In 2015 Bro. Rancy and Mrs. Mary Harris began the Pioneer Baptist Academy in a borrowed facility with 28 students. They now have an enrollment of 320 students. In 2017 the Harris’s began taking in needy children into their own home. By 2021 they were up to 17 children that they were caring for in their home. A donor contacted us about a desire to start an orphan ministry. The Harris’s readily and eagerly volunteered to head up this ministry.
Our orphan home operates as a subsidiary of Pioneer Baptist Academy. The government is not accepting new applications for orphanages, so we are able to operate through the school because the children are considered boarders at the school. We now have 107 children and staff who need to be housed in our Orphan and Needy Children’s home and current school property. And the Orphan and Needy Children home is only 1350 square feet!
The borrowed school facility that has been used since 2015 is owned by a Muslim who no longer wants us to use their facility simply because we are Christian. They do not like that the school partners with Christian missionaries and teaches Christianity. We have until the end of 2024 to vacate the property. We need help!
We have already purchased land but need money to build a school facility and dormitories for the orphans. This project will be done in three phases each costing $100,000. The first phase is to build school facilities. We praise God that He has provided for this first phase and construction is underway! However, we are still in a dilemma because our numbers have increased and there is not enough room in the house for the 107 persons who require housing at both the school and orphan home. The second phase will build dormitories for the orphans and staff and allow the orphanage and school to be combined at one location. This will also provide room for us to expand the orphanage. The third phase will allow for a second floor on the school building and provide a play area for the orphans.