Dear Sponsors, Friends and Supporters November 12, 2025
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
It is hard to believe we are already entering into the holiday season. Thanksgiving is just a week away and Christmas follows less than a month later. As we prepare to give thanks and celebrate the birth of our Lord, we are reminded just how much we have to be thankful for. Thanks to your generosity and compassion over 200 children in Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda are receiving an education and care they could not afford without you. Your general fund donations and Burundi sponsorships (nearly 100 fully sponsored children in Burundi) are subsidizing the K-9th grade school that provides quality education to over 400 students in Burundi. Your general fund giving has also provided supplemental support to the school building project in Rwanda. We are thankful for each of you and the difference you are making in many lives, “one child at a time”.
Our challenges and God’s faithfulness: While there is much to be thankful for, we are still facing challenges. As mentioned in our back-to-school newsletter in September we currently have ten children in our Rwanda program who have lost sponsors. Sadly, in Burundi, we had some children drop out of school. Fortunately, we were able to pair some of the sponsors of kids who dropped with Burundi children who lost sponsors. If we are unable to replace the sponsors who have dropped in Rwanda we will end the fiscal year with a minimum $5000 deficit in sponsorship alone. Since we always run a bit short in sponsorship covering education and other needs, there will be additional pressure for general fund giving.
As we evaluate the potential size of our funding gap we are reminded about the size of our God. During our 9 years of operation we have never had to drop a child due to lost sponsorship. God has always come through, often in the last few months of the fiscal year. We would ask you to join us in prayer that this year God will once again provides fully for these children.
Country Reports: We are attaching two country reports to this newsletter:
Rwanda: Our third quarter report for Rwanda is very encouraging. Kids graduating from college, a new school under construction (largely funded out of Oklahoma, but some funds from HMA), kids in primary and secondary schools. Good things are happening in Rwanda and you have been a large part of making it happen. Still there are many needs in Rwanda, and though inflation has dropped to around 6%, the cost of living remains higher than most families can afford. Please be assured that you are making a powerful difference in the lives of these children and their families.
Burundi: The news in Burundi is a bit more sobering. While kids are holding their own and our school ranks high nationally, the economic situation is dire. The current inflation rate in Burundi is around 29%, a decrease from nearly 35% a month ago. Food and fuel are expensive and scarce. Some of our teachers have had to move onto campus because they can no longer afford to pay rent and live on their own. Some have left for better pay as they cannot make ends meet. While our kids continue to get two meals a day, for many that is the only food they will get. Children outside our program have it far worse, with many going hungry. Some of the kids who left our program did so because their families move out of Burundi, simply to survive. A few others have had to quit school to work to support their families. Despite these challenges, kids are completing their studies and even graduating from high school or college. The report for Burundi was written two months ago by the school headmaster, who’s primary concern at the time was losing teachers due to low pay. Since that time the news about the economy and realities of living in Burundi have become much worse. The loss of USAID funding has hurt all of our African programs.
Kenya: We did not include a Kenya report because our program there is small. However, we are in regular contact with the program supervisor there who is devout Christian and a supervisor of the Police Anti-Corruption unit in Nairobi. Our four Kenyan kids are all doing well. One in teaching college, two about to graduate from high school and take their national exams and one in boarding school.
Christmas gifts: If you would like to give your child a Christmas gift, the final day for Christmas gift giving will be Monday December 15, 2025. As always, Christmas giving is deeply appreciated but it is never an obligation. Last year, we asked that donors limit their gifts to their sponsored child to no more than $100 and that if they wanted to give more we would apply that amount to other children in need. Extra funds given last year allowed us to bless every sponsored child with a gift of at least $10 for Christmas. Knowing that every child was going to have a Christmas was a gift to all of us here. So this year again we will apply gifts over $100 to other kids in dire need.
Year-end giving: If you are looking to make a year end gift to a non-profit, please consider HMA. Often it is year end giving that pushes us over the finish line in decent financial shape and allows us to keep kids in school who may have lost their sponsor. Sponsoring an additional child is also a nice way to end the year making a positive difference. We have lost sponsors due to health and financial reasons this year and hope to find sponsors for those who’s sponsors have had to drop.
Consider giving a gift of your time: Our ministry work on the US side is accomplished entirely by a group of dedicated volunteer board members. We would love to expand our board and bring in other energy and ideas. If you are interested in serving, please let us know.
We share this newsletter and the country reports with our deepest gratitude for your prayers and support for these children.
We wish each one of you a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING and a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS SEASON. May God bless you abundantly.
In love and thanksgiving,
Neil Church, Arden Lites, Jerry Lites, Theresa O’Connor and Patrick Parks