New volunteers work with OJM to help communities helping orphans

Submitted by Kyle Douglass on July 27, 2010 - 10:21am
Jake & Danielle Darnell

I'm currently in grad school at Western Michigan University, getting my Master's degree in International Development Administration (think U.N. or USAID training course). My fellow students are a bunch of people like me who are interested in why societies break down, why they struggle with poverty, corruption, etc., and how they can move in the direction of stability and health. And thankfully, there are a few of us who follow Christ and add the knowledge of economic policy, international relations and development theories to an understanding that this is God's world, a God who is righteous and just and cares deeply for the poor and oppressed. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to me when Danielle Darnell caught me after class one day and said she'd love to talk more about "that organization you keep mentioning".

Danielle and her husband Jake are originally from Saginaw, MI, where they had gotten deeply involved with their church mission program. Excited by the vision of helping orphans and widows internationally, they used their administrative and technical gifts to assist an African community their pastor had connected with. Unfortunately, the program stalled out and when they moved to Kalamazoo to further their education and seek God's will for their lives, they kept their eyes open for a new opportunity. Thankfully, Danielle kept her eyes open in class (not that that would be difficult, Prof. Clements!) and took an opportunity to ask me about OJM.

OJM was just what Jake and Danielle were looking for. They scoured our website, read our Governing Policy and articles, such as The Orphan's Cry, and saw in us a real desire (and a game plan) for fulfilling the orphan justice mandate given by God. They have fully engaged and have been a great addition to our team.

Jake has an incredible technical skill set and has worked in international communications (in Uganda, even) and is working with Danielle to revamp our website. He's also been helping with research on several of our proposals as well as setting up helpful cooperative technologies like video conferencing. Danielle is assisting in various administrative ways, such as grant research, tax issues and most of all program upkeep by standardizing our project protocol and updating notes and staff communications. In the several months they've been with us, they've already made major contributions.

In addition to Jake and Danielle, Mike and Haley Hogoboom are assisting with the PenPal Program and are considering longterm volunteer positions in the area of Remote Care Partner development. Kelly Sanders continues as our Director of Evaluation and Measurement as she works full-time for a non-profit in Washington, D.C., and Ted Manning, now in part-time retirement in Schoolcraft, MI, is assisting us in various ways. I'm thankful to all these individuals, plus our various Remote Care Partner church volunteers for helping us our brothers and sisters around the world care for orphaned and vulnerable children.

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OJM Founder, Tim Stoner, resigns from board to seek new opportunities

Submitted by Site Manager on July 21, 2010 - 4:55pm

After five years as Orphan Justice Mission president, co-founder Tim Stoner has resigned from the board. In a letter to Executive Director, Kyle Douglass, Tim stated that it was time to focus his energies on other endeavors. He stated that he is most energized by being an organizational catalyst and now that OJM was well established and in pursuit of its vision, it was time to let another fill his role on the board. Tim and his wife Patty will stay involved in OJM in unofficial capacities, and we look forward to their contributions.

Tim, a lawyer and Christian author in Grand Rapids, MI, co-founded OJM in 2005 with his friend Bill Terpstra after returning from a visit to Guatemala with a burden to advocate for orphans' rights. After a year of struggling to gain traction in South America, the organization was offered an opportunity to assist a church in southern Uganda in the Rakai district, which had started a school to care for approximately forty orphans. This small project became the Glory of Christ Development Initiative, OJM's first official Direct Care Partner and was the program that helped OJM land on its current vision and methodology. Tim's articulation of release-based orphan care and his passionate call to empowering local communities and avoiding unhealthy dependency played a major role in OJM's maturation process.

The OJM board, staff and volunteers would like to express their thanks to Tim for his work for the organization, indeed catalyzing a small core of passionate Christ followers to fulfill their orphan justice mandate. We pray for all the best as he pursues his other interests and passions and look forward to Tim's future, though informal, relationship with OJM.

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PenPal letters in process

Submitted by Kyle Douglass on July 8, 2010 - 2:18pm

The PenPal letters that I returned with following my visit to Ddwaniro, Uganda, have now been read and recorded. Thank you to Sheryl, Don, Rachel, Ariana and Rob for the three hours spent opening envelopes, reading, inputting and alphabetizing. The letters should be at the churches starting this Sunday and will be available for pick up the next three weeks. If you will be unable to pick up your letter, please contact us at penpal@orphanjustice.org and let us know you would prefer it to be mailed. And of course, we'll need response letters ASAP!

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Orphans get some press

Submitted by Kyle Douglass on July 5, 2010 - 9:09am

The cover story of the July 2010 issue of Christianity Today (CT) is entitled "Abba Changes Everything: Why every Christian is called to rescue orphans" by Russel D. Moore. This caught my attention for several reasons. First, I came across the article while sorting the mail after four days away in the hospital for the birth of my third child, Charlotte. My brother and sister-in-law were due back from Bulgaria where they have adopted a beautiful eight-year-old with cerebral palsy. And, oh yeah, I'm the director of an organization that desires to mobilize the church to care for orphans. I have to be choosy these days about what I take time to read, but I figured this month's edition of CT deserved a look.

