These are the faces of the children at the Kabwata Orphanage and Transit Centre in Zambia that keep us awake at night, particularly in these times of a worldwide pandemic which is just now beginning to strike the continent of Africa.

Although as of April 2, the country had only 39 confirmed cases of coronavirus, The New York Times today reported that Zambia recorded its first death from coronavirus today.

Africa has now registered almost 6,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 200 deaths, according to Physicians Weekly. Zambia and the entire continent is already suffering a huge economic impact from lockdowns aiming to contain the virus and a sharp fall in global demand for commodities.

Kabwata founder and director Angela Miyanda is doing all she can to prevent the coronavirus from reaching the 56 children who live at this orphanage by following all safety precautions and severely restricting visitors from coming on the grounds.

At Bread and Water for Africa® we are doing all we can to assist Angela in her mission of protecting the children she has taken under her wing and praying for a quick end for this global pandemic and that she and “her” children remain safe and healthy. Without the support, hundreds, if not thousands, of children that Angela has taken under her wing during our 20-year partnership would have fended for themselves streets on the Lusaka.

These are the children we love and care for, and we wonder which of them will succeed — continue their education through secondary school, find a job that allows them to become self-sufficient adults and raise a family — and those who sadly will not.

In Zambia, the odds are not in their favor.

But thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa®, they are beating those odds by getting a good start in life that most orphaned, destitute and vulnerable children in Zambia would otherwise never have.

First and foremost, they have found peace, safety, and solace in the loving arms of Angela who provides them with a warm bed to sleep in at night with a fully belly and without worry where their next meal is coming from.

She holds and comforts them when they are feeling sad and all alone in the world, and she takes them to a doctor when they are sick.

And she gives them the hope for a brighter future they would never have through an education guaranteed to them through primary and secondary school — their only chance out of a life of dire poverty in an impoverished country.

Frequently, Angela reports how proud she is of individual children who have grown and matured under her care and through their own dedication and determination have not squandered the opportunity they understand how fortunate they are to have received.