Pastor Thang Leo is so proud to have his son, Samuel, back with his family, thanks to the increased income he’s earning because of an agricultural Opportunity Loan
In the remote, mountainous villages of Myanmar, fathers often struggle to provide their children with the basic necessities of clothing, food and education. Such was the case of Pastor Thang Leo. Desperate, he sent his son, Samuel, to an orphanage hundreds of miles away, just so he could be fed and receive an education.
A $300 loan from Orphan’s Tear, however, changed everything. Using his loan to start a small agricultural project, Pastor Leo now provides for his family—and his son is back home!
In 2014 we continued our transition, begun a few years ago, toward promoting foster and kinship care in Myanmar. This is also setting the pattern for our orphan care in other countries as well.
Last year we impacted hundreds of children and their families. Through our Kinship Care Fund, we:
• Helped 84 children be reunited with their families
• Made loans to poor parents in 6 villages in Myanmar to help them keep their children rather than send them to far away orphanages
And through our Foster Care Initiative, we:
• Helped 4 foster families with small businesses to become self-sufficient
• Helped 2 orphanages become self-sufficient by loaning them funds to start taxi businesses
• Made loans to 53 other orphanages, helping each start businesses such as pig raising, loom weaving, small store sales and photography to help them become self-sustaining
• Sent 18 orphanage directors to a business training school where they learned biblical principles to help them succeed in their business ventures
Orphan’s Tear received $341,392 and disbursed $322,918 in 2014. Those funds were used to support over 1,500 children (in 93 orphanages) in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Haiti, India, Malawi, Moldova and Nepal. Of the funds disbursed, $162,823 was used for loans to help orphanages, as well as foster and kinship families, become self-sufficient. We also helped rescue over 30 orphans and abused children in Mexico! Thank you for making all this ministry possible!
