Orphan Prevention 101

I met Reed and Kim Skinner for the first time in January of this year at Orphanage Emmanuel. They along with their three children are missionairies in Honduras. Both served at Orphanage Emmanuel before they were called to work in other areas of Honduras and, as with so many people of faith, you can almost physically see the Holy Spirit working in them. It's really quite amazing.

Reed and Kim Skinner with children Cassady, Hannah and Corbin in 2009

I recently learned that they are working to secure a food container from Feeding the Nations for Honduras. I was curious whether any of the food would be used to help orphans.

Reed told me the word "orphan" is difficult to define in Honduras, as many of the children still have a parent but are financially unable to take care of or feed them. They are working to supply to those would otherwise be "turned out" of the house. In other words, they are trying to prevent them from becoming orphans in the first place. In many cases, this is the only meal that they will get in a day.

The rice will also help the Tolupan, the indigenous people of Honduras, who are in worse shape than the orphans and would-be orphans. The food that goes to the Tolupan will, in some cases, prevent starvation, not just malnutrition.

Feeding the Nations containers are loaded with rice packets with flavoring, vitamins and minerals and are made specifically for malnourished and starving peoples. The whole container will have over 271,000 meals in it and should last about 6 - 8 months depending on how quickly they can distribute the food.  

They have about $5,700 of the $8,200 they need to pay for the container. If you would like to help them meet their goal, shoot Reed an email at reedskinner@msn.com .