The Story of Baraka
Her father died before she was born. Her mother cared for her until she was two years old, then her mother died. She cried of hunger, she cried of sickness, she cried of loneliness. There was no one left to care for her. All her relatives had died. Her name, “Baraka”, is Swahili for blessing.
Someone found Baraka and took her to a local church and left her there. There were other children living at the church, sleeping on the cement floors. She found shelter there. Kind women from the church came every day with a hot meal for the children who had been abandoned there. One meal daily to fill their bellies; and they were so grateful for that! The church members prayed for the children, they wanted to do more, but most of them could barely feed their own children. How could they take on more? Most of the families were farmers who survived on what they could produce with their farm.
In 2004, the CEOs of Live the Life, Edson and Renda Knapp, found Baraka living in the church along with 20 other orphans. God laid it on their hearts to help them. The Tanzania Baptist Association donated land for the project and asked for their help. They asked their friends and family and their church family for help. The response they saw was overwhelming and the result was A HOME for these children.
The Makwale Baptist Orphanage was dedicated in 2006 and now is home to 80 children. God’s blessings abound there. The Orphanage is a HOME filled with love and peace. Church members still care for the children. These children are growing up knowing God’s love for them. They have a home and a family – a church family. They have food to fill their bellies and they have shoes to wear and clothes that are not torn. They are attending school. They have hope for their future. Praise the Lord!
God has truly blessed this project. This is the story of God’s blessing – “Baraka ya Mungu”!
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