Gweini is concerned not only with the way that churches in Wales make a difference to their local communities, but also to communities throughout the world.  (We are helped in this by Professor Hilary Thomas, our Specialist on Development issues.)

According to a follow-up survey to the Gweini study Faith in Wales, over 85% of Christian congregations contribute to relief and development work in other countries, mostly in partnership with other organisations, and most often in Africa. The bulk of their giving goes towards works such as disaster relief, poverty alleviation, orphanages, schools and wells.

Kenya Children Of Hope is a charity operating in Nairobi, Kenya, (UK Registered Charity No. 1055715), supported by Parklands Church, Swansea.

Its vision is to see every Child in Africa restored into a transformed family, impacting their community, generation and beyond. We do that through building relationships, prayer, counselling, empowerment, training and transformation through the word of God.

Kenya Children Of Hope works especially with the 60,000 children to be found living on the streets of Nairobi, many of whom are homeless, abandoned by their families. HIV/AIDS is one reason for this.

Children Of Hope is led by Heddwyn and Lydiah Williams.  Heddwyn is Welsh and grew up in Clydach in the Swansea Valley. He is a Chartered Accountant, but left that profession 15 years ago to follow the burden that God put on his heart for needy children.  He had previously used his accounting skills as a missionary with ACROSS in South Sudan from 1978 to 1989. 

During that time he met and married Lydiah, who is a Kenyan, in Nairobi. They have 4 children and 2 grandchildren who all now live in the UK. For that reason and to be near Heddwyn’s 91 year old Mam, they recently relocated to Swansea after 13 years in Nairobi. They nevertheless still lead the work from Swansea while they look for a suitable person to lead the team in Nairobi.

Children Of Hope rescue children from the street, reunite and reconcile them with their families if possible, and otherwise seek to place them in a foster family, where they can watch them be restored and grow. 

They believe strongly in the importance of biological families. In the case of dysfunctional families Kenya children of hope seeks to place a child short term in a foster family, as they seek to rebuild the biological family’s structures. The problem of homeless and orphaned children is so great that the building of children’s homes would not be feasible. In addition, homes can hardly give children the parental love and care they were created for, nor show them the parental model they will need to become effective parents themselves.

Prayer is foundational, and the team of ten Kenyans meets daily for prayer, spending the whole of Monday morning in prayer together. They also believe that “to grow the work we need to grow our team and to grow our team, we need to grow ourselves”.

The team is currently relating to more than 350 children and more than 170 families in many parts of Kenya.  They often undertake overnight journeys and long walks in order to reunite children with their families and to follow them up.

See the Children of Hope website for more information about the work, and how you could become part of it.