Agathos

Last Saturday we had an opportunity to go to a dinner hosted by the Agathos Foundation. This foundation was started by a man who lives in the Seattle area, but is a native of South Africa. He was shocked at the crisis facing orphans in Africa because of AIDS so he decided to do something about it. Agathos holds conferences to educate pastors in Africa and teach them what the Bible says about the responsibility to care for orphans. The pastors then pledge to care for the orphans and widows in their village. The church is matched with a first world church that helps the village form an orphanage and help it become self-sufficient.

I was shocked at the conditions in Zimbabwe. Unemployment is at 80%. We get upset here if unemployment is at 6%. 10% of the entire population are orphans under age 18.

Agathos is also doing some exciting new things, including a for-profit venture. One of the problems is that the governments are very corrupt and don't provide basic services like keeping up the infrastructure. This makes commerce and business very hard. So they are starting a ferry service on Lake Victoria to help open avenues for business and trade. It seems so basic that you have to remind yourself this is the 21st century.

If you are looking for some year-end giving, I would urge you to look at this organization.