by: Scott Vair | President/CEO
Fourteen years ago, in Chatsworth, South Africa, I met Pastors Siva and Rani Moodley, an amazing couple with a passionate love for Jesus and unwavering determination to care for vulnerable women and children in their community. Over the years, I have grown in my appreciation for their ministry, their creativity, their understanding for an ability to adapt to the unique needs of their community, and the generational passion for this ministry displayed by their children.
Because of the way they live and serve, it’s easy to see why their children would be actively engaged as well. Whether it’s leading worship, preparing and serving meals, property maintenance, or an outreach event, their three adult sons have been vital participants in the ministry of the church. The same is true of much of their extended church family. The witness and tangible expressions of love and care for others are displayed beautifully through all they do. For the Moodleys, as for many of us, these past couple of years have included great difficulties. In 2021, they unexpectedly lost their son, Christopher, to a heart attack, and that same year, their son, Wayne, was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. Wayne is cancer-free today and continues to faithfully serve alongside his parents, as does their other son, Joshua. This family, together, is a walking, talking, loving example of service, surrender, and dependency on Christ. God has done great things.
The effects of the AIDS epidemic are dramatic in their area. Many grandmothers are raising their own grandchildren, as well as those of others. The impact on this middle generation is profound. Christian Life Centre (CLC) is located in deliberate proximity to a heavily impacted Zulu community and has also expanded their reach to a nearby mountain community. By providing food, resources, and the loving care of Christ, many have met Jesus for the first time and are learning to walk with him through access to and the care of this church. CLC operates a free community preschool on their church property, and in 2019, they built a preschool in a nearby Zulu mountain community. With proximity to their neighbors, both communities have access to schooling and resources for their young children that would otherwise be unavailable. Older children typically walk a couple of miles to and from school, and in support of them, CLC offers a hot meal program most days after school. This ensures these school-aged children have at least one full, healthy, hot meal a day, when they otherwise may not. God is doing great things.
The church is also serving sixteen orphaned, HIV-positive children, and they are building an on-site hospice facility as a resource for children and others needing respite and end-of-life care. Their outreach initiatives include sewing and other skills training such as jewelry making, monthly food basket support for “gogos” (grannies raising young children) and regular children, and youth events. This year they’ll begin a new Youth Empowerment program. The impact of this program will mean that twenty teens involved in the sex industry will have the opportunity to return to school and learn a trade. God is doing great things.
In this issue of Insight magazine, you will find more stories of great things God has done (and is doing) in and through World Orphans. We trust you will find them encouraging. We’ve also included some coloring pages for your children, grandchildren, or other friends and relatives. Our hope is that you might use these to share the beauty and vastness of our world, and that they might offer an opportunity to share about the needs of vulnerable children, as we work together to encourage the next generation of advocates for the orphan, the widow, and the refugee.
This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2023.