December 12, 2023

Dear Donors and Love Abounds family,

It is with an aching heart I write this message to you, our longtime supporters and friends of our work in rural Zambia.  After a 21-month battle with local governance in Kanchubwi Village, we are sad to report our organization and leadership is no longer welcome to serve in Kanchubwi Village.

In August 2021 while praying for direction to build a school in Kanchubwi Village I was interrupted by the audible voice of God. The first and only time I’ve heard His audible voice in my life. The Lord said to me, “Not for Zambia.” I was completely startled by this statement.  For days, weeks, and months to come, I pursued God for understanding. What became evident to me in that season of tension in prayer was that a day was coming we wouldn’t be welcome in Zambia anymore. I did not know why, when or how but I knew in my spirit the door in Zambia was beginning to close.

In this season, I grieved this loss. I grieved the loss of my dream. I grieved this part of my identity. I grieved the future of our Life Okendewa kids and the community of Kanchubwi Village. It was strange grieving something that was not yet lost, however, in hindsight I realize it was the grace of God to position me to face the next 18 months.

A few months after hearing that audible voice, Tony and Carol (our long-term In-Country Directors) told us they planned to leave Zambia in early 2022. While we were in full-support of their decision, their departure was the first domino to fall in a long string until June 2023.

In the transition process of finding Tony and Carol’s replacement, we unintentionally and regrettably offended Headman Kanchubwi.  Headman Kanchubwi is our most important ally in our work in the village. His input is required on every decision — from the most minute and mundane to the big picture strategic plans. Over the past 18 months we have tried to rectify this relationship through multiple apologies (by letter, telephone, and in person meetings), submitted to forced suspensions from the village, and implemented policies and procedures catering to Headman’s needs and wants.

Beyond the tear in our relationship with Headman, through the diligence of our In-Country Director, Shalon, we uncovered years of corruption, thousands of US dollars in stolen funds, and fraudulent records from key connections working with our organization in Zambia.

Despite the very turbulent atmosphere, Shalon and our team pressed forward in hope. However, it all reached a tipping point this summer, when Headman Kanchubwi told us he is incapable of working with Shalon any longer.  We notified our staff that Shalon is our chosen representative in Zambia and his choice to no longer work with Shalon is a choice to no longer work with Love Abounds.

From that point to today, the relationship between Love Abounds and Headman Kanchubwi went from bad to worse.  In the years of working in this area since 2014, drilling over 25 wells, providing clean water for 10,000+ people, operating this children’s home, and much more — Love Abounds had developed a great reputation among the people as an organization willing and able to help the people. It has been Headman Kanchubwi’s primary goal to publicly humiliate and criminalize Shalon in front of this area’s leadership. His behavior has gone as far to threaten Shalon’s life and the lives of those working to help us in the resolution.

It would take much longer to walk you through the details of daily harassment and tribulation Shalon has endured for the past 18 months. It is by God’s grace and favor we found someone with such fortitude to help us through this season.

For months, Shalon has been transporting groceries, medicine, and supplies to a middle man to deliver to the children’s home. Shalon found loop holes and work-arounds in order to take our kids to their doctor’s appointments, teacher conferences, and much more.  In the process, we sought the Lord for direction and wisdom, met frequently with our Board of Directors, and spoke to many other like-minded organizations operating in Zambia. In August, we came to the conclusion that we must shut down operations in Kanchubwi Village.

In the months that followed, we worked closely with the Ministry of Social Welfare, children counselors from a Zambian non-profit named Tehila, and a highly-respected children’s facility, Family Legacy, to identify the next steps. Obviously, our greatest concern was our children’s safety and well-being physically, mentally, emotionally, and their education.

Because our children’s home operates and functions under this ministry, there are certain requirements and limitations to what we can do. We had to work under their processes and procedures henceforth.

Much like the United States, it is the primary objective of the Zambian Ministry of Social Welfare to reunite children with their biological families, if able. For the past several months, Social Welfare has been interviewing the children, visiting families for home evaluations, and working diligently behind the scenes to make sure our children are safe and well cared for.

Towards the end of November, Social Welfare informed us all children would be returning to their biological families for reunification. Last week, our kids moved back to their family homes. The reunion was bittersweet. There were many tears shed by all. In some cases, the kids were excited to be reunited with their loved ones. In other cases, they were nervous and uncertain. For some, we believe healing began last week between parents and their children.

Many of our children were ‘abandoned’ by their parents, others were living under their grandparents’ care with parents still living but unaccounted for, others lost both parents and were living in the care of other family members.

In an effort to be as frank as possible, one of the questions I asked myself in this process — was this facility being taken advantage of? Should our kids have been there in the first place?

The answer is complicated. However I think it is helpful to put it in the perspective of the US Foster Care System. There are situations where parents find themselves incapable of caring for their children. Yet, they are still their parents. It is the goal and hope of the foster care system that the parents receive the help they need in order that they will be reunited with their children.

The same applies here, at some point in time each and every one of our kids should have been under our care at Life Okendewa. In that time they received an abundance of love and care. Their education, health, and happiness became our only motivation. 15 kids lives have been tremendously impacted for the better since 2017. Many of them were not even in the proverbial race on arrival and now all 15 children are running towards their goal of living a happy, healthy, and beautiful life. It is not meaningless what we’ve accomplished the past 7 years. Your giving has made eternal impact and it was not for nothing.

What about your giving until now? We have been operating the children’s home without pause until this week. Our staff was fully paid with bonuses, all other expenses and supplies were provided until this week, and our children were sent to their homes with care packages of food, hygiene supplies, mattresses, and personal belongings.

What about the balance of the Love Abounds budget? While we have open doors to continue our work of drilling wells, feeding the hungry, and empowering communities in many places around the globe, we are unsure what direction we will take at this moment. Our financial priority is to ensure every donated dollar is given to support our mission of “give love, inspire hope, and change lives.” We would love to hear your feedback in this area and will take all your input into consideration. If in the meantime, if you would like to cancel your monthly giving, I will be happy to assist you in that process.

If you have any questions at all, I would love to answer them to the best of my ability. I apologize for our reservations to share this information with you sooner.  We have held our cards close to our chest to protect our kids as best we could during this very shaky transition. With so many uncertainties and the challenges faced, we wanted to be able to communicate this news with clarity. There were still many things up in the air until move out day.

There are still many unknowns but we remain confident because God is faithful and He has been directing our steps

Because of the availability of social media in rural Zambia and how rumors spread among the villagers via social media, this will not be publicly announced until we feel appropriate. We believe this is best for the safety and well-being of our Life Okendewa kids and staff.  We thank you for your discretion.

With the deepest gratitude for your many, many years of giving love with us,

Bethany Morgan