Children of Faith Ministries

Following is a brief history of the founding of Children of Faith from their website (http://childrenoffaithmissions.org):

As the story goes, Anand and Rosie Thandu were members of the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in 2002 when they received a calling to establish an orphanage in India.
A year later, the Children of Faith Orphanage opened its doors to 30 children in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.  In a matter of weeks, a much larger, local orphanage closed its doors, and soon Children of Faith was home to 100 children.
Today, the orphanage provides shelter, nourishment, healthcare, education, and clothing to more than 100 boys and girls.  The campus currently includes a three-story building providing housing for the children and staff and a separate building which houses the dining hall and kitchen.  A new school building and boy’s dormitory are soon to be complete.
To support the Indian orphanage, as well as other worthy ministries serving at-risk children around the globe, Children of Faith Missions was established as a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2009.

When we visited they had 120 children, 70 boys and 50 girls. Anand and Rosie shared more of their personal story, the story behind the "call", and it was so touching.  The kids of Children of Faith absolutely stole our hearts (and I know I can speak for everyone of the EMI team of designers in saying this). These are the downtrodden in a society with a cultural caste system, where it is overwhelmingly believed that these kids are poor and abandoned because of past life actions, and that this is just their lot in this life.  In fact it is largely due to this that Rosie and Anand seek to build a school (Faith Academy) where they will be treated as equals, a school that will be paid for by 650 tuition paying students; students who will be exposed to the reality that these orphans are not unlike them, and will be exposed to the hope that only comes from our Lord.

Such joy and love expressed from what otherwise would be the outcast. The difference between this and other orphanages is clear; it is the Lord's presence in and throughout all that is done there. Following are some photos of the amazing kids of Children of Faith.