‘Promising kids a future:’ local adoption agency raises funds for Uganda orphanage

Promise Kids a Future (PKAF), a local adoption agency, is working with their orphanage in Africa called Noah’s Ark Children’s Home, to raise funds for adoption.

Their “Hope for the Future” campaign has raised roughly $8,500 at press time with a goal of $18,000 by Dec. 20.

“For the last several years we have had an anonymous donor who has reached out to say that they would give a certain amount if we could match it by the end of the year,” said Promise Kids a Future Director Jill Baker. “This (deadline) we set as Dec. 20.”

PKAF was started in 2006 by Baker, who has had a heart for international adoption.

“It’s just a beautiful thing to be able to provide (adoption) for people,” Baker said. “I love the idea of joining people who want children that don’t have families. As much as it is one way, it is the other; a child that needs a family. And, there (are) families that need children.”

Currently, Noah’s Ark Children’s Home serves 40 children.

“It’s a home that holds 25,but we have not said no to very many,” she said. “The reason for that is, Uganda is closed for international adoption.”

PKAF recently went through reaccreditation, Baker said, and has now been approved for another four years.

Funding for Noah’s Ark Children’s Home comes from adoptions and financial giving, she said. The campaign is meant to help run Noah’s Ark Children’s Home for one year.

Funding to run the home will go toward things like: food, medical and clothing needs.

Central Kentucky has grown in adoption from Africa, Baker said. She has helped place children around this area from Malawi, as well.

“The Central Kentucky area has grown greatly in the African culture,” she said.

Baker is going to Africa with a team again in January to help with the home and her children, Seth and Julia, are going with her.

“We were raised going on mission trips and, so, it’s just been a part of who we are,” Baker said.

This will be her children’s first time on a plane.

“To be able to share a passion, a love for the people with them; for them to have their eyes open to a different world, (I am) so excited about it,” she said.

While in Africa, Baker plans to meet with government officials to see if adoptions will continue in Uganda.

“We’ll get to spend a lot of time with the children at the orphanage,” Baker said. “We plan on doing some medical assessments on each one of them, so that we have some kind of a file. They have the basic medical, but we are going to be doing an evaluation on each one.”

The day-to-day of the orphanage will continue to run, whether adoptions are able to be made, or not, she said.

Focus on Uganda will also be on the trip to Africa to reach out to villages.

“There’s just always (a) need,” she said. “We can’t turn them away to the street. So, any kind of help that we can provide them, we want to be able to do that.”