NGA Reaches Across Continents to Share God’s Love

Students from the NextGen Academy (NGA), know that as a part of a global family, it is their mission to serve and reach out to their brothers and sisters around the world. These enthusiastic young people, spend the first half of the program in the US developing ideas, raising funds and planning. They then set out for a four week stay, to work with the international communities.  This year, volunteers served in South Africa, Malawi, Botswana and Zambia. Their journeys are documented online on the NGA blog.

NGA is a US-based, non-profit organization of volunteers who dedicate a year of their life to service. Since 2008, NGA, in conjunction with the Family Federation for World Peace, has visited 11 countries across southern and eastern Africa.

One particularly impactful project this year was in the sphere of orphanage volunteering. In Malawi, three members of NGA touched the lives of over 2000 orphans (many of whom were orphaned due to HIV/AIDS) by addressing their life purpose in God’s viewpoint. The children, living in Mulanje, Malawi, had for the first time in their lives, encountered visitors from so far away. The volunteers, Ethan McKenna, 20, from the US, Mie Lacroix, 17, from Canada, and Nam-mi Kolbener, 19, from Switzerland, came with an energetic and encouraging spirit to relay to the children their inspiration that God would never abandon them but always support and care for them.

The three volunteers also appealed to the foster parents and guardians of the orphans, urging them to send the children to school no matter the barriers so that they could acquire knowledge, the key to a brighter future. Patricia Kaliati, a local legislator, was also in attendance, and thanked the three for their courage in traveling such a long distance to Malawi to visit the orphans. She said, “You have shown special love for the children of Malawi and particularly here in Mulanje and by doing so you have been exemplary to your fellow youth in your country, the world and even to our own in Malawi.”

Amid their speeches and educational talks, the three took time to play sports and perform musical pieces for the children—a fun and bonding experience.

To hear more NGA stories, follow the blog! If you are interested in getting involved and supporting the work abroad, become a NextGen Advocate by donating today!