On March 13 and 14, 2024, the Hope Center, as well as some neighboring houses, were struck by lightning caused by a storm in the Chibuto region. Thank God our children and staff are safe, but the first house at the Center, which served as the coordination hub and where the orphanage’s story began, caught fire. In addition to the house, documents, materials, clothes, a stove, beds, iPads used for the children’s English course, the solar system, cars, and tractors, as well as materials inside and around the house, were all destroyed in the fire. The visitors’ quarters also lost their roofs due to the storm, and part of their structure was compromised.
As the Center of Hope assists both the resident children and the local community, the goal for 2024 was to raise funds to begin the dream of building a school, starting with three classrooms to accommodate primary and secondary education. Unfortunately, this dream will need to be paused indefinitely until we can secure enough funds to at least rebuild the visitors’ quarters and receive donations for the installation of new solar panels, so that the children can resume their distance learning.
How to Help
Those who wish to cooperate can assist by praying, sharing the incident, or contributing donations to reach the initial goal of 43,000 meticais (673 USD | 3.412 BRL | 618 EUR). You can do this by clicking the “give” button below, which will redirect you to our donations page. Then, click on “give to Center of Hope”. To help us identify that your donation is for this specific cause, we ask that you add 5 cents to the end of your donation. For example: $40.05.
