Taking action globally sometimes starts locally. From their Burien office at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church, Tim and Rebecca Pratt operate Orphan Relief & Rescue. Since they founded the organization in 2007, they have improved and often saved the lives of countess children halfway around the world.
“When you see incredible poverty to the state of death, it’s shocking to a Western mind. It’s hard to fathom. You hear the stories, but until your eyes see it, it doesn’t sink in that it’s really real,” says Rebecca Pratt. Her recently published book, Inspired To Action, chronicles their experiences and, she hopes, will be a call to action for readers.
Pratt and her husband spent eight years doing missionary work abroad. The last two years were spent in West Africa aboard a mercy ship -- a mobile vessel that provides free surgeries and medical care. During that time, the Pratts witnessed firsthand the suffering of orphaned children.
“It was those last two years in Africa when our whole world view was rocked,” says Pratt.
The Pratts were in the extremely impoverished countries of Liberia and Benin. In recent history, Liberia experienced prolonged civil wars. The wars left hundreds of thousands dead and legions of children without families.
There were 10 orphanages nationwide before the wars. There are now 145. The same conditions exist in Benin due to poverty and the AIDS epidemic.
“Our animals in America live way better than a lot of these kids,” explains Pratt.
In 2005, the Pratts first encountered what it means to be an orphan in the region. They found 109 children living in a four-room mud hut with no electricity nor running water. The children, averaging 2-16 years old, walked more than four miles roundtrip to the nearest well for drinking water. They were emaciated and starving to death with only a half a cup of rice per day. The mass graveyard in the back was testimony to the unthinkable conditions.
“I personally spent a lot of sleepless nights (after seeing it),” says Pratt, a mother of three herself. “I realized that if somebody didn’t intervene, those kids were dead.”
The Pratts lobbied for help from numerous organizations, but to no avail. After their mercy ship commitment ended, they founded Orphan Relief.
Orphan Relief now staffs up to 30 people with 5 working full time in the Burien office. The rest are a combination of Westerners and nationals working boots-on-the-ground in Benin and Liberia. The Pratts also personally make about four visits per year.
The first stage in providing assistance was partnering with each nation’s social welfare office to identify orphanages in the most acute need. Orphan Relief also helps the understaffed welfare offices evaluate whether orphanage directors are operating in good faith with limited resources. Those groups are deemed deserving of Orphan Relief’s assistance. Tragically, some orphanage directors scam the system and steal the scant funding for themselves. Orphan Relief helps identify those situations and recommends them for closure.
Pratt says that Orphan Relief has assisted 22 orphanages in Liberia alone. In some instances, that meant completely rebuilding and outfitting destroyed facilities.
“Of 145 orphanages (designated by the nation’s social welfare office), 79 were listed as uncertified and unsanitary. They were often bombed-out buildings and the kids were living in squalor,” says Pratt.
A new facility in Liberia included a complete renovation with a sanitary water well, new roof, showers and proper furniture such as bunk beds so the children no longer slept on the floors. In Benin, one of the facilities even has a computer school.
One of the reasons that other organizations are frequently apprehensive of helping orphanages - a problem the Pratts originally encountered - is the perception that it is a funding “black hole.” The Pratts have effectively addressed this issue by helping orphanages create and run businesses to make themselves self-sufficient.
“For most of them, it involves farming. They can sell what they grow, but it also helps provide immediate food for the kids,” says Pratt. “One lady tie dies fabric and sells the material. What we do is ask what skills they already have or what businesses they’ve done in the past and work from there. If there isn’t anything, then we get them training.”
Such five-year plans are proving successful for a number of orphanages that are moving towards self-sustainment.
In addition to creating a safe environment, Orphan Relief also offers emotional support. Many of the children are rescued from domestic slavery and many others witnessed the murder of their parents. Child development programs are an essential component.
“These kids are clumped together in the orphanages and have no identity of their own. We want them to realize their value as a person and that we and God have not forgotten them. Their life is valuable and worth it,” says Pratt.
Orphan Relief’s funding is entirely from donations. Approximately 28 churches across the nation contribute in addition to countless individuals and businesses. It costs about $50,000 to completely renovate an orphanage and $1,000 a month to maintain a facility and feed the children. “We utilize every dollar to the fullest,” says Pratt.
Pratt hopes her book, Inspired To Action, will rouse people to be generous both in thought and action.
“My hope for anyone who reads the book is for them to look at people differently. If you see somebody suffering and hurting in front of you, I don’t think it will be as easy to walk away after reading this,” she says.
For more information on how to help or Rebecca Pratt’s upcoming book readings, visit orphanreliefandrescue.org. Her new book is available for sale online at Amazon.com and other channels.
