Orphan Serving Orphans

Knowing the pain of being an orphan firsthand, Ronald Onyango Okinyo is now serving those in need. He lost both of his parents at age nine and was left with his elder sister. It was a devastating season in his life. In 2016, his sister got married and he was fortunate to stay with her. Shortly thereafter, is when his journey of caring for orphans truly began.

Within Global Orphan Relief’s Church Mobilization Initiative, there are 120 GO! Ambassadors serving 529 orphan children in the area. These Ambassadors provide various levels of care for these children, and their impact will be felt for years to come.

Empowering Widow-Led Households in Kenya

Widowhood in Kenya is not just a personal loss but a gateway to multifaceted hardships. Globally, one in seven widows lives in extreme poverty, and in Kenya, this reality is amplified by patriarchal norms, harmful cultural practices, and inadequate legal protections.

Yet, with the help of Global Orphan Relief programs, these Widow-Led Households receive nutrition, education, medical care, and pastoral care, which leads to nurturing households for the family unit. This family support restores hope, where all was once lost.

Why Stories Like This Matter?

Abraham and Frederick are more than just names—they represent countless children around the world who have lost their parents to illness, poverty, or tragedy. Without intervention, these kids often fall into cycles of hardship, unable to access education or basic needs.

Yet, with the help of Global Orphan Relief programs children receive an education, families are supported, and Hope is restored.

We reach out to you today with hearts full of faith and hope, joining together in faithful prayer. We ask our Heavenly Father to prepare the way ahead and to provide the necessary resources so that we can extend meaningful care to the widows in our church family—prayerfully, by 2026.

We are deeply reminded of the powerful words from James, the brother of our Lord, who gave us a clear and profound definition of pure religion:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." (James 1:27)

As we surpassed twenty years in ministry earlier this year, there is so much to be thankful for. It is difficult to actually put into words what I have experienced over two decades of ministry. Of course, there have been challenges and even heartache during this time, but most importantly, we have set out to address needs of orphan children throughout the world, even though the mission appeared to be beyond us at times.

We are thrilled about our groundbreaking partnership between Global Orphan Relief (GO!) and World Challenge . This new partnership will dramatically expand our ability to serve vulnerable orphans and widows around the world—starting in 2026 and has already made a difference in 2025!

For more than 20 years, Global Orphan Relief has worked through trusted indigenous church partners in some of the hardest-to-reach places on earth—providing education, nutrition, medical care, and the hope of the Gospel to thousands of children and widows who have lost everything.

On Sunday evening, November 9th, we gathered and shared purpose for the Beautiful Child Gala—an event that once again reminded us why we do what we do. With 164 partners joining us in person, the room buzzed with energy, laughter, and a collective heartbeat for the orphan children we serve.

Meet Tesfemariam W/Kidan, from Ethiopia, who’s life began to truly change when I became part of a program supported by Global Orphan and Life Center. It was more than support, it was a lifeline. Life Center took me in not just with charity, but with compassion, dignity, and belief in my future.

We have been partnering with Life Center Ethiopia to serve orphans and widows in Ethiopia since 2022. We provide Home-Based Care support for 40 Orphan children that allows them to be in a home with a loving family. We are honored to work in Ethiopia to care for orphan children.

Today we want to introduce you to two remarkable women from Punjab, Pakistan — Koonjha and Shanti - and share how supporting their households can change lives.

Koonjha is a mother of three. Shanti is a mother of five. Both are widows, shouldering the full responsibility of providing for their children at a time when safety nets are few and life’s daily demands are heavy.

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, we can continue to aid these families with your help. Above all else love…

This month, we are celebrating a powerful impact in Punjab, Pakistan — the support of five widow-led households, caring for a total of 18 children.

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, we can continue to aid these families with your help. Above all else love…

In a remarkable story of resilience and transformation, the impact of compassionate intervention and strategic financial planning has reshaped the life of one Kenyan mother -Caroline Nkirote.

We continue to identify additional widow-led households that we can aid in Kenya, to create long-term sustainability within these households, however, additional support is needed to expand this effort.

In the heart of Khanpur, Sindh, lives Widow Koonjah, a mother struggling to raise her children after the tragic loss of her husband, who died of a heart attack four years ago. She belongs to the Marvari Tribe, a community that has long lived in remote areas, far from the reach of modern cities.

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, we can continue to aid these families with your help. Above all else love…

Praise be to God who provides the resources for this work through so many of you. Please be encouraged by the Orphans & Widows that you have been blessed through this mission project.

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, we can continue to aid these families with your help. Above all else love…

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, aid is provided to support families enabling them to stay together. Your love sustains these families.

Above all else, love…

As part of our Home-Based Care Initiative, aid is provided to support widow-led households allowing families to stay together.

88 such children are being blessed in Ulutya, Kenya, and your generosity sustains these families!

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, aid is provided to support families enabling them to stay together. Your love sustains these families.

Above all else, love…

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, aid is provided that empowers these families to stay together. With your support we can keep these families together and reunite some who have been separated due to financial hardship.

Thanks be to the Lord as we serve the orphans and widows by providing relief aid to them with your support.

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, aid is provided that empowers these families to stay together. With recent persecution of Christian families in Punjab, many more widow-led households are in the need of aid. Employment is now impossible for these vulnerable women.

This all-important work continues, as food and other aid was distributed last month in Punjab for eleven widow-led households, providing for forty orphan children.

As part of our Orphans & Widows partnership in Pakistan, aid is provided that empowers these families to stay together. With recent persecution of Christian families in Punjab, many more widow-led households are in the need of aid. Employment is now impossible for these vulnerable women.

We have been honored to serve with our local partners in Punjab, Pakistan, in 2023. My linking arms with Pakistan Orphan Ministry, we have been able to provide food aid to 100 orphan children in Punjab.

In this blog post, Pastor Romaish comments based on his recent visit with the children.