St. Josephine Bakhita Children's Home

The Little Sisters of St. Francis is an inter-ethnic missionary community of Catholic Sisters who reach out in service to the poor and the marginalized in society. They are involved in works of mercy, bringing the good news to those in the margins of society. Through love and service the Sisters continue to improve the lives of the very poor. Their missionary work is growing within the three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as well as in the United States where there are a dozen Sisters serving the needy and the marginalized.

Since 1953 the Little Sisters of St. Francis have been operating an orphanage in Amukura, Kenya, in a building that had become run down and beyond repair. In 2014, touched by the Holy Spirit, and inspired to act, a group of friends came together to provide financial assistance to the Sisters as they cared for the most vulnerable.

In 2022, through much prayer, and hard work, a brand new building with modern conveniences was opened. Named St. Josephine Bakhita Children's Home, this new facility can hold up to 50 children, and is a dream come true. With indoor toilets, access to clean water, windows that protect from the elements, a dedicated health room, and much more.

This project has been funded entirely through donations, and is truly a testament to the power of prayer and God’s unending love for all.

A Look Back At The Start

Since it’s inception in 2014, one of the main priorities of the Little Sisters’ Angel Fund has been to financially support the Amukura Orphanage, in Amukura Kenya. This orphanage housed 28 children, who were abandoned by families who could not care for them. The majority of the children were under age 5.

The Amukura Orphanage was opened in 1952, and the building had fallen into disrepair due to lack of funding for repairs and improvements. In 2014, Sr. Lucy Marindany, along with a group of friends, founded Little Sisters of St. Francis - Midwest (dba Little Sisters' Angel Fund), with the goal of improving the living conditions of the children and the Sisters running the orphanage.

With the help of our generous donors, Little Sisters’ Angel Fund has been able to provide assistance to the Orphanage in the following ways:

Purchased a brand new van for orphanage transportation. Sisters no longer have to hire a motorcycle to take them on errands or to take sick children to the hospital.
Replaced broken stove and repaired smoke damage to kitchen, resulting in safer working/living conditions.
Purchased commercial washer and dryer for more efficient laundering of clothes. Sisters no longer have to pay to have someone else do the washing.
Damaged and leaking ceiling repaired.
Initiated a rabbit breeding/selling project. The orphanage can now sell rabbits for profit and eat the meat, providing a good source of protein for the children.
Purchased a wheelchair for Ruth, a child with spina bifida, so she can transport herself to school and around the compound, giving her independence and confidence.
Hired 1 full-time caregiver, allowing for more supervision for the children, and providing much needed income for a local woman.
Created a successful sponsorship program which provides funds for proper nutrition, healthcare and education. The children’s quality of living is greatly improved.
Provided corrective eye surgery and glasses for Moses, for a lazy eye. His vision is much improved.

Even after all of these improvements, it was clear that the orphanage building could would not be able to house these vulnerable children forever, and our dream of building a brand new orphanage building started to become a reality. With the support from the members of St. Theresa of Calcutta Parish in Merton, WI, along with countless donors, we have recently completed construction of a brand new orphanage building!

This new orphanage can house up to 50 children and will provide a much better quality of life for all. Special features of this new building include a dedicated health room, study area, activity room, guest room, and chapel, as well as the conveniences we take for granted, such as working toilets, a modern kitchen, windows to keep out mosquitoes and cold, and more.

The new orphanage has been named St. Josephine Bakhita Children's Home.

Makaela Senfleben Health Room

Funded With Love and the Holy Spirit

The Makaela Senfleben Health Room honors the memory of a beautiful soul, gone too soon. One of Makaela’s personal goals was to travel to Africa and other parts of the world to provide speech and language services to children in need. Through the generous donations of friends and family, the Senfleben-Mislang family has funded the development and construction of The Makaela Senfleben Health Room at St. Josephine Bakhita Orphanage in Nambale, Kenya.

The health room provides vaccinations, wellness check-ups, and emergency treatment for children in need of medical care, and truly represents everything about Makaela: caring for others; helping those who are struggling; building positive relationships; and working with children.

As we continue to honor Makaela, we hope you will consider contributing to this worthy endeavor. The orphanage and health room are constantly in need of financial resources. 100% of donations go directly toward maintenance and supplies for the health room. We thank you in advance for considering this opportunity. Our family greatly appreciates your continued thoughts and prayers.

Click Here To Donate

With love,

The Senfleben-Mislang Family

Stories from our members

Divine Intervention - by Jacyntha Shaw

The plans for a new orphanage building began in 2014, and by the summer of 2018 pieces were falling into place. The building plans were changed several times, and by September 2018 the plans for a new orphanage building were approved. As we were about to begin construction, the well on the property was deemed inadequate for the size of the building. This was devastating news to all of us on the Board, as it meant more time, more money, and possibly the need for a new location. Sr. Lucy Marindany, President of Little Sisters’ Angel Fund, and a member of Little Sisters of St. Francis, called a meeting to discuss what to do next. We would not use the money donated for the construction of the building to fix the problem with the well. We had to find another way. At the same time, Sr. Josephine Nanyama, Regional Superior of the Bungoma Region of Kenya, where the orphanage will be build, was away in Germany on business. Weeks went by with no solution to our problem. Then a message from Kenya that a $30,000 water grant was attained!

In early December 2018, I received a call that Sr. Josephine was in my hometown of Milwaukee, and I was able to meet her and ask many questions. I learned that the well was inadequate because each dry season the well would dry up. There were two other buildings on this property, both run by the Little Sisters of St. Francis. The Sisters already had to beg for water during the dry season, or attempt to purchase it, but it was usually too expensive. The Sisters had been trying to get a grant to dig a new well for the past 3 years, and finally their prayers were answered.

When I asked Sr. Josephine how she managed to get approval now, after trying for so long, her response was “Divine Intervention!” By December 18, 2018 the new water system was complete: the well was dug and the holding tank with solar panels were installed!

A sincere thank you to St. Teresa’s Christian Concerns and the board members for all their fundraising efforts.

Jacyntha

Labor of Love

Check out this Catholic Herald article about our earliest fundraising efforts.