St. Barnabas Orphanage and School: A Campaign for a Permanent Lunch Location

Moscow, May 30, 2017

Photo: orthodoxmissionkenya.org Photo: orthodoxmissionkenya.org
    

The St. Barnabas Orphanage and School in South Kinangop, Kenya, one of the missions of Orthodox Africa, currently has the unique opportunity to expand their property and double the number of children they are able to serve.

St. Barnabas’ was founded in 2007 by Fr. Methodios JM Kariuki and his wife Papadhia Everlyn Mwangi, and has helped over 400 children. Today, the mission includes thirteen volunteers providing care for 175 children, 34 of which to date have been baptized into the Orthodox Church. Currently twelve boys live on-site in a one-room shack, with the remainder of the children arriving daily for school.

Photo: orthodoxmissionkenya.org Photo: orthodoxmissionkenya.org
Fr. Methodios and Papadhia Everlyn dream of one day providing a home for fifty orphaned children. They now have the opportunity to purchase a piece of land with a house at far below market value that would allow them to double their occupancy to twenty-four children.

A local couple has been ordered by their doctor to move to a new location for the good of the wife’s health, and, knowing that Fr. Methodios has been praying for land to accommodate more children, they have decided to offer their property and house, valued at $108,000, for a mere $25,000—just enough to allow them to transfer the property to St. Barnabas’ and move. The new house can easily provide twenty-four children a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and a place to play and learn.

By expanding the facilities outside of the slums they are currently located in, St. Barnabas’ hopes to become a self-sustaining mission, providing children with a good general education, as well as in-demand trade skills. The school hopes to be able to place older children in jobs in a region where unemployment is high. The orphanage and school’s stability and comfort make them a great contrast to poor homes addled with the instability of addictions resulting from hopelessness.

To help realize their dream of housing twenty-four children in the near future, and ultimately fifty or more, St. Barnabas’ Orphanage and School has launched A Campaign for a Permanent Lunch Location to help raise the necessary funds. Archbishop Makarios of Kenya has blessed the campaign, and spoke about the God-pleasing work of St. Barnabas’ on a recent trip to the orphanage on May 26:

As of May 29, $4,100 had been raised in just six days, but they are still far from their goal of $25,000. Read more about the Campaign for a Permanent Lunch Location here, and donations can be made here.

5/30/2017

See also
“We are One in Christ:” The Missionary Work of “Orthodox Africa” “We are One in Christ:” The Missionary Work of “Orthodox Africa”
Jesse Dominick, Fr. Silouan (Brown) “We are One in Christ:” The Missionary Work of “Orthodox Africa” “We are One in Christ:” The Missionary Work of “Orthodox Africa”
A Conversation with Fr. Silouan (Brown) on His Missionary Trip to Kenya and the Continuing Work
Jesse Dominick, Fr. Silouan (Brown)
Last July I sat down with Fr. Silouan (Brown) to ask him about his upcoming mission trip to Kenya, on behalf of the charitable organization “Orthodox Africa” he founded as a way for the global Orthodox community to be able to participate in the furtherance of God’s Kingdom by providing a means for the average layman who may not be able to travel to faraway lands, to participate in global missionary work. The organization works with several mission and shelters in Kenya. In this follow-up interview, Fr. Silouan shares his thoughts and reflections on the trip, how it compared to expectations, what he learned about how to better serve the people of Africa, and about the bond of Orthodox Christians worldwide, rooted in our common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Serving the Least of the Brethren: the Missionary Work of Serving the Least of the Brethren: the Missionary Work of "Orthodox Africa"
Jesse Dominick, Fr. Silouan (Brown) Serving the Least of the Brethren: the Missionary Work of Serving the Least of the Brethren: the Missionary Work of "Orthodox Africa"
A Conversation with Fr. Silouan (Brown) on Putting Matthew 25 into Action
Jesse Dominick, Fr. Silouan (Brown)
"The Kingdom is taken by violence and force. That implies to me in a lot of ways that we can’t sit on the sidelines as passive observers. We have to engage. You can’t sit by and wait for somebody else to do it. That’s what Orthodox Africa is for me—I saw a gap where there was a need and I asked myself what I could do, and Orthodox Africa is what I can do, so I went out and did it. It’s an invitation to everyone out there to get off their couches, and even if they can’t personally go travel and be a missionary, here’s one way they can be involved. Everyone has to be involved in some way in the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. Produce some good fruit." Orthodoxy Renews People Orthodoxy Renews People
Archbishop Makarios of Kenya Orthodoxy Renews People Orthodoxy Renews People
Archbishop Makarios of Kenya
Today Orthodoxy renews its strength and determines the real dimensions of its mission, an ecumenical and universal message: to embrace all people of all races, all backgrounds and all languages.
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