Project 24 started out a long time ago as a simple concept. Supply places connected with churches where children could be safe and go to school. We called them Orphan Rescue Centers but I always tried to explain in my presentations that they were really boarding schools. We were concerned about orphans but also about children with non-functioning adults in their life or those who could not afford to send their children to school. The children would live there during school times and then go back to parents if they had any, the extended family, or the tribe.
There were originally six Project 24 guys. They were Roger Weinlaeder of Drayton, Bob Wurl of Hankinson, Bill Sharpe in Fargo, Ed Bean in Fargo and Mark Hatloy of Drayton, and Kurt Daudt of Crowne Minnesota. Kurt took the picture above at Whema Station above Mombasa.
The simple plan was that we would raise money for the centers and our partners would decide where they would be placed, how they were operated, which children would attend and they would supply orphan support. Our intention to not get into individual orphan support lasted about as long as the first presentations we made. Everyone of us had people who wanted to help individuals. So that was expanded with the help of our partners.
Problems developed for a variety of reasons. Angry white missionary types who believe that mission work should never involve acts of mercy and who think that the money we raised could better be spent by them; well meaning donors who picked spots to built centers that were counter to the original plan and untenable as far as a boarding school; confusion over the records of orphans and who controlled it etc.
The Minnesota North and North Dakota Districts decided to Partner to built some centers and about the time they joined up everything seemed to fall apart. Some extremely hard work done by the Regional Director Shauen Trump, the Director of Church Relations Dr. Al Collver , and Director of Mercy Operations, John Fale has lead to a brand new beginning for Project 24 and the children it was meant to help in the first place.
To all of those who have given money in the past I pray that you continue with your gifts. We will be working hard to get as much information out as to the new direction and process as we can.
