First, if you responded to my last desperate plea on behalf of the kids with either prayer or financial gift or both, THANK YOU! According to Mathew 25, you just saved Jesus (himself, not the orphans) from going hungry again!
The kids are doing well. We were able to send money to them after I sent my last email out and some money came in. Yesterday when I spoke to them, they had two days of food left. I deposited a couple of checks yesterday and will be able to send them some money today for another week or so of food.
Because of the difficulties that we are facing right now, we are considering shutting down our smaller orphanage in a different part of Cameroon which now has six children in there. That part of the country needs help but we have to do that in June (when schools close) and can reopen it in the future when God provides resources.
This is a tough decision for me to make, but I have to do what I have to do, and believe me, I try my best to act like a father would do to their child. We won’t abandon the six we currently have, we will try to find families to live with them, but the care will not be nearly as good as in our hands (probably not half as good). But we would still ensure medical care.
Let me share something with you. Each time I write an email like this one, only 35 people like you open it. That doesn’t mean that they read it. They just have to click open for a second. So when you see a need that I announce, if you are able to help, don’t wait thinking somebody will do it. For my last desperate, only one person responded with a gift (thank God for that person). Thank God for that one person he moved to respond… but it definitely left me thinking, what if that person hadn’t responded? I don’t remember sounding that desperate before, but maybe I have. I don’t blame anybody for that, God knows, but it underscores the fact that we have to make all the sacrifices we can right now to reach a bigger audience—the TV/Radio programs are key here.
Believing God and standing for orphans like you and I are doing is not easy or cheap. But it is well worth it if our home is in heaven. I’ve been doing work on our TV program which is set to start in June or July. We have only 3 families that have signed up to support it so far. We need more people to join this, and if you are reading this email, I know you can do something, please do anything. One thing I am doing (very risky) is that I’m forgoing my medical insurance (not good) to afford for our family to be a part of giving to this TV/radio program. I don’t have medical insurance right now (only my kids and wife have it—they must). We don’t have ANY savings at all (zero). You don’t have to forgo health insurance or have zero savings to help. Many of you can help without going that far. Please if you have any questions about how important this TV program is, please email me and I will explain it to you. As one who sees myself as a father to these kids, I’d rather they go hungry for a few months and have an investment done to make sure they will have food, education, and a future a year from now than to continue downhill… But thank God, we believe he will provide for food for them now. So please join the TV program.
Let me share something with you. Look at the picture above. It costs world vision and other bigger organizations $17.08 dollars for each of the Google ads you see above each time someone clicks on them. The majority of them don’t end up sponsoring a child. But it is $17.08 a pop! Yes, helping orphans is expensive. Compare that with $1,000 per episode for a 28 minute TV show that goes into 100 million homes in the U.S that educates people and points them to our website. That is more sustainable because viewers in the long run will also support the continuation of the program while reaching more people to sponsor orphans, adopt them, etc.
Join us to invest in their future. I’m worried when they don’t have food today, but I’m more worried if we are not doing something to invest in their future. No business can succeed without advertising. Even with the gospel, the scriptures say, how can someone belief unless they have heard? How can they hear unless someone preaches to them?… you know it. Our problem right now is to go out and tell more people. I’d love to go and talk to smaller crowds at churches but those doors aren’t opening… so join the TV program—that door is wide open.
God bless
Kenneth Acha, MD