CENTERVILLE, OH – Leaders from Passion Center for Children in Malawi in southeastern Africa visited Support EXP headquarters to share stories of their grassroots, faith-driven efforts to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and their communities.”
Support EXP said Passion Center is sustained by a “dynamic partnership” of individuals, churches, and organizations such as itself. Honda FCU’s chief retail officer, Joe Mattera, said Support EXP serves as the primary sponsor of the annual Run with Passion 5K, which directly benefits the Passion Center for Children.
According to Support EXP, Passion Center was founded in 2004 by current president Eric Von Barnau Sythoff, a former military pilot who was teaching at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi when he teamed up with Pilira W. Chibwana, now Passion Center’s National Director, to address the needs of Malawi children orphaned by AIDS.
Providing for 500 Orphans
From working with 10 orphans in 2004, Passion Center has grown to be able to provide for around 500 orphans in 2022, the company said.
While onsite at Support EXP, Von Barnau Sythoff and other Passion Center leaders related how they collaborate with others to “serve as God’s hands” in rescuing, redeeming, and restoring vulnerable children and communities, according to the organization.
“This organic, boots-on-the-ground work fills a void left by the limitations of government resources,” the company said.
According to the company, Passion Center Executive Director Saul Mateyu recounted to Support EXP staff how he received his first pair of shoes to attend boarding school, then had the “privilege” of attending high school and college in a country where so few have the opportunity.
In one of the poorest countries in the world, where children with special needs are too often neglected or shunned, Support EXP said the Passion Center’s Champions Club is a first-of-its-kind ministry that provides encouragement, training, resources, and love to meet the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical needs of these children.
‘Speak Hope’
“It doesn’t take much to change someone’s future,” said Von Barnau Sythoff. “We ‘speak hope’ into the lives of these children by just finding out what can make a difference.”
“We are privileged to come alongside Passion Center in its work of helping the most vulnerable,” said Rhonda Sheets, Support EXP President and CEO. “It is profoundly humbling to witness the difference that can be made in both individual lives and entire communities when we open our eyes to the possibilities of acting together.”