OUR FOUNDING STORY
Let’s Start from the Beginning
In 2002, we launched a child sponsorship organization with one goal: to ensure that vulnerable children in Africa had access to education, food, and spiritual care. We believed, and still do, that every child matters. And for over a decade, that belief moved us to mobilize support across the world. By 2014, we were raising $2.5 million annually to sponsor more than 7,000 children.
It was beautiful. But it was also exhausting. Every dollar we raised went out the door the same year, covering school fees, uniforms, meals, and basic care. Then, come January, we had to start all over again. It became a hamster wheel of compassion. I had graduated from business school and was beginning to feel an uneasy tension between my education and our method. We were giving generously, but we weren’t building anything that could last.
Then Came the Shock
In 2014, a funding shortage hit. Just like that, we were forced to let go of nearly half the children in our care, not because their need had disappeared, but because the money had. It was one of the most painful moments of my life. Imagine looking into the eyes of a child and saying, “You can’t go to school anymore, not because you failed, but because someone across the ocean didn’t send money this year.”
A Funding Shortange Wake Up Call
The Hamster Wheel of Giving
“Helping one child at a time was beautiful. But it was also exhausting and unsustainable . Every dollar we raised went out the door the same year. Come January, we had to start all over again. It became a hamster wheel of compassion. I had graduated from business school and began to question the sustainability of it all.”
When Good Isn’t Sustainable
The Breaking Point
“In 2014, a funding shortage forced us to let go of nearly half the children in our care—not because they didn’t need help, but because the money ran out. One of the most painful moments of my life was telling a child, “You can’t go to school anymore,” not because they failed—but because someone on the other side of the ocean didn’t send money.”
The Day We Had to Say Goodbye
That Moment Changed Everything
At the beginning of 2015, my wife and I faced a defining choice: do we double down on fundraising and charity, or do we experiment with empowering families to fund themselves? We chose the latter. We decided to disciple people into dignity, not dependency.
We began seeking out small, local enterprises that were empowering families to generate their own income. One example stands out: a business helping low-income families acquire revenue-generating assets on credit. With just $500,000 in capital, this enterprise has helped 6,000 families increase their income and enabled over 18,000 children to attend school, without a single dollar in annual sponsorship renewals. These families didn’t just survive. They started thriving.
Another enterprise we supported was rooted in farming. By helping 5,000 families improve their agricultural productivity with better tools, inputs, and training, this business has ensured that 5,000 families can not only feed themselves but also cover school fees and medical bills. Instead of waiting for handouts, these parents are standing tall in the dignity of their own harvest.
This shift changed our lives. And it changed our theology of poverty.
Changing Our Theology of Poverty
The Problem with Endless Charity
Charity is good. But when charity becomes a lifestyle, it becomes toxic. What begins as help can quietly morph into bondage. We had sponsored children for 12 years. But in all that time, we never graduated a single community from dependence to self-sufficiency. We were patching holes one child at a time, not laying foundations.
The African continent is not poor because of a lack of giving. In fact, Africa has received over $1.2 trillion in aid over the past 50 years. Yet much of it has vanished into a black hole of unsustainable programs. Why? Because we’ve mistaken relief for development. We've confused compassion with capacity building.
Relief is necessary when there's an emergency like a war, disaster, or famine. But development is about systems. It’s about value. It's about enterprise. And this is where Africa must go next.
Charity is Good, But Not As A Lifestyle
Value-Creating Enterprise Is the Future
When a father earns enough to send his children to school, something awakens in him. When a mother runs her own farm or shop and pays her bills without asking for help, something shifts in her soul. And when a community builds wealth together through trade, work, and investment, they don’t just escape poverty. They rewrite their own story.
This is why we now believe that the path out of poverty is paved not with more donations, but with value-creating enterprises and infrastructure. These models are scalable. They multiply. They return the investment. And they restore people’s God-given dignity.
Just $100 invested in a farming model we are testing is empowering one family to triple their annual income and still pay back the original investment. That’s what scalable transformation looks like.
Enterprise Is Not Just About Profit. It’s About Dignity
Discipling Enterprises, Not Just Individuals
This conviction now drives everything we do at Parousia Life. We don’t just sponsor children anymore; we disciple economies. We don’t just give out resources; we grow resourcefulness. Our mission is clear: to empower God’s children to rise above all forms of poverty and bring kingdom impact to their communities. We believe that poverty is not God’s design, and that Africa is not a poor continent but a misaligned one.
Parousia means “the coming of the King.” And we believe His Kingdom looks like abundance, not lack; stewardship, not dependency; value creation, not survival. That’s why we’ve built our model around Value Hubs—local platforms that integrate discipleship, business training, capital access, and community infrastructure.
In these hubs, we support:
Farmers who want to build dignity.
Entrepreneurs who want to serve their communities.
Families who don’t want to beg but instead want to build their worth.
Each hub is a place where value is taught, multiplied, and passed on. We partner with small businesses, faith communities, and investors who understand that the best return on capital is the human transformation it unlocks.
We Don’t Just Give Resources; We Grow Resourcefulness
From Aid to Abundance
Africa doesn’t need another rescue campaign. It needs a reset. A value reset. A mindset reset. A systems reset.
We are now fully committed to walking with enterprises that empower families to generate income. We’re not trying to replace charity; we’re trying to redeem it. We want every dollar given to become a seed, not a subsidy. We want every act of compassion to build capacity. And we want every partner—from churches to investors—to know that they are not just giving to Africa. They are building Africa.
The future of Africa will not be funded by pity. It will be built by people. People who are discipled into their God-given identity. People who are trained in the skills of value creation. People who are rooted in their communities and connected to the global economy.
Africa Needs A Reset
Join the Movement
At Parousia Life, we’ve seen it. We’ve lived it. And we’re inviting you to join us. Because when you teach a man to fish and then help him build a business around it, you don’t just end his poverty. You end poverty for generations.