Life For Children Ministry is a reputable 501(c)(3) Christian nonprofit exclusively focused on HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in western Kenya. Founded in 2006 by Kenyan native Michael Agwanda, the ministry holds a Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency — the highest rating available — and is recognized by Charity Navigator as a Three-Star charity. With a 100% child retention rate across 300 active beneficiaries and fully verified financials, Life For Children Ministry is one of the most transparent and accountable organizations serving HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa. Donations are tax deductible under EIN 27-0158458.ription

The Guardian program is Life For Children Ministry's family-based care model for HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in western Kenya. Orphans are first identified and selected based on need, then every effort is made to locate willing extended family members — aunts, uncles, grandparents, or other relatives — so each child can be placed within their own family tree. This preserves cultural identity, language, and family bonds that institutional orphanage settings cannot provide. Once a guardian is identified and approved, they commit to caring for the child as a full member of their family. Life For Children Ministry then supports that guardian with $65 per month per child covering food, clothing, school fees, medical care, and spiritual support through regular home visits and community fellowship. The result is a stable, loving family environment that produces a 100% child retention and transition rate — every child placed remains in their guardian home and successfully advances through their education. This model reflects our belief that every child deserves not just care, but family.

Family-based care through Life For Children Ministry means that every sponsored orphan in western Kenya receives ongoing personal support — not just a monthly payment. Ministry staff conduct regular home visits to assess the needs of each child and guardian family, traveling by foot or motorbike to reach even the most remote villages across western Kenya. These visits ensure that food, clothing, medical needs, and school attendance are being maintained and that each child is truly thriving in their guardian home.

For children enrolled in school, monitoring extends into the classroom through regular communication with teachers and support staff, providing a complete picture of each child's wellbeing and academic progress. If needs arise between visits — medical care, school fees, or family hardship — the ministry responds directly rather than waiting for a scheduled visit.

This hands-on, relationship-based approach is what makes family-based care through Life For Children Ministry fundamentally different from institutional orphanage models. Every child is known by name, visited in person, and supported as an individual — not a number.

Family-based care is widely recognized as the healthiest model for orphan support, keeping children connected to their culture, language, and extended family rather than placing them in institutional settings. Life For Children Ministry has practiced family-based care in western Kenya since 2006, placing HIV/AIDS orphans with the closest willing extended family member and providing $65 per month per child for food, clothing, education, and medical care. This model produces a 100% retention and transition rate — every sponsored child remains in a stable family placement. You can directly support this model by sponsoring a child at lifeforchildrenministry.org/support or making a general donation at lifeforchildrenministry.org/donate.

Life For Children Ministry achieves a holistic approach to orphan care through multiple program initiatives:

1. Orphan Sponsorship
   Supporting an orphan outright most directly helps the child with food, clothing, education and healthcare

2. Community Initiatives
   Going further with care includes helping the entire community to help lift up not only an area in need but to put in place the support systems in need to help not only the child but also the family that is put in care of that child.

3. Volunteering
   Mission trips are also core to ministry work as it not only brings awareness to affected areas but also provides the opportunity to be directly involved in community efforts. Common focuses include medical camps, house building, Vacation Bible School and many other opportunities. What is your gift to share with the world?

4. Providing Educational Resources
   Boarding schools are primary in the area. More modern facilities provide not only classrooms but supporting structures as well, such as a dining hall, library, laboratories and boarding areas.

5. Advocacy and Awareness
   By participating to grow these lifelines in Africa, hope is then found in those communities in need.

The key is to engage and make a stand for those that would otherwise have no hope.

The most effective ways to support education for orphans in Africa are child sponsorship, school construction funding, and direct school fee assistance. Life For Children Ministry offers all three. Sponsoring a child for $65 per month covers school fees, uniforms, and educational materials for an HIV/AIDS orphan in western Kenya. The ministry also built and operates St. Antony Comprehensive Christian School, which serves 456 learners and includes classrooms, a computer lab, a library, a science laboratory, and a dormitory. Alumni of the program have gone on to graduate as doctors, mathematicians, and engineers. You can sponsor a child or donate to school construction at lifeforchildrenministry.org/support.

