50,000 Reasons to Hope
| Photos courtesy Ty Van Rensburg, Child Champion, U.S.A., and Child Champions in Zimbabwe
Together, we’re now bringing hope to 50,000 children in poverty around the world. Let’s celebrate!
Delight is thrilled to be the 50,000th child registered with OneChild.
Imagine that. The name of OneChild’s 50,000th registered child is Delight. Only God could have orchestrated that.
Because the Bible promises that when we delight in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). At OneChild, we delight in God’s faithfulness and desire for every child to have a hope-filled future. And we know you do, too.
This milestone would not be possible without you — OneChild’s faithful supporters.
You care deeply about God’s children and delight in seeing lives transformed. Sponsors, donors, and partners — thank you for being an important part of this joyous moment!
You belong on the Wall of Champions. Join today!
Meet Delight, OneChild’s 50,000th Child Registered
Delight is thrilled to be part of her Hope Center in Zimbabwe because she now believes that a better future is possible. That hasn’t always been the case for her.
At 8 years old, Delight is excited that the child sponsorship program will empower her to get an education by covering her school fees and giving her a new school uniform.
Without the program, her parents couldn’t afford to send her to school. Delight asks that we pray for her to do well in school so she can someday become a doctor and help others.
Delight’s Hope Center is connected with Celebration Church Zimbabwe.
Child Champions at Delight’s Hope Center, which is connected to Celebration Church Zimbabwe, also encourage her spiritually. She is learning how much her heavenly Father loves her and that He sent His Son to bring her life.
Her favorite Bible verse is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Delight is also growing socially and building strong friendships. At her Hope Center, she enjoys playing hopscotch, dodge ball, and netball (a game similar to basketball) with her friends.
When Delight discovered that a sponsor had chosen her, she said she felt “special and blessed.”
Be inspired — hear from Delight and her mom, Charity!
Receiving More Than They Could Imagine
Delight lives with her mom, dad, two brothers, and cousin in How Mine, a mining town located in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Delight lives with her mom, dad, two brothers, and cousin in How Mine, a mining town located in Bulawayo.
Few job opportunities exist in the area. Delight’s dad works as an underground miner, earning the equivalent of $250 a month. Her mom sells vegetables to supplement their income, but they still struggle to make ends meet.
Since their family lives in severe poverty, purchasing food is often a challenge. On paydays, they are able to share a piece of chicken.
But most days they eat sadza (maize porridge) with vegetables. Delight’s parents are grateful that she will be able to eat a healthy breakfast along with nutritious snacks at the Hope Center.
They are also relieved that their daughter will receive medical checkups at her Hope Center since most families can’t afford health care.
The community also lacks access to safe water and sanitation, which often leads to serious yet preventable illnesses.
Plus, many children in How Mine never had the opportunity to attend school and reach their God-given potential.
Charity, Delight’s mom, explains that since the child sponsorship program helps kids attend school, her expectations for Delight’s future have expanded. She believes that the program will help Delight break the cycle of poverty and flourish.
“I’m so happy, for this is God’s doing,” says Charity. “This is a God moment. My daughter has been sponsored, and I’m delighted! Since she’s in the program, I expect her to go far in her education. I expect more and more for my daughter!”
Now, Charity sees that the possibilities are endless. She can’t wait to see what God has in store for her daughter’s future. And she knows that He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” — Ephesians 3:20
The Power of Sponsorship
Ty Van Rensburg, Vice President of Global Mobilization at OneChild, was overjoyed to have the opportunity to sponsor Delight.
Ty Van Rensburg is Vice President of Global Mobilization at OneChild.
“I’m excited because Delight will receive life-changing care through the program,” he says. “She’ll also be able to attend a local church where she’ll learn that she has a heavenly Father who loves her and has given her the dreams of her heart. That’s what OneChild is all about. Her Hope Center is also filled with Child Champions who know her, love her, and believe in her.”
Ty’s connection with Delight is especially meaningful because he grew up in Zimbabwe. Throughout his childhood, he watched his parents dedicate their lives to serving Zimbabwean children and families in need.
