WHAT WE DO
Bringing the love of Christ to the fatherless and providing critical care to those experiencing poverty, deprivation, and loss.
Orphan Care
Jonathan’s House for Orphans was designed to be the last option for children who are in truly desperate need and who are in danger of dying without rescue. Each one of our children have been through unimaginable circumstances in their young lives. Some lived on the streets. Some have seen their parents being executed. Others lived in the forest for months after the terrors of war came to their villages. Children come to Jonathan’s House expecting that this place will just be another agonizing chapter in a terrible storybook that won’t end.
Life at Jonathan’s House is quite different than what they have known before. The children have a regular daily routine in a safe home. They are clean, nourished, and healthy. They attend church and school. They know that they are loved by us and by Jesus. They believe that they have potential to do more than just survive. They begin to flourish. Their resilience is truly remarkable.
Over the past five years, Jonathan’s House has begun accepting motherless babies into our care. When we discovered that families were not able to keep babies alive after the death of a mother because bottles and formula are not readily available in CAR, we sought a way to obtain them in the capital city. Now we provide these for families in our local area and teach them how to feed the baby, while families that live too far away for well-baby weigh-ins often request the baby’s placement at Jonathan’s House.
It is our dream and prayer that the situation will improve in CAR someday so much that orphan rescue will no longer be needed. Hopefully we will be able to shift our focus completely to health care and education in the future. Until that day arrives, we will continue to rescue orphan children from the most dangerous and desperate situations.
Primary Education
Jonathan’s House is thankful for the opportunity to operate the Eugene Rosenau Christian School, which has been named to honor the work of an early missionary to this region. We are grateful for the educational and evangelism opportunity that the school provides.
The school educates approximately 450 students from preschool to 5th grade. All children from the orphanage in this age range attend the Christian school, and any orphan from the nearby town can attend for free. Orphans make up about half of our student roster. Thanks to our free school lunch program, our school day begins at 8am and ends at 3pm. Grades one through three are in one building and grades four through six are in a neighboring building. All classes are taught in French, rather than Sango, because all higher education and government business in the country are conducted in French.
Due to our students’ high scores on standardized achievement testing, our school is highly regarded by the government and the neighboring town as an excellent institution.
In addition to benefiting children, the school is now able to hire full time educators and employ others to prepare the midday meal. Providing good, stable jobs is yet another way Jonathan’s House positively impacts the present needs and future stability of our community.
Hunger Relief
We have found that supplying fortifying nutrition is an essential aspect of our education program. Without it, most of our students would be going without adequate food at home. It’s hard to learn and grow when you are suffering from malnutrition. What a delight to see each of our students enjoying hearty meals and daily multivitamins!
When the free lunch program began in 2018, the school’s enrollment doubled, attendance rose, school days shifted from half day to full day, test scores improved, and the overall health and well being of our students increased significantly. Costing only seventy-five cents a day per student, all 450 children receive this life-changing meal at our table each school day. We know that education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty. These students have a brighter future as their bodies, minds, and souls are nourished.
Equipping Women
There exists a great need for biblical training and discipleship of women in CAR. Donna Bixby regularly coordinates equipping events and other formats to grow these women in the grace of Christ through God’s Word.
Medical Center
When Margery Benedict Medical Clinic was opened, the nearest clinic was hours away, and we wanted our town and the neighboring villages to access quality health care. Many of the pregnant women in our area were losing their babies in delivery and infancy. We also needed a way for the infants and children rescued by Jonathan’s House to receive immediate medical intervention for life-threatening conditions. The program became a trusted resource in the community and we rejoiced to see women and babies flourishing under good care. Many other community members came for services as well and our small clinic was overwhelmed by the number of services requested daily.
In September 2026 we made the difficult decision to drastically reduce the medical clinic operations in order to renovate the building and reorganize the administration of services we offer to the community. The district hospital reopened in our town after a period of closure during the rebellion, so our community is not in the dire situation it was facing when we originally opened. We want to elevate the standard of care in ways we cannot achieve with our building in its current state. During renovations, maternity services will remain available, as will medical services for our own JHCA children. When we reopen we will focus our services on the two most vulnerable groups in our Central African community: mothers and children.