Dear friends,
With the early snow squalls in Ontario this fall, we were reminded that Christmas and the end of the calendar year will soon be upon us. Before we all enjoy our family and friend traditions this Christmas and celebrate the coming of 2026, we want to recognize the support that you have been to the orphans and vulnerable youth that Faith’s Orphans ministers to in Zambia.
Having recently returned from Zambia, Raquel VanderMeulen, Heather Hall and I have witnessed and been reminded of the extraordinary impact of Faith’s Orphans on thousands of young Zambians over the 33-year tenure of the ministry.
The provision of school fees, supplies and uniforms has, once again, allowed for almost 4500 young rural Zambians to stay in school for another year. Education is the first priority in the mission to break the cycle of poverty, poor health and shortened lives. You have helped to break that cycle for thousands this year. Beyond enabling the FOF students’ completion of high school, FOF provides the opportunity to attend the FOF Skills Training College to learn a trade. For the best and brightest students, FOF provides tuition for students to attend Agriculture, Teachers, Bible or Nurses Training Colleges. Providing for post-secondary education and training enhances the opportunities for FOF graduates to be employed or start their own businesses and even employ others.
It was a pleasure to visit the FOF Skills Training College and see it full and functioning well with forty mature students learning their trade, living and developing in spiritual and social maturity and SINGING together. Wow, can they sing! We are very pleased, for your enjoyment, to share a Zambian song of thanksgiving by the FOF students at the Skills Training College.
As many of you know, each December FOF Canada has sponsored 150 of the mature FOF students to attend Teen’s Missions for their five-week life changing, leadership training boot camp. It was educational to drop in for a quick tour of Teen’s Missions Ndola and witness the scale, the order and the effectiveness of this program.
While on campus, we were able to capture a couple of heart-warming testimonies of a female student (name) and a male student (name) who had joined the FOF program earlier in life and speak gratefully of the overt change that FOF and the Teen’s Missions leadership training has had on their lives.
Please listen here to these great testimonies and allow them to communicate their appreciation for the support that you have provided.
To all the sewers, knitters and packers, it was our honour to help distribute a host of beautiful dresses, shorts, and blankets at a number of FOF centres last week. You have done a great work again this year. Those hundreds of hours of time and money invested have put joy in these young hearts and smiles on their faces as they don new bright, cheery and comfortable clothing. What an honour we had witnessing this clothing distribution. We have done our best to capture these moments with a few pictures and videos. Although not the same as being there in person, we hope that these give you a glimpse of the joy and appreciation of the children and youth for what your support means to them.
(Link to be added shortly)
For those who like to plan ahead…way ahead, we are starting to plan for an Ontario FOF Supporter Entourage to attend the Faith Orphanage Foundation 35th anniversary celebration in August 2027. Be in thought and in prayer about this future opportunity to attend and see, firsthand, what the Lord has been doing through Faith and her team with the on-going (now 20 years) support from so many Canadians like yourself.
Faith and her team, along with the Canadian board of Directors are very grateful for the investment of time, funds and prayer that you have provided this year. As we close out 2025 and launch into a new FOF budget year, we would be very grateful if you would consider helping us reach our $100,000 year-end goal, allowing FOF to continue to change thousands of young Zambian lives in 2026.
Thank you for all that you have done. Well done!
Blessings on you and your family this Christmas season and in the new year 2026!
Ian RossChairman, Faith’s Orphans Fund Canada