heavy sacks filled with leftovers and satisfying their addiction to glue. Their health was poor due to persistent drug abuse, malnourishment and a diet consisting of mainly filthy leftovers found in the garbage. They did not know values such as honesty, courtesy, love or kindness. All they knew was fighting, abusing one another, plotting malice against one another, stealing and even killing.
But after undergoing rehabilitation at MCF, their lives changed dramatically for the better. They became physically, mentally, socially, emotionally and spiritually healthy. They came to lead dignified lives full of hope. Most of them have gone on to succeed in life.
They gave numerous testimonies about everything being possible with God. Their faces denoted happiness and contentment—something that told a very long and exciting story. This reinforced our theme for the day: Celebrating 25 years of our unfathomable God. It is true—God is unfathomable, because He can perform miracles that no human being understands. He can move mountains, He can change the course of a river, and He can make a way where there seems to be no way.
In Psalm 118:22, the Bible says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This was true in the lives of these children. These children were the stone that was rejected. Just like in the story of the stone that was rejected by the builders, these children were considered less important in society. I personally witnessed how society regarded the children as less significant, but God transformed them into pillars of society. How is it possible that a child who had been in the streets for as many as ten years could eventually rise up to become a medical doctor? How could you expect an abandoned child from a remote cattle-rustling-prone area to defeat all odds to become a leading information technology expert with a global institution? Or how about the case of a former street child who eventually opens a children’s home to rescue the helpless in society? Only God can make that possible.
Truly, it was difficult to understand and explain how God had touched and transformed the lives of these abandoned street children—who were rejected and written off everywhere they went—and turned them into doctors, engineers, teachers, accountants, managers and successful businesspeople, among other careers.
As we marked 25 years, we celebrated all the needy children who had already benefited directly from this charitable organization. Those who had benefited indirectly are triple that number. Another 2,500 were receiving various forms of assistance, mainly through formal education, vocational training, the provision of basic needs (food, clothing and shelter), mentorship and rehabilitation, among other forms of life support. As I quietly reflected over these statistics, it dawned on me that MCF had actually operated for many years and had accomplished a lot in society. I realized that we had come a long way and had accomplished many good things. Still, I felt we could go further.
Even as the beneficiaries, staff, friends and other stakeholders celebrated MCF’s milestone, I sighed with relief, coupled with absolute astonishment, and thanked the Almighty God for having brought us this far. I knew that nothing happens without God’s divine intervention and all that we had witnessed at MCF was a result of His mercy upon us. In the process, I remembered my favourite song:
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day,
This the day that the Lord has made.
This was truly a special day that the Lord had made. It was a day that signified God’s massive presence in MCF. I realized that our efforts to save children’s lives had not been in vain. God’s blessing upon MCF was abundant in the manner that the Bible says in Luke 6:38: “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
***
Seeing representatives of the thousands of children who passed through MCF really touched me. I thanked God for giving me the energy and inspiration to serve and motivate these children, who all called me Daddy, and reflected on the role God placed me in. I came to realize that, beyond the usual roles of provider, caregiver, confidant and family peacekeeper, being a father means that you are a role model to your children. They will follow your steps, consider your opinions and learn from your example. Through this, I became more careful about the way I conducted myself, because they would adopt the behaviour that I portrayed. I realized that children learn more through observation than from what they are told. Thus I chose to be a good example—through actions—to help them prepare for a better tomorrow.
I resolved that as a father to thousands of children, I must make every effort to do the right thing at the right time and to make intelligent and thoughtful decisions that would benefit all the children under my care. I also learned to be a good listener, to be compassionate and patient. Furthermore, I purposed to be respectful and instill the same virtues in my thousands of children.
As the head of what is considered to be one of the largest families in the world, with over 2,500 children presently under care, not to mention those who have come and gone, I love each of my children, and I try to spend as much time with them as I can. I always create an opportunity to meet them regularly, both formally and informally, in their dormitories, in class, on the pitch, as they eat and when they walk in the compound. We crack jokes and bond while at the same time I listen to any issues that they have.
I spend most of my time with them encouraging them to be positive in life—to avoid looking at what they do not have and instead to learn to appreciate how far God had already brought them. As such, whenever we meet, we discuss matters pertaining to their future plans and aspirations.
All the same, I appreciate that in every home, especially a big one like MCF, there are a number of setbacks and challenges. But we purpose to treat them as minor hiccups and not permanent obstacles. I tell my children that challenges are only meant to test their resilience and not to deter them from marching on to victory. Furthermore, I encourage the children not to mourn over their past misfortunes but to focus on rebuilding their lives for future greatness.
Most importantly, I never discriminate against any of them, and this makes them grow up feeling they are part of a big, loving and caring family. I show them that they are not in MCF by accident but rather by the will of God. They belong here. They are part of this huge family.
I am always fully aware of the fact that most of the children we take into MCF have faced very difficult pasts. They have been rejected by their own family members and society. They have been discriminated against and treated as insignificant. People who were supposed to protect them abused them. And they have been molested and shown all manner of brutality and many other unfortunate happenings. Thus we strive to make a change and to show these children that they have invaluable worth and that we care for and love them. We endeavour to show them the other, good side of the world, which God desires for us all. That is when the true meaning of healing hurting souls is portrayed.
***
As we celebrated the silver jubilee, I recognized that the journey had not always been smooth. The MCF story has occasionally been full of hills, potholes, sharp thorns and rough, slippery surfaces. But I thank God for making us strong and enabling us to move on successfully and achieve our goals. Despite the challenges we face at MCF, I am always encouraged by God’s promises to King Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14. It says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
I tell the children to observe this proclamation—humble themselves before the Lord, and He will save their lives. In my talks with MCF children and staff, I have always maintained that we must be humble and respectful to God and those around us. I have strongly spoken against pride, dishonesty, thanklessness and selfishness and urged MCF family members to always
