This holiday season, we want to thank you for your faithful partnership. We are deeply grateful for the hope you share with families in Kenya and Ethiopia. In return for your support we will send you a small thank you gift: a brass and beaded earring set or key-chain. When you see this simple piece, remember the people it represents. It is the safe home for a child. It is the steady hand of a nurse in a remote clinic. Thank you for being part of this quiet, life-saving work.
The sun shone brightly on Naturomoe hill in far southwestern Ethiopia as the Nyangatom community gathered for a celebration. There was singing, speeches filled with gratitude, and a shared feeling of hope as people from multiple nations came together to celebrate the dedication and blessing of a small, new clinic in a remote part of the Omo River Valley near the border with South Sudan.
Lalmba proudly partners with the Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostle (MCSPA), whose local staff have served this region for years. This new dispensary is a direct and powerful response to the struggles this community faces in an incredibly remote region. It was funded through Lalmba by a former Lalmba volunteer, a doctor whose service in Sudan decades ago moved him and his family to make this lasting gift.
As the only dedicated medical building for over 50 kilometers in any direction, this small clinic, on the edge of a refugee village at the base of Naturomoe hill, provides a Clinical Officer, Francis, and Nurse, Akales, a fixed place to treat injuries, deliver immunizations, and save lives. It is a sign of our shared commitment to communities at the end of the road.
“In early 2021, at the start of our community outreach, we found three orphaned children living in an open, makeshift shelter. Their parents were gone, and their elderly grandfather couldn’t provide a proper home. Lalmba immediately built a shelter for the grandfather. Though the children were too old for our children’s home, we refused to abandon them. I personally took in one boy, and my colleague Linder took in a girl. It was a privilege to watch them thrive. The girl is now happily married and starting a family; the boy I took in is also grown, married, and living a happy life. That story and the place we found them still move me deeply. This is just one example of the lives changed through Lalmba’s home-based care. While we can’t house every child, by modeling this kind of care—as Linder (Linda), I, and other community guardians have done—we meet the needs of many. The commitment of Lalmba and the support of our donors bring real change to our community, one child and one family at a time.”
– Jenipher Atieno, Kenya Director
“Lalmba holds a great history in my life — I was once one of the children they supported. After losing my family and feeling hopeless about my education, Lalmba provided essential aid like school materials, medical care, and even paid my rent when I became an orphan without shelter. That support changed everything. Through determination, I continued my education and am now the Ethiopia Country Director for Lalmba. When I serve these children today, I see myself in their eyes and know I am living proof that Lalmba acts as a real mother and father, giving a chance at a fulfilling life. This is the greatest history I have — it’s my life.”
There is more in Lalmba’s 2025 Christmas Newsletter.Â
You can view the full newsletter here.