Attie was born into what is sadly becoming a typical family in South Africa.  No father, a mother that died of AIDS before he reached his third birthday.  A mother that refused to take her antiretroviral medicine and therefore passed the AIDS virus straight to her newborn son.

This is Attie’s reality.  After his mother passed away, he was handed from neighbor to neighbor…no one would care for him.  No one would take responsibility for his well-being.  At three and a half he contracted Meningitis …he miraculously survived with no medical treatment…but in the process, he lost all of his hearing.  By the age of five, he was sent to live with his great gandmother…and that is when we met Attie.  He showed up at Ithemba…a loner.

One day, his great grandmother brought him to Ithemba, gavin him to us and told us that he was really sick and that she would no longer take care of him.  Really sick turned out to be and understatement.  Attie had contracted pneumonia and by the time we got him, his fever was so high, he slipped into a coma.  Because his grand mother no longer wanted him, and because we had just finished building a safe house for abandoned and neglected children, we were able to get Attie proper medical care, nurse him back to health, get his hearing tested and therefore find out that he was deaf, and get him on an antiretroviral regiment.  Attie moved into the Safe House when he was six years old and completely captured our hearts.

Once we figured out that Attie was “a loner” because he was deaf, we were able to come up with new ways to communicate with him and show him that we love him.  He instantly became part of our Safe House family..the big brother of the house.  With proper nutrition, proper hygiene and proper medical care, he began to grow and thrive.  His adorable, incredibly sweet natured personality came out, and we began to see his t rue potential…and we began to realize the importance of specialized education so that he can communitcare and eventually become an active member of society.  After much research, we found the South African School for the Deaf.  It is a truly amazing school that offers individual care and education for each child.  Attie is quickly learning sign language and adapting very well tohis new environment.  We are so excited to see Attie grow and develop as he continues to learn, and quite literally, find his voice.

Attie now has the chance to live and to thrive because people like you decided to be a part of his story…to be the hands and feet of Jesus in his life.  Attie now has the opportunity to grow and be loved- to become everything that God created him to be.  In the Township in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, there are hundreds of children just like Attie.  Children desperate for love and care.  CHildren desperate to be set free from the bondage of povertym and as an organization, LUO is determined to give every one of those children a chance to thrive.

LUO is radically changing a generation of children in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa by intimately entwining in each child’s story.  Through nutritious food, Biblical programming, educational tutoring, medical care and a whole lot of LOVE, we are providing these children HOPE for a future.

But we can DO MORE…Our current facility is over capacity- we need more space.  A new facility would allow us to drastically and holistically impact the lives of 200 more children.

This is where you come in, WE NEED YOUR HELP. Here are two different ways you can act right now:

1.  Make a gift toward LUO’s new facility and literally open the doors of love to 200 more children in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa

2.  Give to LUO’s programming and immediately provide educational, spiritual and physical care to hundreds of amazing kids.