Handbook
of the Orphan Ministry
at the LBS Mwika (HUYAMWI)
paper 2: Four year plan of counselling a congregation
Released 23.1.04 Ð Author: Rev. Dr. Martin
Burkhardt
A)
Believes
The lost of parents is a lost of three
sources: a spiritual source a mental and emotional source and a material source.
As Christian we believe in the following
statements:
I)
Everybody can serve the orphans
a)
As God has given us his Holy Spirit,
we can be a spiritual source for orphans.
b)
As God has given us a mind and a heart
we can be a mental and emotional source for orphans.
c)
As God has given us material goods, we
can be a material source for orphans
II)
The Christian congregation as the
Community of Saints is the main
place where the orphans are taken care of
a)
In the present situation orphanages
are not the right way, because they are too expensive and cause a lot of mental
problems.
b)
As the orphans need mainly new mothers
and fathers and almost everybody is able and called to be a father and a mother, there are enough mothers and
fathers present in a congregation.
c)
However those who take over the
responsibility for the orphans as their new fathers and mothers need the
support of the bigger Christian family of believers.
III)
The lack of money is not the major
problem.
a) In our ministry we made the experience, that we get more money than
we are able to spent properly. Our problem is to get enough trained and
motivated workers to apply this money.
b) Money is available to help the orphans, but we fail to locate this
money to ask for the funds and to maintain the funds. To get money we need also
trained workers.
Summary: To
mobilize , to motivate and to train all members of the society is the key to
solve the orphan crisis. This mobilization will be done in small units like
the Christian congregation.
B)
Goals
The Orphan Ministry at the LBS Mwika is
working for a limited period of time with a congregation. In this time the
following goals should be achieved.
I)
Ability of the congregation to run its
own annual planed orphan program.
a)
Counting orphans regularly
b)
Annual planning , budgeting and
analysing
c)
One or two events in which all orphans
or caretakers can participate.
II)
Ability to discern the different
situation of the orphans
a)
Regular visits of the needy families
b)
Evaluating and prioritising the
different situations.
c)
Applying the proper help for the right
situation
III)
Ability to counsel orphans (and
caretakers) and to train them according to their needs.
a)
Counselling concerning the basic
rights
b)
Counselling concerning grieving and
the experienced lost
c)
Counselling concerning their new
family situation
d)
Counselling concerning their way of
education
e)
Training in issues of the daily life
(cooking, tailoring etc.)
f)
Training in issues of financial
independence ( small projects)
IV)
Ability to apply simple material support to the orphans
a)
Food, clothes
b)
Help for preschool and primary
education
c)
Medical care
d)
Preparing to enter in secondary
education or vocational training centres.
V)
Ability of fundraising and to maintain
the funds.
a)
Mobilisation of local funds (e.g.
ordinary offerings, fund raising events, local sponsors etc.)
b)
To write proper applications to get
external funds
c)
Working with funds from overseas
d)
Precautions against misuses of funds
e)
To apply the funds properly to the
beneficiaries.
f)
Bookkeeping and reporting system
VI)
Ability to organize the work
effectively
a)
A well working committee (s)
b)
Mobilizing and training of local
experts
c)
Simple rules and regulations
VII)
Ability to cooperate
a)
With the local authorities
b)
With NGOs
c)
With service agencies
C)
Strategies
I)
We will not pay every cost concerning
orphans
a)
We will not sponsor normal running
costs of the congregation, like salaries, except pocket-money for orphans
employed by the congregations.
b)
The congregation has to start to spent
a part of its own budget on the orphan ministry.
II)
We will not do all the work for the
congregation
a)
The congregation has to develop its
own plan and has to present it to us including proper calculation
b)
The congregation is responsible to
carry out the planned work (e. g. organizing seminars, providing the planned help)
c)
The congregation has to give us a
written report about the done work and the actual costs.
III)
We will help the congregation to
develop their own ideas
IV)
We will compare the planned work with
the actual done work and we will give the congregation a feed back.
a)
By visiting orphans and caretakers
randomly we will gain knowledge about the actual situation and the real effect
of the measures carried out by the congregation
b)
We will also check randomly the bills
of some events sponsored by HUYAMWI
c)
In case of any doubt, that the money
was not used properly we have to inform the committee of HUYAMWI, who will then
delegate to other members to check all bills or speak with all receivers.
d)
In case of any doubt feel free to
speak with orphans/ caretakers alone in the absence of the pastor.
D)
A four year plan.
This plan is to be changed according to the
actual ability and actual developments in every congregation. It is presumed,
that in all four years the responsible workers of the congregation are trained
and monitored by HUYAMWI constantly
Also the work started in one year is to be
continued in the following years. For example First year a) Introducing the
ministry of HUYAMWI is not finished in the first year. Because there must be a
constant flow of information between HUYAMWI and the congregation. The counting
of orphans and a yearly new identification of the most needy families is also
very important every year.
I)
First year: Starting with HUYAMWI
a)
The ministry of HUYAMWI is introduced
in the congregation, it is necessary to talk with the church elders, preaching
on Sunday.
b)
The congregation have to start an
annual program of the orphans ministry including planning, budgeting and analysing.
c)
There should be a committee in the
congregation, which is responsible for this kind of planning
d)
The congregation starts to know its
orphans. This means a census should take place and the orphans / and caretakers
may be invited to different seminars, occasions to the church.
II)
Second year: Starting to know the needs of the orphans and to respond to
them.
a)
The congregation should visit the
orphans and analyse the different needs of the orphans. The most needy families
must be identified.
b)
According to the available budget a
first plan of providing help to the most needy families is to be planned and
carried out by the congregation.
c)
The different groups of orphans /
caretakers may be gathered in selfhelp- groups and may be trained in different
areas.
III)
Third year: Introducing Fund-Raising
a)
The selfhelp-groups may be given money
to start income generating projects.
b)
Within the congregation there should
be plan to raise as much money as possible for the orphans, e. g. asking rich
people, making harambees, making offerings etc.
c)
The congregation may try to get money
from external resources ( NGOs, government, partners in oversees)
IV)
Fourth year: Fine-tuning
a)
The work of the recent three year may
be analysed and changed in order to improve the work.
b)
The Internal Organisation of the
congregation may be analysed and improved if necessary.