What Can One Person Do?

“I’m not wealthy... can just a few dollars each month make a difference?” Sure, it sure can! First, thank you for caring. You found this page because you want to help, and we appreciate that. Your constant prayers, notes of encouragement, and financial donations are always welcome.

From the chart below, it’s easy to see that this ministry is made up of a lot of ten and twenty dollar expenses. We welcome one-time donations, of course, and thank God for caring generosity; but people who give each month to cover recurring expenses are a constant encouragement to us. We count on these ministry partners for everything from socks to soccer balls. So, do you see anything here that you want to provide? If so, click on its link to read more details.

Note: This list is provided to give you an idea of the impact your donation will have. We are not able to guarantee that your donation will be used for any one particular purpose; rather, funds go into the general fund and are spent as needs arise.

More detail about each of the items is provided below. Please feel free to e-mail Bill Smith or call him at (615) 781-1235 with your questions or to discuss your desire to help with any special or continuing needs.

Made In The Streets is a 501(c)(3) organization, and your gifts are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

$10 a month

1. Bar and laundry soap for the boys’ dorm — A clean body and clean clothes are a great luxury to children who have lived for months or years on the streets. The boys wash their clothes by hand.
2. Bar and laundry soap for the girls’ dorm — Each child is responsible for taking care of their new clothes and washing them in the ministry's washing machine.
3. Bus fare for Lilian to go to Catering School — Lilian, who came off the streets about three years ago, stays at our inner city Eastleigh Center and goes to catering school, learning to cook and serve.
4. First Aid Supplies — As you can imagine,when you have kids, especially those who have had the streets of the the city as their home, there is always something — cut fingers, sore throats...
5. School supplies (Bible, English, Math) — We have daily classes for teenagers who have not been to school and this level of giving provides supplies for all of the children.

$20 a month

1. Internship fees for a student to work in an outside business — one of the important steps for our street kids to take after they have finished literacy training and basic skills training is to put it all to practice in a business for someone outside of MITS. Thus they learn how to work out in the world.
2. Kitchen supplies for boys’ kitchen — The boys do most of their own cooking, and they need cleaning supplies, pots and pans, salt and sauces.
3. Kitchen supplies for girls’ kitchen — The girls cook their own breakfast and dinner, and they need a well-stocked kitchen.
4. Food for kids on the streets for 2 days a month when MITS leaders go out to visit — Kenyans serving in MITS go to the streets of Nairobi at least one day per week, and they either take food with them or they take kids from the streets to eat at a local shop. It is a gift that speaks strongly to street kids of our care for them and is usually their best meal of the week.
5. Beauty supplies for girls — All girls, including Kenyans, love to take care of themselves and be pretty — we need shampoo and nail polish and other supplies.
6. Sports balls for boys — Soccer balls and basketballs have a short life-span when used constantly on rough surfaces. A basketball court is under construction now (Fall, 2005).

$30 a month

1. Fare for leaders to go to the streets in Eastleigh each Monday — When our Kenyan team members go from the farm to Eastleigh, the cost is about $1.50 for each one per visit. If they take any street kids for medical needs or other way we can help them, then there is more cost.
2. Fuel for bus for special trips — youth rally, seminar — When local congregations have youth rallies or other functions, we want our kids to take part, to be a regular part of the church.
3. Bedding and personal items for boys — Since we provide full-time care for kids, we need sheets and pillows and blankets, and young people do wear things out!
4. Bedding and personal items for girls — When we get new girls at the farm, we need a mattress, sheets, blanket, pillows, pajamas.
5. Bottled gas for cooking for the girls — Since the girls cook their own meals, and we are trying to avoid the destruction of trees and the use of charcoal, we use gas for our cooking. They use a medium bottle each month.

$50 a month

1. Food for the guard dogs — Of necessity, every public building and business as well as many private homes in Kenya have a security guard or guard dogs. We have found dogs to be our best defense, after good fences and locks. People in the area are afraid of our German Shepherd and Rhodesian Ridgeback, and we are glad for that.
2. Supplies and teaching in kids club and Sunday school — On Saturday afternoons, our team members and some of the students lead children’s activities and Bible studies in "Kids Club." Also, we have a Sunday school with 45 to 50 kids, This level of donation will supply paper, pens, treats and other classroom supplies.
3. Bibles for community people — As more and more members of the communtiy are attending the church at the farm, we are finding greater need to give them Bibles. It is a great joy to give a Bible to someone who doesn’t have one.
4. Clothing for students — When they come to us, the kids only have the usually ragged clothing they have on. We ask them to give those clothes to other street kids, and we supply them with clothing. We try to buy them something new about every 2 months.
5. Field trip for students — It is important to have the kids see their own country. We have gone to the Coast of the Indian Ocean and stayed at a church compound. We have gone camping in one of the National Parks. We have camped out at a farm near Mount Kenya. We always take extra food and we use up some supplies doing this.

$100 a month

1. Salary for a new Kenyan team member — Because our Team is spread so thin, we need to add three new members. Each one we add will cost us about $100 a month. We have several important roles to fill -- driving and teaching auto mechanics, directing some of our classroom businesses, working at the Eastleigh center.
2. Irrigation of 3 acres for intensive farming — In order to grow our own food, we need to irrigate with dripline. So we use diesel to operate the pump to fill our water tank, then we link the plumbing to the driplines. We have to put in new lines now and then, and we have to maintain them. It requires having someone work on the farm with us, so we have a small salary to pay.
3. Electricity for classroom businesses — A major part of our electricity cost each month is for the classroom businesses, which teach the children skills they need to prepare them for employment -- the Tea House, the Salon, and the woodworking shop, along with tailoring and the computer shop.
4. Fence and building repair — We have fences around 34 acres of land, and we have several buildings — the shops, the dorms, the staff housing and the animal pens.

$200 a month

1. Fund Auto Mechanics training — This level of giving would not only pay the salary of an instructor, it would allow us to buy an engine, various engine parts and tools so the kids can learn to do the actual work.
2. Fund Woodworking training — We need to keep a supply of wood, nails, screws, saw blades, glue, sandpaper and other items for use by the kids as they learn and as they make items for local people.
3. Salary for a preacher — Because of the growth of the church that meets on the farm, Francis Mbuvi, our Administrator does not have time to do all the ministry for the church as well as preach, so we need to add someone who can serve the church and organize many activities. The local church can pay part of his salary, but not all.
4. Vehicle repair — Due to the third-world road conditions, our bus, van, and pickup take a beating and require regular maintance to keep going.

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Made In The Streets is a ministry of Otter Creek Church of Christ.
Content, illustrations, and photographs used on this site are the exclusive, copyrighted property of Made in the Streets Ministry or are used by permission. Copyright © 2005

A ministry of
Otter Creek Church of Christ
409 Franklin Road
Brentwood, TN 37027