 days she showed up at my doorstep and every time she cried and begged for me to help her. By the third time I felt God telling me that I needed to just do it and he would provide the money.

Gloria is 5 years old. She is the sweetest little thing and so brave. I will never forget her first time to a CARE Africa at the care center. She was the youngest and she just walked in and sat down and participated like she had always been there. I couldn’t believe how brave she was for only 5 years old. Gloria was abandoned by her father many years ago. Her mother currently cares for her and her baby brother in a 10×10 room inside a community home. Her mom is a housekeeper making only N5,000 per month which is $35. School fees for one term are N20,000 so she of course was unable to put Gloria in school.

 

Charles and Michael Moses do not know exactly when they were born. We think Charles is 15 and Michael is 18. When I first arrived in Egbe in 2013, one of the girls that works in my kitchen approached me about her neighbor. She said she was the second wife to a man in another town and he didn’t take care of her well. She told me about her 6 children and that the two oldest were going to get into trouble if they didn’t go to school. I trusted her and paid school fees for them to go into a school in the town. I have been paying their fees personally for over two years and recently decided to enroll them in CARE Africa. This meant that they had to agree to more accountability, attendance at CARE Africa school and weekly attendance to our Wednesday night Discipleship groups. At first they were both apprehensive and even agreed and then didn’t show up. After tracking them down and having some one on one time with them we are excited they are a part of our program now.

Testimony is 10 years old. Her mother passed away over a year ago in her 30’s. She left behind Testimony, her brother Miracle and her sister Blessings. Their father had died several years before. At first they all came to live with Grandma but she was unable to feed and house all three. They were separated amongst the rest of the family but Testimony was able to stay with Grandma. Grandma sells firewood and pepper but can barely provide for herself much less Testimony. We were happy to accept her and her other siblings into our program to ensure their education. Testimony is very smart and first in her class. You can see her receiving an award in July at the schools graduation in the picture on the left.

 

Miracle is 13 years old. He is very intelligent and one of our most vocal kids. He loves to lead worship, dance and pray. He came to us at the beginning of 2015 after his mothers tragic death at a very young age. His great aunt worked in the compound at our guesthouse and she told me one day about Miracle and his sisters Blessing and Testimony. She informed me that their father had died many years ago and now their mother had passed. They had all been split up to different family members homes and none of them had the means to send the children to school. They had been in school up till their mothers death and now were at risk of having to be pulled out. We immediately voted to take all 3 kids into the program and are now praying about how to reunite them together in one home.

Friday is 6 years old and his older brother Samuel is 8 years old. His mother was a prostitute in the local brothel. A pastor at a nearby church was able to rescue her and a few others from this life of bondage. A few weeks later she was reunited with her two sons. The local church was able to help her get started in a business selling Rice and Beans on the side of the road. They were able to help her find a free place to stay until she is able to make it on her own. Friday is the calm one of the two brothers. He loves to help his mother. While his brother Samuel runs around showing off you can find Friday helping his mother clean clothes or dishes. 

 

Michael and Mary are two of our youngest. A medical volunteer came and ran a clinic in the town. They met Michael very sick and sent him to the hospital for further testing. He tested positive for HIV. He has
now been put on ARV drugs and is responding well. Mary was tested also and she was negative. The volunteer asked if they could join C.A.R.E. due to the fact that they were orphans. They had been dropped with a family member several years ago and she was barely managing. We were happy to take them. Mary’s scare on her face was that way when she arrived to Egbe. No one knows what exactly happened to her.

Anu came to us through the school that all of our children attend. She had been kicked out because she could not pay school fees. When we investigated we found her living with her Grandmother. Her father had abandoned her mother and brother many years ago. Her mother took her small brother and they moved to Ibadan to find work. Anu was left with grandma to help around the house. Grandma teaches at a local school but the income she was making was barely enough to feed them much less send Anu to school.

Tunde is 16 years old. His mother, Kemi works as the Guesthouse Manager for the missionary guesthouse. Kemi has been working for us for over 3 years. She is from Lagos and has two other children, Anika and Bisola. They fled to Egbe after dealing with an abusive father. Kemi has been trying to provide for her family as best as she can but a recent strike at Tunde’s public school left him sitting at home everyday. She was unable to afford private schooling for him so he was just wondering about the town everyday. We went out to meet Tunde and he impressed upon us a desire to truly want to grow in is education and his walk with the Lord. He specifically said he wanted to learn about computers.       

Ayo is one of our newest member to C.A.R.E. Africa. The school our orphans go to brought Ayo and her cousin Bolu to our attention because their school fees had not been paid. They were about to kick them out of school. We went to go and visit their home and met their grandma. Grandma was very skinny and had 6 children living with her in a 10×10 room. Grandma told us the story that her son in Lagos just dropped Ayo and her brother off to her one day and said he couldn’t take care of them anymore. Since then he wold send small money for school fees and feeding. Recently the money had stopped and he said he was out of work. Grandma is to frail to work so the food dried up and school fees were left unpaid.

Eniope is the child of Remi, one of the workers in the missionary housing compound. Remi is a widow with three children. She started working with a family at HELP and when they left she came to the guesthouse to work. She works part time so the money she makes allows her to send her children to a public school which isn’t the greatest. She asked if C.A.R.E. Africa could take one child. Through the family member of one of the missionaries, they agreed to sponsor Eniope so we were able to accept him into the program.

Janet

Ife is a very bright child and we are excited to see her grow. Her mother, Tope came to us out of desperation because the father had abandoned her and her two other children. Tope works very hard selling anything she can get her hands on at market and also up and down the streets. Her hard work is also seen in her parenting with Ife. When I tested Ife I was amazed at how much she knew. Tope was very proud and you could tell that she works with her regularly. Ife isn’t shy and she is fitting right into our program.