My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been supporting this ministry with my donations for 35 years, and because their international office is close to my home, I volunteer there occasionally as well. This gives me the opportunity to see how they operate and get a feel for the heart of the staff.
They have only a handful of paid staff here in the states, using most of their funds for the native, indigenous staff members in Africa. They are vey good at developing and utilizing a group of volunteers.

They are unashamedly Christian, proclaiming Jesus. but they also treat the people's needs, physically and emotionally. When they notice a new need, they quickly find a solution and do it, not wasting time in drawn out discussions and committee meetings while a need goes unmet. An example of that is the sunglasses they immediately collected and sent once the need was discovered for albino children. This was followed up with developing and making sunscreen there in the villages.

All of the supported children write regular letters to their sponsors. When they age out of Haven of Hope Home, as mine did, ECM has a program called Next Steps that helps them get vocational training or go to college so that they can be self-supporting adults.

Another thing I appreciate is, the accountability. Each of the African staff is reports back regularly to headquarters in the states, and the director and other staff make regular trips to Africa to see what is going on, and address any issues, or new needs that need to met.

This ministry is wholly transparent - you can drop by the international office in Indiana unannounced and ask all the questions you want. If you get a chance to do that, you will realize they truly care deeply about all those they minister to in Africa. I Highly highly recommend it as a ministry where your get "value" for your money.

I donate both my time and money to Every Child Ministries (ECM), so I can tell you firsthand what a great opportunity this ministry offers you to share with the Forgotten Children of Africa. They reach out to the truly forgotten ones - the albinos and the children with disabilities, that the culture puts out to fend for themselves.

ECM comes alongside these children on an individual basis, giving them sunscreen, sunglasses, connecting them with food and opportunity for a home. I have sponsored two children through them, and the connection I have with these children is amazing. We have supported Prince for 10+ years while he grew up in the Haven of Hope orphanage. There he received love, acceptance, salvation through Jesus, as his physical and educational needs were met. He is now in seminary, studying to become a pastor and reach out to his own people. Because of the internet, we have open communication with him.
Miriam is still young and we receive hand written letters from her detailing her life and thanking us, as well as reports from her teachers and care givers as to how she is doing on a regular basis. Without a doubt, our donations for these children are reaping huge benefits in their lives, saving them from a life on the streets.
I also volunteer packing up Sunday School lessons for children in the Congo. This ministry is completely led by local pastors and teachers. Lorella Rouster is translating Sunday school materials in the local language and they are sent to "libraries" where teachers from out in the bush can come in and check out the materials to teach in hundreds of Sunday Schools scattered throughout the Congo. Literally thousands of children are learning about Jesus, and it is completely an African staffed ministry. ECM provides the tools to translate, print and send the materials. Lorella travels to Congo to meet with the staff and train them in using the materials and keep everyone accountable. It is a great way that God uses seed money and multiplies the results.

ECM is just an amazing ministry. I hope that others will explore the website and become involved with helping the Forgotten Children of Africa.

I have been following ECM for over 25 years. They have remained dedicated to their mission of helping forgotten children in Africa whether they are orphaned, street children, albinos or physically deformed - shunned by the community- ECM is there for them.
I have sponsored a child for 12+ years in the orphanage and he is currently studying in college in Ghana. We have complete communication, when they are young you get school reports, and personal letters; We in turn, write letters back. Now that our child is in college we communicate directly via messenger - I KNOW my donations were well spent for the kingdom of God. I also volunteer there. Their international office is a very old house, that volunteers redid. The organization uses lots of volunteers so as to make sure as much money as possible goes to the ministry. Everything is very transparent and they are anxious to share the stories and pictures of the kids they are helping. Thousands of Sunday schools in Congo have been started, and are continuing with national teachers and leadership. ECM provides accountability, hand made refurbished materials, and encouragement and training for the teachers. This is By Far our favorite non-profit because we know the hearts of the people who run it.

