In 2006 I left the United States with a vision to inspire the 5000 or so attendees at a Seventh Day Adventist Conference. I had no idea that I would return two weeks later, a different person with an entirely new focus to life. Thanks to funding from a 3ABN Broadcasting interview, there were resources to feed 1,000 children three meals daily for a week. But the stories in the children’s eyes could not be silenced and the pain on their faces could not be erased.

I saw children who could not remember when they had last enjoyed a good meal, teenagers with as many as 10 children under their care, sick grannies caring for the offspring of children who were no longer around to care for them. I met a twelve-year-old mother who was too confused to know what to do with the baby screaming in her hands, or the empty stomach of the two young siblings she was supervising. God speaks to each person in a different voice. The voice in my ear reminded that these children were the ‘least of these’, the face of Christ on the planet. I knew I could not return to my comfortable corporate office and do business as usual. I quit my job upon my return, and this is where the ‘faith ‘ kicks in. There was no funding organization, no grants, no financial support for me or for the mission I had embraced. Just the belief that if I listened to this voice, God would provide. I call that faith based.

Over the years, SOHO co-founder Linda Schultz and I have spent a great deal of time praying for solutions. For one thing, there would not be resources for me to have a salary and still serve the children, so my commitment has meant serving as a volunteer for nearly 20 years! The stories of divine intervention are many. From making payroll, to supporting dozens of children, to developing humanitarian programs that give a head start to scores of children, God has provided. He has sent a downpour in drought, served hundreds with a handful of loaves, a few slices of cheese and a few tomatoes. Most recently, He has provided a wonderful place on which to build the safe housing that we have sought for many years!

Leaders of international significance have crossed our path as we have become a voice for a vulnerable population that suffers in silence. Issues such as gender based abuse, human trafficking, life threatening poverty have become the staple of conversations surrounding the wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children.

For me, faith-based means following the path of the greatest humanitarian activist who ever lived — Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, Jesus touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable and modeled selfless service for all of humanity. SOHO seeks to serve with that model of service, aiming for nothing more and nothing less than the total well-being and success of the children. We serve each one regardless of their physical or economic condition, gender or circumstances. It is our privilege and God’s pleasure to see children move from hopelessness to vibrant hope because we collectively care enough.

– Cynthia J. Prime