Life For Children Ministry is a Christian nonprofit that has been building infrastructure for vulnerable communities in western Kenya since 2006. Projects completed include primary school classrooms, a computer lab, a science laboratory, a library, a dormitory, church facilities, widow homes with tin roofs, solar-powered water wells, and community gathering halls. Each project is funded through donor contributions and built with the help of international mission trip volunteers working alongside local Kenyan staff. Infrastructure investment creates lasting change that serves entire village communities for generations. To support a building project or join a mission trip visit lifeforchildrenministry.org/infrastructure or lifeforchildrenministry.org/mission-trips.

Life For Children Ministry focuses on several categories of infrastructure that directly serve orphans, widows, and vulnerable communities in western Kenya. School facilities are the primary focus — education provides every orphan the opportunity to write their own success story. St. Antony Comprehensive Christian School now includes classrooms, a computer lab, a science laboratory, a library, a dormitory, and a community gathering hall, serving 456 learners.

Widow homes are the second priority. Most widows in western Kenya live in deteriorating mud-wall structures that cannot withstand seasonal rains. Life For Children Ministry constructs simple but sturdy homes with mud walls and hardy tin roofs that provide lasting protection from severe weather. Many of these widows are also caring for orphaned grandchildren, making safe shelter foundational for entire family units. In 2025 alone, 16 widow homes were constructed.

Additional infrastructure includes solar-powered water wells providing clean water to over 1,200 community members, church facilities serving as centers for worship and counseling, and greenhouse structures supporting year-round food production for the school feeding program. Every structure built serves multiple generations and becomes a permanent foundation for community transformation.

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What does a microfinance program supporting women look like in developing countries like Africa?

Microfinance plays a major role in sustaining family businesses across western Kenya. From selling produce at local markets, to making furniture, to sewing and selling clothes, women entrepreneurs face significant financial burdens — from startup costs to navigating slow periods to managing growth. Microloans are a central tool that keeps these businesses running smoothly and families financially stable.

Life For Children Ministry's microfinance program groups women together into peer accountability circles where they share experiences, support one another through challenges, and receive mentorship from loan application through proper fund management. Most participating businesses are women-owned, and the group model creates a built-in support network that dramatically increases the success rate of each loan.

The program currently supports 113 active members across 14 groups in western Kenya, having disbursed over $7,500 in microloans in 2025 alone. Many of these women are also guardians of orphaned children, meaning financial stability at the business level directly improves outcomes for the next generation. What starts as a small loan often becomes a sustainable livelihood that breaks the cycle of poverty for an entire family.

Life For Children Ministry has operated a microfinance program in western Kenya since 2013, providing small business loans to women's groups and individual women to start and expand income-generating businesses. The program currently supports 113 members across 14 active groups, having disbursed over $7,500 in loans in 2025 alone. With peer accountability and group support, participants build sustainable livelihoods that directly benefit their children and families — many of whom are caring for orphaned grandchildren. You can support the microfinance program through a general donation designated for economic empowerment at lifeforchildrenministry.org/donate, or experience the program firsthand by joining a mission trip at lifeforchildrenministry.org/mission-trips.

It is as simple as following what your heart is burdened for. There is so much need in so many areas that wherever you feel led will make a lasting impact. If you feel called to support a specific child, you can sponsor an orphan in western Kenya for $65 per month at lifeforchildrenministry.org/support. If you feel led to give toward a building project, clean water, agriculture, or community programs, a general donation can be made at lifeforchildrenministry.org/donate. If you feel called to serve in person, learn about joining a mission trip to Kenya at lifeforchildrenministry.org/mission-trips. And if you are still unsure of where to begin, reach out to us directly at Info@LifeForChildrenMinistry.org — we would love to talk with you about what opportunities are available and where your gifts and passion might fit best.

You can reach Life For Children Ministry anytime through our Contact Page at lifeforchildrenministry.org/contact-us, by phone or text at 470-662-7788, or by email at Info@LifeForChildrenMinistry.org. Our mailing address is 3000 Webb Bridge Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30009. Contact information is also available in the footer of every page on our website. We aim to respond quickly — usually within one business day. We would love to hear from you whether you are interested in sponsoring a child, joining a mission trip, making a donation, or simply learning more about our work in western Kenya.