The AIDS epidemic in Africa has drastically increased number of orphans in East Africa. In the past extended families would care for orphans, but as a result of several sociological causes, one being the increase in orphaned children, this is no longer an option for many families. According to local reports, the Kenyan society has deemed religious leaders as being a viable option to turn to for help. So when Rev. Samson, a Kenyan minister with the New Church, started his congregation in Etora, he was also given the responsibility of providing for the community’s orphans.

When the Helping Children in Crisis (HCIC) committee started in November 2012, Rev. Samson was responsible for 65 orphans. He had initially been caring for 34 children in his community through a foster system. It was not ideal for their community since they did not have the resources to properly care for all of the children and place them appropriately. Unfortunately, without any outside help, Rev. Samson’s community experienced the loss of seven children in 18 months.

Starting in September 2012 he also began caring for 31 additional children that came to him from the nearby community of Riounde. These orphans sought Rev. Samson out after fleeing Riounde because they felt their lives were in danger. Rev. Samson has combined these two groups into a larger community of 65 orphans. Culturally these orphans are now considered to be a single group, a family. They will not be split up. Just as many of us would rather run away with our family rather than be taken away from them forever, they too would rather run away rather than be seperated forever in different orphanages.

This leaves us with a family of 65 children to help. HCIC is not running this orphanage. Rev. Samson, a Newchurch minister in Etora, Kenya, is. What we are doing is trying to get him the resources he identifies and needs in order to provide for this family. Think of the HCIC as a private foundation, only, instead of a single wealthy benefactor, we are a community of benefactors, both wealthy and poor and everything in between. As an international community, we can provide for this family.

While Rev. Samson is running the orphanage, the HCIC recognizes that we cannot simply give him whatever money he requests without some sort of due diligence for both him and our donors. Our committee is functioning under strict policy guidelines that contain best practices for international non-profits. A complete copy of these policies is available on this website.

Some examples are, we are setting up a third party price verification process to ensure that Rev. Samson gets a fair price. We are hiring social workers and healthcare workers to ensure the children’s continued welfare. Finally, we are working within guidelines outlined by the Kenyan government to provide a safe, clean, and up to date structure for these children, with electricity and running water.

The Helping Children in Crisis (HCIC) committee was initially created to help Rev. Samson with his needs, but has hopes in the long-term goal of reaching additional children in crisis, especially those who are already New Church members. HCIC is a completely volunteer group. 95% of all donated funds goes directly to the mission, with the remaining 5% is used to pay for oporating costs.

Thank you for taking the time to look over our website, and thank you for taking the time to consider the plight of one of these children. They did not choose to be where they are in life, but together we can help them achieve anything they want in life.

Brittany Price-Research and Communication Officer of the HCIC