Helping w/o Hurting:
We learned so much about orphan care while in Kenya. After seeing many children’s homes and hearing stories of “well adjusted“ orphans who are thriving as adults we are even more confident that Peter is doing it right. Kenyan believers are raising Kenyan children. These children are living in the environment they will, more than likely, live in as adults.
Their life is no longer hopeless it is redeemed. Praise the Lord!
Currently Peter is lay pastor of a house church, husband to Eunice and father to baby Melissa. Together they provide funds for the needs of 20 orphans ages 3-12. Peter continues to run his Pikki Pikki business and minister to the children and widows that live in Kipsongo.
Peter’s goal for Rehoboth House isn’t for the children to just survive but for the them to thrive.
He uses 60% of the revenue from his taxi service to house, clothe and feed the children. He also helps manage and teach the widows of the Kipsongo community about business and marketing their own products.
Rehoboth House Day to Day– 20 beautiful children, all with first and last names, are so proud to live at Rehoboth House. Their names are all the they have left of their families. These children are completely orphaned, meaning, they do not have a single living family member that can care for them.
-All school aged children are enrolled in public school
-They are fed three meals a day
-They are provided with clothing and medical care
-They play with other children in their community , daily
-They are cared for by Nixon and Fatuma who have a son and Eunice who has two sons of her own
-They are being shown the gospel of Christ by the love they receive from those who care for them
The Back Story
In 2009 Jay and Ken Childress went to Kitale, Kenya to meet Peter Odihambo . During this trip they realized Peter was a true brother in Christ with a burden for orphans and widows in his country. They also discovered that he is quite the entrepreneur. He, at the time, owned a pay phone business that was funding a children’s home of 20 orphans. Jay and Ken raised funds for him to become owner and operator of a“Pikki-Pikki” motorcycle tax service.
In 2010 we, along with others, have helped Peter move the children to a better home, buy uniforms for the them, purchase a grain store for a widow, seed for planting and chairs for the church he helps pastor.
In 2011, thorough the donation of good friends, another “pikki pikki was purchased, and two drivers were hired.
Why Rehoboth?
When we asked Peter why he chose the name Rehoboth he told us to the story of how God blessed Isaac with a large household, so he went out trying to find well large enough and land for all of his household. After searching he finally found a place that had plenty of water and land so he named it Rehoboth which means– Room Enough.
Gen. 26 : 22 … “Isaac said, For now the Lord has made room for us and we will surely thrive.”
Peter is spreading the gospel by his devotion to care for those in need. He loves God, loves his neighbors, and is making disciples of others who will, by God’s grace, do the same as they mature into young men and women.
Kitale, Kenya is surrounded by communities that were developed during the violence of the 2007 political uprising. The Kipsongo area is a slum that is filled with women and children that were displaced in 2007. Many local believers and expats have put countless hours and time to provide care for those living in Kipsongo.
