Current Orphanage and Transition House News

Our Orphanage: All major construction is done for now.

At some point a new administrative building will be needed. Our aid projects for displaced Christians in Plateau State are being run out of the orphanage, with the help of paid staff and volunteers.

The children from the orphanage have made several trips to Mangu and Barkin Ladi, to distribute aid to children far less fortunate. Bedding, clothing, food aid and spiritual guidance originate from the orphanage location in Jos.

The children at the orphanage are thriving. Bicycles are now available and some of the teenagers have participated in local races and won.

Chess and scrabble sets have been purchased for leisure time, but Bible study is still the most popular time for the children.

None of the “extras” the children now have are expensive in Nigeria. The minimum wage is 65,000 Naira a month. That minimum wage at the current exchange rate is equal to $49. Much of what we buy is used, and most often made in China. It is then sold at much lower prices than in the United States.

These very nice bicycles were imported used and cost less than $25 each.

Just eight years ago, when the Lord first led me to the now abandoned orphanage, the children had two meals a day consisting of cereal or gruel. There was limited clean water and no flushing toilets. The children had limited clothing and the original orphanage was in a rural area, thus making leaving the compound nearly impossible.

The orphanage did not even have a van to transport children until I purchased one.

My goal is not merely to clothe and feed these children. My goal is to prepare them as Christian leaders in their adult lives. Many will become church leaders and pastors.

Transition house progress: Preparation of the transition house for the orphanage graduates is continuing and it will be ready to occupy by late May. The transition house is not just a place to live, it will be a place of learning and preparation.

An agreement has been reached with a Christian college in Jos on education and training for the young men and women who have aged out of the orphanage. Continued education and training are essential to their success in a nation that has a large rate of youth unemployment.

Above I mentioned the average minimum wage in Nigeria is about $49 a month. That is for a full time 40 hour a week job. There is no hourly minimum wage for part time employees.

Most youths have two or three part time jobs. I want to make sure the young men and women we are shepherding receive an education that will put them in full time jobs, preferably in ministry for our Lord.

William J. Murray, President