We have supported ECM for over 20 years. Whenever we have a little extra money we try to send it to one of their current projects. We have met the American staff and visited the office. It is unbelievable how these few humble individuals can make the lives of so many children in Africa better in a tangible way, and teach them about Jesus. 93 cents of every dollar is used for the ministry of the poorest African children. They are able to do this because of the many, many volunteers who help in a myriad of ways. But also because the staff is always looking for ways to cut unnecessary costs starting with their own small salaries and humble office. I invite and challenge you to peruse their website and you will be amazed at the many areas where they are impacting the lowliest of forgotten children. You will also recognize the efficiency and clarity they have in addressing projects, people and needs. But most of all, the staff, the volunteers, and the many, many workers in Africa pray all the time and God answers for His children. Every part of the ministry that you see on their website, really happens. It is an amazing ministry.

I have been donating to ECM, and volunteering when possible for over 20 years. We all have many opportunities to support very worthy causes. I choose to send any extra money I have to ECM for these reasons:

Over several decades of serving forgotten children they have been able to use 94%+ of the donations directly for the needs of the children. (Only 6% is used for salaries and administrative costs) They are able to do this because they rely very heavily on volunteers to do the work in the states; short-term missionaries who raise their own support to go to Africa and minister; and in the African countries the programs are all run by local churches, pastors, people who have grown up in the area and know the people and culture.

Secondly ECM is incredibly transparent and open about all the ministries they are working in. Their website is easy to use and they answer questions immediately if you call their office. When the workers in Africa encounter emergencies like a throw away child, or a child with immediate medical issues, ECM lets you know of the opportunity to become involved in even a very small way in meeting that specific need. You also see the results. They send out newsletters, with pictures, and stories of the children, not statistics - so you are able to pray for faces with names and feel connected with their needs and success stories.

We sponsor one of the children who lives at Haven of Hope and is educated in their school. We exchange letters and pictures with him; are aware of the issues he faces; and feel like we are a part of his life. We receive reports from his teachers and the orphanage, so we know how to pray for him and how to write to him.

We recently helped pack a sea container to go to Africa. It was packed by volunteers. The boxes were different sizes because they were all boxes that had been repurposed and filled with donations gathered and packed by individuals - things like textbooks, medical supplies, toothpaste, sunglasses for the albino children, repurposed tables and chairs for the school. ECM repackages old Sunday School lessons with relevant BIble lessons, pictures of black children and plaques with BIble verses made from old greeting cards for the children to hang on their barren walls. It is amazing how ECM repurposes the castoffs of our society to meet very real needs of forgotten children in Africa.

The founders, directors, and very few paid employees of ECM are not earning their living, working in a non-profit organization. They are passionate about the forgotten children of Africa, donating back to the organization themselves, and taking the smallest salaries possible. The ministry is truly awesome and you feel like a part of a team of caring people

I have been donating to Every Child MInistries for over 20 years. Since their headquarters is in Indiana, I have been able to have personal contact with them and see first hand how the moneys are used. They do an incredible job of stretching every dollar received so that the money goes to the children in Africa. They are continually seeking volunteers to do all of their work, cutting their administrative costs to a minimum. They reuse and recycle used materials from churches and organizations making them applicable for the African ministries. Volunteers cut out pictures and file them to be assembled later into complete lesson packs. Sunday school materials are translated into French, zeroxed on office machines and sent to Africa, where they are checked out and used and reused by the nationally trained teachers. ECM feels an incredible responsibility to the people who have sacrificed to donate money to their cause. Every cent that is donated for child sponsorship goes to the children. The sponsored children write letters to their sponsors, thanking them and updating them on their personal lives. The mothers of the orphanage send "report cards" to the sponsors updating them on the academic and social progress of each sponsored child. The ECM office is open and available here in Indiana and you can stop by anytime and talk to John and Lorella and see what they are doing.

The thing that I appreciate the most after getting to know John and Lorella, but also so many of the volunteers, is their HEART for these children in Africa. I have seen volunteers cry over these children, they pray regularly for them, and they donate sacrificially of their time, possessions, and money. It is such an inspiring group of people who are making a change one child at a time.

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