Here is an overview of
Agape Children's Ministry, the organization I will be working with this summer.
One-hundred fifty million abused and abandoned children, many orphaned by AIDS, live desperate lives trying to survive on the streets of virtually every city in the developing world. They are alone...hungry...without hope. They are society's outcasts, begging and stealing to make it through each new day. Agape Children's Ministry is a non-profit, Christian mission organization dedicated to bringing help and hope to these children.
Agape’s mission may be summed up in four words:
rescue, redeem, rehabilitate, and reintegrate. We must first
rescue the child from the life-threatening dangers of the streets. On the street they are victims of violence, physical abuse, malnutrition, and disease. Malaria and illnesses caused by eating rotten food from garbage bins and drinking contaminated water are common among street children. Many boys turn to sniffing glue in order to numb their minds and escape their loneliness and fear. Sadly, continued use of glue can cause irreversible brain damage.
As part of their rescue, Agape addresses their physical needs by providing a safe place to live, clothes, nutritious meals, and necessary medical care. The ministry also seeks to deal with their emotional and psychological needs. Agape provides an atmosphere of love and acceptance, where every boy is taught he is God’s unique and valued child. Most importantly, Agape shares the life-changing message of the Gospel with them. As they come to know and experience Christ’s love and forgiveness
(redeem), emotional wounds heal—hope and purpose are restored.
The next step is to seek to
rehabilitate the boys through academic and vocational training, equipping them to be independent and to live productive, contributive, Christ-centered lives when they leave Agape. Finally, Agape endeavors whenever possible to
reintegrate the boy back into his family and community, re-connecting him with his roots and culture.
