Orphan Shade

Orphan Shade serves double orphans (both parents have passed away) between the ages of 5 and 10 that live in rural tribal villages in southern Malawi. These children are generally taken in by grandparents with limited resources. The children are often considered burdens to their new guardians and are treated as second class citizens by extended family and the community. The children must deal with trauma from the loss of their parents, constant food insecurity, lack of hygiene, do not attend school, have significant risk of exploitation, and girls are normally subjected to marriage relationships by age 12. Their prospects for life are not good. Our vision is to equip a local village church to rescue a small number (6 to 8) of local double orphan children and raise them to adulthood in a family home. Our expected outcome is that we raise a generation of educated adults who break the chain of poverty and broken families to be leaders, politicians, businesspeople, and teachers that influence substantial positive change in the region and country. This model will intentionally develop on a small scale and expand village by village over time. The Orphan Shade model is NOT an orphanage. Our model is structured as a small foster care home delivered in the form of a new family within an existing tribal community. We want the children to grow up in the own culture, near their extended family, with their friends, in their local school. The Orphan Shade delivery model is to assess and select a village where relationships exist via a local church. The church helps us facilitate a land purchase and we build an African style family home. In parallel, double orphans are recruited in the village door by door. We recruit a known and experienced married couple to raise the children as their own. We provide food, clothing, hygiene, clean water, education, and methods for the family to earn income (small plot farming and/or raising chickens).