Transforming the Abandoned into Abundant Love – The Story of Young Elijah

Meet Elijah Dickson aged 13 years old of Oro and East New Britain parentage who was abandoned by his father and found sleeping on a cold pavement in front of the Bank of South Pacific at Boroko, Port Moresby.

Less than a week ago, Elijah was sighted by a Good Samaritan who, knowing about Operation Food for Life’s (OFFL) Born Free Sanctuary, made a call to Director OFFL Philip Vaki to pick this child up. Elijah was picked up at 9.30pm and brought to the Born Free Sanctuary where he was given a warm shower, new clothes to wear, a hot meal to eat, and a clean bed to lay his head for the night.

The next day Elijah told of his plight to Philip Vaki that he couldn’t attend school because he didn’t have a school uniform. Elijah explained that as a result he came looking for his father who had in fact abandoned his mother and other sibling a week ago. Elijah wanted to find his father for money to buy a new school uniform however the father was nowhere to be found in the city. With no bus-fare to go back home, Elijah ended up sleeping in front of the Bank.

Deeply touched by the plight of young Elijah, OFFL Director Philip Vaki took Elijah the next day to the shop where he bought Elijah a pair of school uniforms. Interestingly on that same day, OFFL was scheduled to visit prisoners at Bomana’s MSU Prison with 100 Grade 3 and Grade 5 student volunteers from the Koiari Park Adventist Primary School. Elijah ended up volunteering to be part of that visit in which he truly enjoyed and was richly blessed as he served nutritious fruits and gave out toiletries.