Serving the Least of
These in West Africa

"Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

James 1:27

Baby Bottle 2

Who We Help

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

Too often, mothers die during or shortly after childbirth, leaving an infant, twins, or triplets without the mother’s milk. Relatives, neighbors and even strangers try to feed the infant with goat’s milk, tea brewed with local leaves, or simply sugar water. These substitutes are, at best, inadequate, and at worst, they can kill.

Seriously undernourished orphans arrive at the Oasis of Hope, many literally looking like small, brown cellophane bags of chicken bones with large, unblinking eyes. Some are so emaciated that we must hold back our gasps and tears until we can prepare bottles of formula for them. Tiny hands eagerly grasp the bottles, quite possibly their first taste of real food. A seriously hungry baby can drain a bottle in a few seconds. Then with their first full bellies, the babies usually drift off to sleep with a drop or two of formula still on their tiny chins.

Baby Broth 2
Triplets

Nearly as tragic mothers with one, two, or three babies to feed can't nurse because of their own malnutrition or a serious medical condition. We give them food to help them to begin nursing. We share food such as eggs from our own hens, rice, corn meal and beans, peanuts, powdered milk, and sardines with family members. When someone has nothing, even a little is a lot.

A lone woman with no work skills faces a bleak future. Our women’s program gives women skills like sewing and soap making. They use these skills to support themselves and their families. We teach women to read and write. We teach life skills such as nutrition and sanitation to improve the quality of life. We plant faith by sharing Jesus Christ with those who do not know him. We give hope to those who arrived at the “Oasis” with no hope left.

"The Lord watches over the sojourners: He upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin."

Psalm 146:9

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