“I remember handing out food in refugee camps when I was 6 years old,” he says. “Even though I’ve lived in the United States for 25 years, Zimbabwe still feels like my home. There’s a piece of me that feels like it’s missing. But by sponsoring Delight, I’m connected to my birthplace in a beautiful way. And I get to be part of the momentum that’s taking place in Zimbabwe.”
When Ty’s dad, David Van Rensburg, discovered that his son was sponsoring Delight, OneChild’s 50,000th enrolled child, he told Ty they would sponsor her together.
“This was such a special moment,” says Ty. “When I was a child, my dad had no idea that one day I would follow in his footsteps and spend my life advocating for kids in hard places, too. Our story has come full circle.”
When Ty was 6 (pictured at right, above), he and his family dedicated their lives to serving Zimbabwean children and families in need. Here, he is handing out candy in a refugee camp. The refugees had fled war in Mozambique and settled in eastern Zimbabwe.
Ty is also grateful for Chad Blansit, pastor of Destiny Church in Republic, Missouri, who helped build Celebration Church Zimbabwe in How Mine.
When Pastor Blansit visited the area for the first time in 2011, he felt God say, “Welcome home.” Pastor Blansit knew God was calling his church to partner with OneChild and make a difference in that community.
Over the years, Destiny Church has given hundreds of children in Zimbabwe a better future. The congregation has built three churches and two classrooms; constructed restrooms and water wells in two locations to address the area’s lack of sanitation and safe water; contributed solar systems, sound equipment, and vehicles; planted gardens; and provided meal boxes, Christmas dinners, and gifts for Zimbabwean children and their families.
“I pray that thousands of churches in the U.S. catch the same vision that Pastor Blansit did when he stepped into How Mine,” says Ty. “Because I’ve seen what’s possible!”
Discover how your church can partner with OneChild. Learn more!
Looking Forward: The Next 50,000
Ty is filled with gratitude knowing that the ministry is now serving 50,000 kids.
“This is such a huge milestone,” he says. “It’s taken decades to get here.” What thrills Ty even more is preparing to focus on the next 50,000 kids.
Please partner with OneChild to bring hope to even more children, like these kids in Malindi, Kenya. Photo by Rhea Juson, Philippines Partnership Advisor.
“When you travel the world and walk into hundreds of Hope Centers over the years, you see how kids are thriving,” he says. “You see Child Champions who are delighted to serve. You see the power of the local church.
“But when you drive away, you see the areas outside of the Hope Center — whether it’s a desert in Turkana or an island in the Philippines — you leave an environment of hope and enter a world of desperation.
“You’re overwhelmed by the need. You see the children on the other side of the fence. What about those kids? Those are the children that I fight for each day.”
This milestone has given all of us 50,000 reasons to hope. Fifty-thousand reasons to celebrate. And 50,000 reasons to praise God.
Whatever you’re doing right now — could you please take a minute to thank God for this remarkable moment?
Let’s also invite Him to open the door for the next 50,000 kids. Because every child needs a champion. And every child needs to know the incredible hope of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for being part of this exciting journey!
You can help change one more life. Find another boy or girl who needs you today!
More About the Town of How Mine …
How Mine is a small gold-mining community that is about 35 kilometers southeast of the city of Bulawayo. Like in most mining communities, all life revolves around the mine.
A sizeable number of the workers at the mine are migrant workers that came from Malawi and Zambia and have now settled permanently in Zimbabwe. Because many of them had little education, mining is all they know, and it is all that they do.
There is a very strong Ndebele influence in Bulawayo’s culture, but the Chewa and Shona cultures are also very evident. There is therefore no one dominant culture in the community. This sometimes leaves the children, in particular, struggling to establish their identity.
Apart from soccer and school-organized netball, there are no other forms of entertainment in the community. Transport to the city is limited and is expensive. Most adults resort to drinking at the local clubs.
Many children are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, so they go to live with other relatives in this mining community.
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