making the most of a great opportunity
Luis and his other six brothers live with their mother in Brazil. Luis is a very attentive child and has a strong desire to learn. He joined our Orphan’s Promise project in his community a few years ago and has quickly been able to find stability and success in his studies. Luis credits his teachers and staff, who help him with math and other subjects that he had struggled with previously. During chapel service every day, he is one of the most attentive children, hungry to learn more about the word of God and to continue growing and create new habits in his life.
Luis enjoys the computer classes, and his desire to learn inspires his teachers to work harder because they know that they are giving kids like Luis the tools they need to be successful in the future.
“I have never had computer classes, but being able to learn new things about using a computer makes me very excited,” Luis said.
discovering the talent within
Luis’ talent was observed very carefully by the music teacher at CBC. Even the young boy did not know that he had such a musical genius. No one had seen it in him, but the first instrument he learned was the drums, which he quickly mastered. He soon began working to learn to read music and decided to learn other instruments as well, such as guitar, keyboard, bass, and flute. He is one of the student leaders for praise and worship at the project.
“When I arrived I would watch the music classes, and I thought it was too difficult, and that I could never do it, but when I started playing drums and began to learn guitar, I fell in love with music.”
“My dream is to be able to play as a professional musician in a band and be able to serve God by playing in the church.”
“I learned in the project that salvation is for everyone, that Jesus died for me and that he loves me very much!”
“I learned that God does not care about people’s past, that if we are available, he has a better future.”
250 other children like Luis attend this project, which was established as the first complete after-school program in the city of Fortaleza to assist low-income families in keeping their children. In communities where poverty is prevalent, families often abandon their children because they can’t afford to care for them properly. But thanks to projects like this, where children receive food and education assistance, families can remain intact, and they are raising a new generation of youth that will succeed in life thanks to stability, support, quality education, and life skills. The primary purpose of the project is to train and equip future Christian leaders to impact Brazil and the world. Over the life of this project, we have been able to take children without any hopes or dreams and support them all the way through college graduation, secondary degrees, and the launch of small businesses.