I began with the letter from the editor of CT, Ted Olsen, entitled "Adoption is Everywhere: Even God is into it." He notes the increasing popularity of adoption and of church orphan care, which was promoted in "nearly every conference we've attended recently." He even cites several popular media examples, like The Blindside, that have addressed orphans and adoption. I have encountered numerous people lately that have told me their church is taking mission trips or starting programs to aid third-world children. I'm not in the know enough to determine whether or not this is just a fad, but it does seem like something is going on, something big. My short experience in Africa has taught me something profound: don't underestimate God. So basic, I know, but I realized a few years back that OJM was a tiny piece of something much larger that God was doing, and it was without a doubt God doing it: He is creating a worldwide movement of the church aimed at the very real tragedy of children without families. I could take very, very little credit for my participation; God pulled me into and it's both my privilege and my opportunity to walk with Him in obedience. My reward will be to see the Master at work from the front row.

I then went to the feature article, which did a great job of describing the various facets of orphan care, from doctrinal metaphor to spiritual warfare to practical command. It was a good reminder for me, a guy "in the business", of our call to action. And if you're unfamiliar with OJM, know that the James 1:27 mandate is truly what drives us. Our goal is to manifest pure and undefiled religion, to bring the name of Christ respect and honor because of our willingness to obey the call to care for the least of these. It is our obligation as adopted sons and daughters and I'm glad to see it being promoted in the press.

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Projects, computers, water and more - very productive first week!

Submitted by Kyle Douglass on June 6, 2010 - 6:09pm
It's been an intense 5 days since I arrived in Ddwaniro. We've stuck to the itinerary pretty closely and excluding one or two post-lunch naps, it's been a sun-up to sun-down affair. I'm currently in Kyotera, at Motel Highway taking a Sunday break (which is really due to the fact that my Econ midterm was due today and I needed good signal and a consistent power source). Now that my exam is done, here's a brief pictoral update:
Data entry training with the health committee...They love working on computers!

     

Meeting with Paul's aunt, Mrs. Naome Kabanda, who is the Principle Land Officer Governess at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development of Uganda. Also a lawyer, she's been helping us with the land purchase agreements. Here she's witnessing the final forms for the tenant payments. The Reconxile business training program that was completed last month as a prerequisite to the loan program has ignited some really exciting business prospects. This is a petrol station started by the Local Chairman, which now earns him 500,000 shillings a day in revenue (about $250 US). He's applying for a loan to add a paraffin tank.
A view of the approximately one acre plot that now holds the 100 Kenyan Top-bar beehives of the GCCDI Beekeeping project. The profit from the business will support the Glory of Christ Primary School budget and serve as a community training project in beekeeping. Phase two of the project is to set up a processing and packaging operation. Walking the land with the guys. The landscape is lush and green but June is at the end of the rainy season. They need more rain, especially for the maize to produce well.
Nurse form practice in a classroom at the school. After talking with Dr. Eddie, we're revising the form to the Uganda standard Form 5, which will help us move towards a registered community health clinic.
 Demonstrating the Sawyer water filter. After having them assemble the filter to the bucket, demonstrating the filtration process and explaining that the filter never wears out, I asked how much they would be willing to pay. "10,000" or about $5 they said. The filter costs $45, so I asked them how much they spent on medical care a year. "About 200,000", 80% of which is bad-water related treatments. "So, is it worth it to invest about half a year's doctor bill's for a life-time of clean water?" I asked. Yep.
A second demonstration to the child-monitor group. Here we're backwashing the filter and showing all the dirt it trapped. We're working with the Business Sub-committee to work out a loan program to make the initial purchase of the filters more accessible.
 Some of the children at one of homes visited by child monitors. Three of the children are orphans. They are standing on their bedding sheets which the put out in the sun everyday to reduce bed bugs. The mother gave us a sugarcane stalk as a gift just for passing by.

Pastor Geoffrey shows me the bench the carpentry instructor is working on for the Integrated Production Skills (Vocational) Program that is starting. The male students will be constructing their own desks and chalkboards for the school. The girls will be learning sewing.

 

I have a short week here ahead of me. Tomorrow morning I travel back to Ddwaniro first thing for the Spiritual Sub-committee meeting then an afternoon split between PenPal letter distribution and database development. Tuesday and Wednesday we'll be making some visits to other villages to see some school start-ups and potential expansion sites. The cracks will be filled with data entry training. Thursday it's back to Kampala, with Friday recap with Paul and departure home scheduled for 9:30pm.

Please continue to pray for the people of Ddwaniro. The Lord is doing a magnificent work here, which is more spiritual/behavioral than material. It's a true privilege to be a part of.

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