For the past two weeks we have been sharing a series of inspiring stories and videos as part of our annual partnership drive. As you reflect on these stories, consider joining our efforts and renewing your support as an Operation Blessing Monthly Partner.

KENYA – Little Lekini’s name means “small and weak.” And it was a fitting name.

Abandoned by his mother at a tender age, Lekini never received proper nutrition or care. At the age of three, he was severely emaciated, weighing only 17 pounds. (more…)

NIGER – This Christmas, as we begin to celebrate the gift of God’s love, I can’t help but think of the ways that Operation Blessing shares the gift of love on a daily basis all around the world. A few weeks ago I was in Niger and met a 4-year-old girl named Hadiara.

She and her sister were playing with a crude little toy that their father had made for them out of a scrap piece of plastic that had a nail through it and hair that was sticking out of the top that the girls sat and braided. (more…)

SARANDO, Niger – Eight mouths is a lot to feed even in the United States, and it is even harder in a country that has recently faced famine and is bracing for it again following a “rainy season” that was anything but rainy.

On special occasions or holidays like Thanksgiving, my wife and I might make a meal to feed eight people, but eight mouths is what Saley has to feed every day. (more…)

DADAAB, Kenya – Operation Blessing’s National Director of Kenya, Jefferson Nyatuka, gives a special report on the famine plaguing the horn of Africa and how Operation Blessing is helping refugee families at Dadaab camp. (more…)

NIGER – As I flew into Niamey, I was excited about my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa and meeting the people that would forever after be a part of my life.

I was a bit shocked that we were preparing for landing and I still wasn’t seeing very many buildings that would normally surround an international airport—even compared to other developing countries I’ve visited. I saw sand, acacia trees, the Niger River, rice fields and then a few homes and buildings as we finally approached the runway. (more…)

NAIROBI, Kenya – After the tragic pipeline fire and explosion in Sinai slum earlier this week, officials are confirming that more than 100 people died and many more are suffering from serious burns.

OB Kenya has been distributing relief supplies such as hygiene items, food, clothing, and school supplies to families whose homes were destroyed in the fire. (more…)

NAIROBI, Kenya – In Nairobi, the Sinai slum sits on top of a pipeline that feeds a nearby fuel depot. Yesterday morning, spilled petroleum that had collected in the drainage system caught fire and a subsequent explosion killed nearly 100 people. Many caught in the melee tried to jump into the nearby storm drainage ditch to put out the flames, but the result was deadly. Hundreds of burn victims were admitted to a nearby hospital. (more…)

KENYA – The famine that is gripping the Horn of Africa has been gaining attention in the world media with much of the focus being on the Somali refugees pouring over the border to Kenya in search of food.

But Kenya is facing a massive crisis of its own—recent reports of severe food shortages and famine have started emerging from the northern Kenyan state of Turkana. (more…)

KENYA – Today we visited a Masai village where Operation Blessing is building a new school. This building will prevent the need for children to walk over two miles through tall grasses where they have sometimes been trampled by elephants and attacked by lions. (more…)

Juba, South Sudan — We are staying in a camp on the bank of the Nile River. The camp is run by a safari outfitting company that caters to relief organizations and nature enthusiasts. There is armed security and a series of tents and shipping containers set up like tiny apartments, with gravel walkways and banana trees providing shade. The camp serves two meals a day in a breezy, open dining area with a roof made of palm fronds, right on the mighty river’s edge. David and I are among the lucky ones who get to sleep in an air-conditioned 20′ container. It’s sweltering hot, and there are lots of mosquitoes at night, but we all have mosquito nets, safe water to drink and plenty to eat. (more…)

DUMI, Democratic Republic of Congo — After thirteen years away, Jon Cassel did not know what to expect when he returned to the little school house in Dumi. In 1994, Cassel, OBI’s director of French Africa, oversaw the project that gave the village children a sturdy place to study. Until the construction of that building on the Bateke Plateau, class was always held outside under the palm fronds. If it rained, school was canceled.

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SENEGAL – Rarely is it good news when an employee reports that a company office is “In The Red” but on this occasion it’s very, very good news. (more…)