Assisting Children in Need

Assisting Children in Need www.assistingchildreninneed.org

Congratulations to former British Ambassador Brian Donaldson, his wife, Nicole, and the Madagascar Development Fund team...
02/08/2026

Congratulations to former British Ambassador Brian Donaldson, his wife, Nicole, and the Madagascar Development Fund team on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant to install a water system and public washing facility in Imry, in the commune of Antsirabe, Madagascar.

Currently, in the absence of a reliable water system, villagers must collect water by bucket or jerry can from the nearest source—a pond located a 35-minute walk away—for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene. Laundry is also done in a large, unsanitary pond adjacent to the water source. During the rainy season, flooding causes animal and human waste to wash into these ponds, contaminating the water and exposing residents to serious waterborne diseases such as bilharzia, dysentery, and cholera.

Photo: Courtesy of Madagascar Development Fund

Congratulations to Uganda’s SDKF and Pastor Dennis Ssettaala on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant.This grant will support t...
01/18/2026

Congratulations to Uganda’s SDKF and Pastor Dennis Ssettaala on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant.

This grant will support the continuation of the ACN Scholars program for vulnerable children in Kampala’s Kamwokya slums. SDKF also serves as the community-based organization that oversees the Zelaya Library, which opened on August 18, 2016 and is sustained through the generosity of the Zelaya family.

We are especially proud to share that one of our first ACN Scholars is now attending university and also serves in the afternoons as the Zelaya Library’s librarian.

The photo features ACN Scholars with the much-loved Pastor Dennis Ssettaala (pictured far left), ACN’s longest-serving Country Representative.

Photo courtesy of SDKF

Congratulations to REFEADES and its Director, Mrs. Alphonsine Apendeki, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on bein...
01/18/2026

Congratulations to REFEADES and its Director, Mrs. Alphonsine Apendeki, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant.

The grant will support an initiative to empower 21 Batwa children from the war-affected village of Ilakala through rabbit-breeding skills. REFEADES will provide a three-month training program covering rabbit feeding and care, basic veterinary practices, hutch construction, and marketing, helping the children develop practical, income-generating skills and greater self-reliance.

Photo courtesy of REFEADES

Congratulations to Tingathe Development Forum (TIDEF) in Malawi on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant. The project focuses o...
01/15/2026

Congratulations to Tingathe Development Forum (TIDEF) in Malawi on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant. The project focuses on drilling a borehole at Kanyenje Primary School, where more than 750 school-aged children (ages 6–14) currently lack access to clean water for drinking and bathing. These vulnerable children are forced to walk more than two kilometers to reach another well, which is often overcrowded as many parts of the surrounding community are dry.

TIDEF’s Programs Manager, Taonga Phiri, explains that during the rainy season students are often compelled to drink contaminated water from a nearby river. In 2022-2023 alone, 260 residents of the Kanyenje community (most of them children) died from cholera caused by contaminated water sources.

With ACN funding, Tingathe Development Forum will drill a deep borehole approximately 40 meters deep and equip it with a pump to provide a reliable supply of clean water for students, teachers, and other extremely poor members of the community.

Photo courtesy of Tingathe Development Forum (TIDEF).

A wonderful way to start 2026, with greetings from Tobias Ayugi, ACN’s Global Programs Coordinator, and the children of ...
01/13/2026

A wonderful way to start 2026, with greetings from Tobias Ayugi, ACN’s Global Programs Coordinator, and the children of his project in Kisumu, Kenya.

Photo courtesy of Tobias Ayugi

Congratulations to Ms. Jessie Liviel and Mdabwi Ecumenical on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant. Through its feeding progra...
01/12/2026

Congratulations to Ms. Jessie Liviel and Mdabwi Ecumenical on being awarded a 2026 ACN grant.

Through its feeding program, Mdabwi Ecumenical currently provides morning porridge and nutritional lunches to five Community Children Caring Centers and five primary schools.

This grant will enable Mdabwi Evumenical to establish its own garden, where a variety of crops—such as green vegetables and beans—will be grown.Rather than relying on purchased food, the ACN-funded garden will empower the children to plant, cultivate, and enjoy food they have grown themselves.

Photo courtesy of Mdabwi Ecumenical

ACN is pleased to announce that it has funded the replacement of old, deteriorated children’s desks at St. David Joska E...
12/13/2025

ACN is pleased to announce that it has funded the replacement of old, deteriorated children’s desks at St. David Joska ECDE College in Kenya, which were in serious need of repair.

Director Violet Khabukwi Luyali has greatly impressed ACN with her commitment to both the safety of her students and to the promotion of education in her area.

The road to Antsampandrano, Madagascar, is finally dry enough to carry truckloads of materials needed to construct Antsa...
05/22/2025

The road to Antsampandrano, Madagascar, is finally dry enough to carry truckloads of materials needed to construct Antsampandrano village’s new clean water system!

Three cyclones and torrential rains have resulted in unpassable roads. Still, inspirational Brian Donaldson, Founder and Patron of the Madagascar Development Fund, got the trucks rolling as soon as he could, and now joins in the excitement at Antsampandrano as work on the new water system begins.

Photo Courtesy of the Madagascar Development Fund

The Turkana Community Foundation in Kenya, under the impressive leadership of Samuel Litunya, won a 2025 ACN grant for t...
05/15/2025

The Turkana Community Foundation in Kenya, under the impressive leadership of Samuel Litunya, won a 2025 ACN grant for their community school’s classroom renovation project. In the words of Samuel, “The renovation of our school provides a safe and accessible learning space for our young children".

Photo courtesy of Turkana Community Organization

Congratulations to Mrs Alphonsine Apendeki and her non-profit organization, REFEADES, of the Democratic Republic of Cong...
04/17/2025

Congratulations to Mrs Alphonsine Apendeki and her non-profit organization, REFEADES, of the Democratic Republic of Congo for winning a 2025 ACN Grant to assist Batwa (Pygmy) youth in developing a self-sustaining rabbit breeding project.
The youth have completed the rabbit pen construction, and rabbits are beginning to arrive!

Photo Courtesy of REFEADES

Address

600 Cameron Street
Alexandria, VA
22314

Telephone

+17034472642

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Assisting Children in Need posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Assisting Children in Need:

Shortcuts

Share

Category