Children of Faith Home is located just outside the City of Visakhapatnam in Vedullanarava, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. “Vizag” is a port city industrial center on India’s eastern coast, on the Bay of Bengal.
Most of the children come from the slum areas in and around Visakhapatnam. A few are from the neighboring state of Odisha.
All of the children at COF are school age, the youngest are six years old and the oldest are in their twenties. As long as they remain in school the home will support them. This could be through graduate school if necessary.
Every year we have many more families ask to send their children to our home than we can accommodate. We usually are able to accept just 10% of these. Most inquiries are made by relatives and come in March and April, just before the start of the school year in India. We give Priority to children who have lost both parents. Next we consider kids who have just one parent who is struggling to support them. We will also consider children who have two living parents, but the parents can not support them, putting the child at risk for becoming a “street child . We generally have about 30% of our children coming from the lowest caste or from Tribal areas. The children usually spend a “trial period” with us of about 1 month to make sure they will adjust to life in our home. We maintain constant contact with the child’s relatives while they reside in our home.
The Home’s school at COF provides for grades 1-10, for grades 11 and 12 the students attend a local Junior College, then can go on to College or trade school.
The curriculum at COF’s School is similar to a standard curriculum in the US the students study math, science, social studies, geography and languages (Hindi, Telegu and English)
Beyond school and homework the children have lots of outdoor activities. Cricket is very popular. They also play volleyball, basketball, and kickball. They have play equipment and jump ropes. There are community outings to church, a nearby park and the beach. On rainy days crafts are popular with both the girls and the boys, In addition the children help out around the home with chores, working in a garden, helping care for animals on the property, and taking care of their own clothes and belongings.
You can help by praying for our children, teachers and staff. We also sometimes have donation drives for books or supplies to send to India and our children love to get emails and letters from friends like you in the US. Visitors will take these letters on their next trip so let us know and we will tell you how to get them to the children.
We call Children of Faith a Children’s Home. COF is not an orphanage that provides children to be adopted. Some children in the home are orphans, who do not have a living parent. Some children are “semi” or “half orphans” meaning they have one living parent. The designation for COF in India is a “Child Welfare Society”. It is a home to the children, providing loving care, nourishment and education to children whose family situation could not provide it.
The children at the home do have some relatives, perhaps one parent, grandparents, uncles or aunts. They come to the home because the relatives are unable to care for the child and the child was at risk for becoming a street child. Whenever possible COF works to maintain a relationship with a child’s extended family. Keeping family and community contacts will help the child as an adult, they will have some ties outside the home. In some cases a family’s situation may improve and the child is able to return to them. If a child leaves our home we maintain contact with them to assure the situation remains stable.
Children leave the home when they complete their education. Most of the children complete Junior College and many go on to College or trade school. After that they find jobs, or start their own businesses. Many stay in the area where they may have extended family, some take jobs elsewhere, such as a couple of graduates who are working overseas.
You can reach Rosie and Anand by email, you can expect to hear back in a few days, remember they are busy with 120 and children and there is an approximately 12 hour time difference [email protected] and [email protected]
Usually Rosie and Anand have full luggage when they visit, often stocking up on items they need most for the home or themselves. Sometimes organizations will be able to take a few small things on a trip. If you’d like to send something you can get in contact with us and we will advise you. Do not ever send anything to the home using US Mail, it will not arrive.
Yes, There are opportunities to visit the Children’s Home. Various Organizations sponsor trips. Get in touch with us to get more information about upcoming opportunities.
You can send an email for your child by sending it to [email protected]
Yes! The children are learning to speak English as well as Hindi and Telugu. Visitors from the US can really help the children practice and improve their English.
Yes! Our children would love to celebrate with you. Make a donation of $100 or more and contact us to have our children honor your special occasion, or if you are in India, click contact [email protected] to inquire about celebrations.
Donations, contributions, and sponsorships cannot be refunded. All funds received by Children of Faith Missions are immediately put to work and therefore are not refundable.
Sponsorships, by their very design is a recurring event. When you sponsor a child, you are essentially providing for their welfare and well-being. Annual sponsorships automatically renew one year from the date of the last transaction. Monthly sponsorships automatically renew one month from the date of the last transaction.
At Children of Faith Missions we understand that economic situations change from time to time and cancellations of sponsorships unfortunately become necessary. Therefore, if you find yourself in need of canceling your recurring donation, you can visit your PayPal subscription manager to cancel your donation. In order to cancel your recurring donation made via Credit/Debit card not made with a PayPal account, please get in contact with us.