Location: Sub-Sahara  Africa

Ministry Focus: Jeanette is serving with Villages of Hope – Africa (VOHA), a ministry which provides care to over 5,500 orphaned and vulnerable children in 5 sub-Sahara African countries: Burundi, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its mission is to bring lasting hope to orphans and vulnerable children so they embrace adulthood as contributing members of society. VOHA provides holistic care (intellectual, physical, emotional, social and spiritual) through community-based education, healthcare, feeding programs, youth empowerment programs and spiritual discipleship. Children’s homes are also provided for orphans who have no safe place to live.

Her role, as the VOHA Administrator, is to ensure accountability through finance management and reporting, conduct quality control and audit of all VOHA programs to ensure quality care is delivered and that children are safe, and use her over 20+ years of experience to contribute to strategic plans and policies that directly impact the lives of vulnerable children.

Ministry History: Jeanette has felt the call to missions since she was a young girl, and has spent most of her career raising millions of dollars to impact the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children. She has sensed “it’s time” for more direct engagement in the field and is excited for this new chapter of her life with VOHA.

The first Village of Hope was opened in Kitwe, Zambia, in 1999, a response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that left many children orphaned and vulnerable. (While VOHA was emerging in Africa, Jeanette was in Canada raising funds to help children impacted by the same pandemic). The site began with free education for children of the nearby community who had no other access to education, and a children’s home to provide care for orphans. In five years, it grew from one orphan home and a single classroom into a fully functional care facility for children in need in Zambia, and has continued to expand into the ministry it is today.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for Jeanette as she serves God in this role, that her needs are provided  and that her work contributes powerfully to the mission of VOHA.
• Pray for wisdom for VOHA directors as they oversee the care of the children.
• Pray for every VOHA child to be cared for and know they are loved, by others and by God.