Mully Children's Family...

I can't tell this any better than Evelyn... this is what she announced at church on Sunday...



For the last couple of years, we at Living Spirit United Church have been so busy getting the right ministers in place and getting ourselves on our feet and organized, that we have not had an out-of-the-country Compassionate Ministry fund raiser. I believe we’re on the right path now, ready to move forward, and I think that it’s time to begin making a difference outside our church walls again – this time, by contributing to a children’s charity that is saving literally thousands of children’s lives in Kenya.

This morning, I have 5 minutes to introduce you to the Mully Children’s Family (or MCF), a non-profit Christian organization that rescues children who are orphaned, abandoned, and living on the streets in Kenya. It was founded just over 20 years ago by one man, Charles Mulli and his wife Esther.

Charles Mulli himself woke up one morning at age 6 to discover that he was completely alone – during the night, his family had abandoned him. He survived for the next 6 years by begging. At the age of 12, he found a job that provided what to him was a miracle: food to eat every day, and shelter – but there was no hope for an improved life in the future. After several years, an acquaintance introduced him to a Christian group, and he found such hope for the future from the experience that he too became a Christian, and began what can only be described as a very personal relationship with God. He did well at his job, and was noticed by his employer, who recommended him for another job with more responsibilities. There he met his wife, and again he did well at his job. He decided to start his own business, bought an old Ford Cortina and started a taxi service between two cities in Kenya. His taxi service was reliable, he played inspiring Christian music on the trips, and soon EVERYONE wanted to use his taxi – and his business flourished. After a number of years, he made a fortune, and was living very comfortably with his wife and 6 children.

However, Charles never forgot just how it felt to be an abandoned child, and he was haunted by the knowledge that there were so many thousands of street children surviving in the same terrible circumstances. He felt called – no, that’s too weak a word – he felt COMPELLED by God to do something about it, and was so convinced that it was his mission in life to help these children that he sold EVERYTHING he and his family owned. He went personally out into the streets of the cities, seeking out children, feeding them, inviting them to be adopted, and taking them into his own home when they agreed. You can imagine what chaos it created in the lives of his wife and family when they had children living in their home who had been until that time surviving by any means they could: prostitution, drugs, alcohol abuse, you name it. They somehow survived it all, and the family grew larger and larger.

Charles and Esther Mulli adopted children into their family, fed them, clothed them, housed them, schooled them, gave them spiritual guidance, and trained them for jobs. They built dormitories and schools and hired teachers. They started a farm, irrigated crops with river water and built greenhouses to help supply food for the growing family.

They have had amazing success with their mission.

In the 20 years since the Mully Children’s Family was founded, over 7,000 former street children, drug addicts, and the abandoned have been rehabilitated and have graduated from MCF with high quality skills and education and are well integrated in society.

At the moment, the Mully Children’s Family is caring for 2,013 boys and girls between the ages of 1 week and 24 years.

I am hoping that you can find it in your hearts to support this life-saving organization. I am.

One month from now, in a bicycle relay race, my three team mates and I will be cycling 1,332 kilometres from Calgary to Winnipeg in 4 days to raise funds to cover the costs of food that cannot be grown on the MCF farm. Canadian dollars go a long way in Kenya - $100 will provide all non-farm food needed for one child for a year.

I don’t have time to tell you more right now, so I’m inviting anyone who wants to hear more about the race, my goals for this fundraiser, or the Mully Children’s Family, to please come talk to me at coffee time. Thank you!

-Evelyn Ko


1) Mully Children's Family
The Achievements page and News page (click on buttons at top) are particularly interesting, and there are lots of photos if you click on the "Flickr" button on the bottom right of the page.

2) there's a promotional video of the team Evelyn is riding with posted here ("Gogos" (the team name) is African for "Grandmothers")

3) During the race (July 17-22), you'll be able to track the location of Arvid, the ultra marathon cyclist (and, I think, the location of all the other teams, too) as they are going to track us by GPS, on the HotPursuit2010 website



for more info on how to donate, just contact me...
later man, jan