CHURCH PARTNERSHIP

Beke Berhane Wongel Baptist Church

Through the Home Based Care program, this church will help meet the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of 20 families caring for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BEKE BERHANE WONGEL

BAPTIST CHURCH

ABOUT THE CHURCH

Beke Berhane Wongel Baptist church was founded in 1984 by Orthodox Christians in the city of Beke, outside of Addis Ababa, where most of the community earn their living from farming.

Seated on a large plot of land (around 1500m²), the church is an excellent location for children to come and play. In addition, the church reaches the community in many ways, providing money and materials for the poor in the community at different times. The church is also making plans to open a school for the community within its compound.

Leadership

Pastor Getamesay has served as the church’s main pastor for the last eight years. He is married and has two children. The church is led by a board of seven elders and has three full-time staff.

Home Based Care

Program Overview

The Goal

The goal of the Home Based Care (HBC) program is to equip, inspire, and mobilize churches to build relationships with at-risk families within their communities. Relationships grow through frequent visits to families in their homes to offer prayer, biblical training, counseling, and overall encouragement. To empower this wholistic approach to orphan care, World Orphans and US churches connect with Ethiopian churches to provide Gospel-centered training and funding.

Funding

Funding for the HBC program comes from a combination of church partnerships and fundraising campaigns. This funding ensures that these children receive the following:

Food

Meals served with the families and at school on a daily basis

Medical Care

Access to medical services and monitoring for specific health needs

Education

Assistance with school fees, school supplies, and tutoring

Emotional Care

Counseling and mentoring through relationships with church members

Spiritual Care

Fellowship, prayer, discipleship, and encouragment

How it Works

Vulnerable Children Identified

ChilD Selection Process

The HBC committee works to identify 20 orphaned or vulnerable children in the community who are in the greatest need. From there, they meet with the caregivers to determine if the family is a good fit for the program. The due diligence process includes completing a Child Intake Form, informing World Orphans about each child in the selection process, discovering the family/caregiver history, and providing reasons for the program selection.

Home VisitS Per Family Each YEAR

Home Visits

Each family in the program receives at least one monthly home visit from the HBC committee. These visits ensure each child is receiving proper care and meeting pre-determined milestones in his/her development. Families and children receive encouragement, discipleship, life skills training, financial support, and prayer during these visits.

Impact reports each year on church, child, and community

Program Accountability

With long-term care of each child as our goal, World Orphans is serious about ongoing accountability. World Orphans staff members frequently communicate with the Ethiopian pastors and HBC committee to monitor and assess each child and the overall structure of the program. The pastors are required to provide monthly financial reports on how funds were apportioned, as well as quarterly reports assessing the overall HBC program as it relates to the impact on the church, the children, and the community.

Economic Empowerment

Savings Groups

All of our caregivers from our churches are participating in savings groups that give them the ability to save money monthly, despite their inability to access formal financial institutions as individuals.

Microloans

Eligible caregivers receive rounds of small microloans to start or expand their businesses.

Literacy Programs and Empowerment Packs

Packs of supplies for literacy, education, basic first aid/hygiene, feminine hygiene, and nutrition are distributed at training seminars to the churches and families involved in our program.

Partner with Beke Berhane Wongel Baptist Church

Why Church Partnership?

Most children living in orphanages have at least one living parent. Working together, we help keep families together, strengthen them, and help them toward independence.