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By Steven Hoffman
On October 1, 2007, orphan children occupied dorms and classrooms for the first time in what is now their new home at the orphan center in Moundou, Chad. Forty children in all are attending school, grades K through 12. Additionally, widows and administration personnel are living full-time on campus, making Village Altonodji a fully functional community including a church, library, infirmary, dining hall, kitchen and bakery. The village is the first orphanage in Chad to be constructed and administered by Chadian nationals. Once the village is complete, it will be able to accommodate up to several hundred children.
The dream for Village Altonodji and the plight of the hundreds of thousands of homeless orphans in Chad was first persuasively articulated to Mission:Chad board members Vivi Wickberg and Nancie Hoffman as early as 2001 by Chadian Pastor Ngarndeye Bako, himself an orphan. An ever growing number of individuals and partner organizations adapted that vision as their own, and now the vision is becoming a reality. Construction began in January 2005 by Chadian nationals fueled by the prayers and financial support of numerous generous donors from the church in North America.
Although the orphans and widows living at the village are beginning to experience what it means to finally have a "home", the infrastructure at the village is far from being complete. By 6pm, when the sun goes down, the village is dark, as the diesel generator which will deliver electricity to the campus has not yet been installed. The safe water well has not been installed yet either. The solar powered water pump still sits in a container in neighboring Cameroon while customs problems are being resolved. Several buildings are still lacking basic furnishings: desks, beds, chairs, etc. A wall for the safety of the orphans and widows is needed, as are vehicles for administration and operational purposes.
Seen by Pastor Bako as a model for how the Chadian church can create orphan centers throughout Chad and beyond, the vision only begins in Moundou. Many individuals and organizations from within and without Chad, including the government of Chad, are watching to see how successful Village Altonodji will be. Once the village in Moundou is completed, the next step will be for the construction of a similar orphan village in the capitol city of N'Djamena. Please pray that God will make provisions for the orphans and widows in Chad until each and every one of them is cared for as are these first 40.
In December, a member of Mission:Chad will reside at the Village Altonodji for several days and will be able to witness first-hand the living conditions at the center. New pictures and interviews of orphan children, widows and administrators will follow.
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