$20,000 Challenge Gift Received March 24, 2017!
Help us put a roof over the heads of some hopeful students in Liberia!
We have a donor family who has committed to matching up to $20,000 of the gifts we receive between now and April 15, 2017. Children Rescue International (CRI) needs your help!
Liberia, the fourth poorest country in the world, has a population of 4.7 million people. With fewer than 15 hospitals and 300 doctors serving the entire country, clean water problems, and a weak education system; the average life span is just 62 years. Liberia also lacks infrastructure to care for an estimated 200,000 children who became orphans during a long civil war and the deadly Ebola outbreaks in 2014 and 2015. That’s where CRI comes in…
Pastor Samuel Gayetaye of the International Outreach Ministries in Sioux Falls fled his home country of Liberia when he was just 8 years old. Civil war raged on for over a decade, with more than 250,000 people killed and 850,000 displaced. Unable to return home, Gayetaye spent his childhood and young adult life in a refugee camp in the Republic of Ivory Coast. In 2007 Gayetaye made it to United States and found himself on a “tiny little plane” headed for a place he had never heard of--Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “The Lord delivered me out of this situation and brought me to this great nation, where almost every basic need of life is available and which I had never experienced before.”
Now Gayetaye is working to provide for the needs of the people in his home country. He said, “In February 2012, the Lord gave me this vision: ‘Do not forget where you came from (Deuteronomy 8:10-20), always remember to be the hands and the feet of Jesus Christ in the lives of the underprivileged children, mostly the orphans and destitute.’”
Out of that call arose CRI, which is now home to 32 orphans, with more than 50 on a waiting list. Since 2012 CRI has been able to build a small home for the children and three live-in staff members, constructed a well for clean drinking water, and most recently is constructing the first phase of a new school building.
The CRI board wants you to be aware of a very urgent financial need and a great opportunity. To address some severe space limitations in our children's home and to enclose the first floor of the school before the rainy season begins in May (and continues through October) we estimate $50,000 will be needed. On March 24 CRI received a commitment from a donor who will match up to $20,000 of any gifts made by April 15.
Liberia is a country in desperate need. Providing a home and education for these children is just one way to bring some hope, and our mission is, “To be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, to rescue the orphans and destitute children of Liberia who cried for help.” Gayetaye said, “We may not be able to fix the whole country, but with God’s help we can bring His love to this group of 32 children.”
Would you be willing to make a tax-deductible donation by April 15 to accomplish this goal? If so, please mail your check to CRI, PO Box 1028, Sioux Falls, SD 57101, drop it off at our office at 1001 E 17th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104, use the Donate Now button on our website, or call Pastor Samuel at 605-212-7819 to make other arrangements. Thank you!
Our CRI website is under construction and is available at criliberia.org.