They Are Not Orphans

At the end of April, I will be travelling to Nyeri, Kenya with a small group of people to visit Belwop Rescue Center. My mission will be to collect video footage of what God is doing in that place so that Belwop’s liaison here in the States can put together video pieces for fundraising needs.

The trip started as simply a desire to serve where my skill set would help. I saw a request on Facebook for a videographer, and my husband and I prayerfully considered my going. But the more I hear about Belwop, the more my heart feels a longing to follow God’s heart for the fatherless around the world.

What I found out today was that Belwop stands for “BEtter Life WithOut Papers.” Belwop Rescue Center is a home run by Veronica, a Kenyan woman in her fifties whose own children are grown. People from all around Nyeri who no longer want to, or are able to, raise their own children simply drop them off at Veronica’s house, and most never return. The children show up at Veronica’s doorstep without any papers. No birth certificates, no identification of any kind. They are considered people “who aren’t persons.” However, when asked whether anyone ever adopts the children who come to her, Veronica, I am told, will firmly reply, “They are not orphans. I am their mother.”

And truly, every child who comes into her home takes her name as his or her own. Veronica does work with any biological parents, if they are still around or can be found, towards reconciliation with their children, but many times that is not possible. So since 2005, she has opened her doors to the fatherless, and they have come in droves. This is all the more important in that Kenya is a closed country to adoption.

Veronica currently has twenty-nine children in her family. Twenty-nine young souls who now have a chance to grow up in a family – a BIG family – and find a better way in this world. Veronica knows that the key to breaking the cycle of poverty for her children is education, because when a student graduates from high school, he or she will receive a diploma. That diploma will have the name of the child written on it, and THAT is the child’s first piece of official documentation. Those who were considered “not persons” now have solid legal standing in their country. Each child can then take the rigorous exam that, if passed, paves their way to free university education. And if the children do not pass the exam for university, their diplomas still seal them a way to a trade school and a way to earn a living.

And they take Veronica’s name with them the whole way.

I was amazed to learn that to ensure her children get the education they need at the right standards, Veronica has built a school called “Shine Academy” on her property for them. She has hired in good teachers, brought on fellow women to work with her to cover the children’s daily needs like cooking and cleaning, and those women have become the children’s “aunties.”

In addition to her family, Veronica also saw the need for a refuge for those in the area who are subject to familial abuse. True to her form, she decided to start “Hope House” in a building not far from her own home, and now those struggling in destructive relationships have a place to get away and learn about the hope of Jesus. I am told that God is doing all of this through Veronica in an area where the church is plagued by prosperity gospel teaching and weak leadership.

As you can imagine, I have only a slice of the picture of all that is Belwop. But I am so grateful for the chance to go over there and help tell Belwop’s story to those here in the States. Veronica’s family is big, and so their financial needs are sizeable. If anyone wants to donate directly to Belwop, you can do so through Extreme Response International – http://www.extremeresponse.org/our-partners/africa. You will notice that there is not much information up to date on Belwop, so keep in mind that is why I am going with the team in April.

If you want to know more about what God is doing through Veronica, keep your eyes peeled toward the end of April when we go on the trip. I will be posting regularly while I’m over there (if we have enough internet access), and there will be plenty more once we return!

Pray for Veronica and her fellow workers that they may work with all His strength for those who cannot fend for themselves!

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27