In May, 2006, Jeff Raines traveled to Kenya with Buckner Orphan Care International and several West Texas churches to explore partnership and missions opportunities. Buckner asked our church to consider partnering with the Baptist Children's Center (BCC) on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. The BCC, run by Kenyan Baptists and Buckner, sits on 13 acres in the midst of a slum-type area of around 25,000 people. They have a residential orphanage for 48 AIDS orphans, a cafeteria, a medical and dental clinic, a school, a vocational training center (teaching sewing, woodworking, and computer), and a chapel. The staff (all Kenyans) include house parents, social workers, vocational teachers, school teachers, a nurse, and a nurse practitioner.
Since 2007, First Baptist has helped fund the expansion and operation of the BCC school. It now educates more than 300 students. In addition, we have sent teams each year who have led medical clinics, evangelistic outreach, and Vacation Bible School. This is a wonderful way for us to seek to make a difference with one of the great crises of our time. In 2010 there were 18 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.
As you can imagine, the stories of those children at the BCC are heart-breaking. A Buckner social worker in Busia, Kenya, found a toddler, starving, sitting on the graves of his parents. Someone had buried his parents and left him to die. He is now living at the BCC, where the staff is trying to help him and the other orphans have better options in life. Please pray about how you might be involved!
Click here to register for the Kenya Mission Trip
On July 29, 2011 we traveled to Kenya, please visit our blog for details and amazing pictures of our journey.