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IMPORTANT
NOTICE
For health
reasons, the founder of Arms of Love Orphanage in Nairobi,
Leigh Ross, has been forced to return to the United States.
The Arms of Love kids (Matthew, Merci, Joel, Joseph and
Alex) are now being cared for by the
Stern Family of the King's Kids Village orphanage, in
Nairobi.
All future donations to Arms of
Love on this site will be given to the Stern Family to help
them care for the children at King's Kid's Village. For more
information, please email:
sternfam@nairobilighthouse.com.
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Frequently Asked Questions
On this page you'll
find information about donating, sponsoring, doing volunteer work at the orphanage, tax
deduction, and more. If you can't find the information you're looking for, please don't
hesitate to contact Leigh.
Questions about Arms of Love...
Questions about the Leigh and the
orphanage...
Questions about donating...
What exactly is Arms of Love
Orphanage?
Arms of Love is an orphanage for abandoned babies and babies with Aids. It's an entity within itself, that I've founded in
May, 2003 and that I run with the help of a couple of full-time workers and occasional
visits of short-term volunteers.
This is our Mission Statement:To share the love of our Lord
Jesus Christ with the abandoned, orphaned, and HIV infected babies of Africa so that they
may grow up with a salvation foundation and then, in turn, share the message of salvation
with their countrymen that all in Africa may come to a saving knowledge of Him who sends
us, not for our glory but His.
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Do you have anything to do with Arms-of-Love.org?
The orphanage is not affiliated with Arms
of Love in South America. I actually didn't know that they existed until I entered
"Arms of Love" in the Google search engine and there it was. I guess it is just
a good name!
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How is Arms of Love supported?
The financial support for Arms of Love comes from many different
sources. The money that I have used for the past year and a half has been:
- Personal money from the sale of my home
- Donations from Marrable Hill Chapel, a church in El
Dorado, Arkansas, which is our largest supporter
and a wonderful church.
- Donations from Into All The World, my mission board in
Toronto, Canada. They are retired missionaries
who lived for 15 years in Kiambu, a nearby village, before returning to Canada for their
children's education.
Bill retired from pastoring a church while Barb retired from nursing. They
constantly travel speaking in churches to raise funds for many different projects and
countries.
Bill has become, over the years, my mentor, giving me
wonderful spiritual counselling and sound advice.
Arms of Love is just one of the many ministries they support.
- Additional support comes from many individuals
including members of my family.
Our finances in the US are handled by my friend Ann Works in Pine
Bluff. Ann is an old school mate and a paraplegic since she was hit by a car when we were
in the 5th grade. She went on to get a Master's Degree and has just retired after 29 years
of teaching special education in Pine Bluff. She is also secretary of her local church.
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Are you a nun? What's your
religion?
I'm not a nun, but I've been a
missionary since 1998 when I first went to Russia.
I'm a born again Christian and I attend a
non-denominational church in the States, and a Pentecostal church here. My assistants are born again
Christians too and that is a requirement for employment here. You can read more about me on this page.
I've been working in Kenya for the last 4 years.
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Do you work alone or do you have
help?
We regularly have people who volunteers
in the orphanage, of many different professions such as doctors, counselors, carpenters,
teachers, and so on, to help care for the needs of the children. They come to stay for 2
weeks up to 6 months to help with the children.
Elizabeth has been with me since the day that we
opened and is a real angel. She is Tanzanian, very humble, and can do the work of 10 men.
She is 24, married, and has a 6 year old daughter Maureen. She walks 6 miles to work each
morning and is here
by 7. The children really love her and vice versa.
Elizabeth was a bit ill lately, so I have two full
time girls who have not had a day off in a week and they work 12 hour shifts. Bancy is 23,
single, no children, and a wonderful Christian girl. She is also a very hard worker and
has been my Elizabeth for the past week. Esther is also 23, single, has a 15 month old
little girl named Hannah, is also a Christian (a requirement for employees here). Esther
is usually my part time help coming on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday so that the girls can
have a day off and also every other Sunday so they can go to church.
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How can I help you with your work?
Without wishing to sound too blunt, really the best
way you can help me is by making a financial donation. Getting financial support for a
small orphanage like this is terribly difficult and we desperately need more funds to be
able to continue our work and help more children. To find out more about donating (and how
your donation is used), please click here.
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Is
it possible to adopt a child?
The children at the Arms of Love orphanage can be adopted. The only
requirement is that the families are Christian.
More info about adopting a
child.
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I've got lots of baby clothes and toys. Can I mail them to
you?
Yes, they'll be more than welcome! But there is one very
important point to be aware of -- if you wish to send a parcel, you need to declare
a 0$ value for its contents, and you should also indicate that it is a donation.
I have to pay a tax to customs when I collect a parcel. The amount
of the tax is based on the declared value of the parcel which, even if it is small, is
still too much for our tight budget.
If you wish to mail a parcel for the children, you can send it to:
Leigh Ross,
Arms of Love,
Box 63696,
Muthaiga,
Nairobi,
Kenya, 00619,
East Africa. |
Thank you for your generosity.
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Can I do volunteer work in your
orphanage?
We regularly have people who volunteer in our
orphanage for a few weeks or a few months. People who can help take care of the needs of
the children can come and do volunteer work in our orphanage. Contact
me if you're tempted by an orphanage job!
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Can I see tax records showing that donations are
used as promised?
As far as tax records go, right now there are none, and next year
starting January our taxes will be paid in Kenya.So no, I can't provide you with tax
records.
If you are hesitant about donating please do not do so, as I would
not want you to. I am accountable to P.E.F.A. here in Nairobi. That stands for Pentecostal
Evangelical Fellowship of Africa and they are throughout Kenya.
I can understand your hesitancy. In my research into organizations
like Feed My People...etc. I recently found out that on $1 only $0.22 actually went to the
children.
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Is my donation Tax-deductible?
Yes, your donation is tax-deductible. We
will send you a donation statement for tax deduction at the end of the current year.
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Is making a donation via PayPal safe?
Yes, PayPal is very secure. They have over 50
million members worldwide and are part of Ebay. You can make your donation without any
cause for concern.
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Do I need to be a member of PayPal to
make a donation?
Yes. But becoming a member of PayPal is very easy.
Once you click the 'Donate' button, you'll be guided through the process in easy steps. It
shouldn't take more than about two minutes.
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I'd
like to set up an automatic monthly donation from my bank account.
How do I do that?
Yes, automatic monthly donations are possible via PayPal,
they are very useful for people who want to sponsor a child. You can partially sponsor a
child for $25 per month or $50 per month, or you can fully sponsor a child for $150 per
month. Your sponsorship will provide one of our children with
food, clothing, medicine and education.
Your donation will be automatically sent once per month for
as long as you want. If, at any point, you no longer wish to continue, you can cancel it
easily via PayPal.
More info about sponsoring a child.
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I'd prefer to send you a check.
Is it possible?
If you don't feel comfortable
with using the online donation system, you can send us a check at:
Arms of Love,
706 West St.,
White Hall,
AR 71602
USA.
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Can't find the information you're looking for?
Click Here to Contact Leigh
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2004 Arms of Love.
