My Encounter With An Orphan Called Philemon...

During my sixth year of medical studies, I was offered the opportunity to do an internship in the East Region of Cameroon; one which I accepted with mixed feelings. I was both excited to discover a new setting, new peoples and new languages but also timid about engaging with these people.

By the grace of God, I arrived at the remote town of Kette, at the CMR-CAR border, a place I never imagined to reach. This town is built around gold mines in the East, with mining as its main activity. In all my encounters, one story stood strong in my heart which I’d be sharing with you today.

This young boy named Zikia Philemon had gone through many things in life. Being the eldest in large family of about six siblings, Philemon lost his father in his tender ages and with his father, went the family livelihood and any hope for schooling and also his dream of being a policeman.

Thus, like thousands of children in this area, Philemon was forced to drop out school and find a menial job, to help his widowed mother. She, being a farmer, in order to feed the younger siblings left at home. He said he would sometimes ride commercial bikes, or go for months at a time mining gold just to make ends meet for his family. This is a daunting task for a teenaged boy pushed into the shoes of a father and breadwinner for a family, by such disheartening situations, but he stayed strong. He later relocated to stay with his uncle in order to access more lucrative jobs but he kept his faith in the Lord.

Unknown to him, a representative of Eden Global Missions who attended the same Full Gospel church at Kette with him, and by the inspiration of God, Eden Global Missions reviewed his case and offered him a full scholarship., paying his tuition, buying his uniform, writing material permitting him to return to school under the watchful eye of his uncle and his pastor.in seeking to find out more about this, I met with the uncle of Philemon who said, He was very grateful to EGM for this scholarship; as the boy had no one who looked after him. He wishes for this work to continue and grow by the grace of God.

In truth, there are many situations in life that we can’t control; loss of a loved one, poverty, sickness. We can’t claim to be able to stop death or wars or accidents, but no matter how small our contribution is, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! We can put a smile on someone’s face. When caring for someone goes beyond being a privilege to be a duty, then the wellbeing of others becomes our priority.

Thank you Eden Global Missions for making a difference in this young man’s life and because of this one good deed, I believe an outpour of good deeds will flow from this one heart blessed by you. May God bless you.

(Disclaimer: Not Philemon's picture used above)

Keren, Eden Staff