Author: Jim Cantelon

April 20, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on April 20, 2026. Posted in Blog.

The Bible is very strong on the subject of God’s love for us. It stresses again and again that his love is unfailing.

Sometimes the word “hesed” meaning “unfailing love” in the Hebrew is also translated as “lovingkindness”. For instance, in Psalm 25 King David prays, “Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and loving kindnesses”. He then links God’s love to truth and covenant. In other words, God is faithful. Indeed, He never fails. We can trust and count on him even “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23). So the bar is very high when we say we want to be “his hands and feet” to sick and dying orphans and widows. We need to be unfailing in love, too.

In our 26th year of ministry WOW is very aware of the relevance of unfailing love in the face of unfailing suffering.

When we began this ministry, the HIV & AIDS pandemic was at its height ravaging the lives of thousands of young mothers and their children with certain death in sub-Saharan Africa. We saw the church of Jesus Christ as the only answer to this relentless killer. So I resigned from Broadway Church in Vancouver and Kathy and I incorporated WOW in order to challenge the churches of sub-Saharan Africa to become “a father to the fatherless and a defender of widows”. We started from scratch but now many years later YOU are a player on a mighty team bringing light and love to a very dark place. Your love is unfailing.

The relentless nature of human need can be daunting. It seems the more we do, the more we need to do. The scores of orphans and widows we first began to reach in the year 2000, number today in the thousands. But the Lord was faithful when we had little to give and He is faithful in 2026 when we have much greater responsibilities. As the old hymn says, “He giveth more grace as the burden grows greater, He addeth more strength when the labors increase…”

So today our Home Based Care ministry (HBC) with partner “Somebody Cares Malawi” (SCM) is feeding 3000 orphans and 2000 elderly widows through their village feeding programs as well as visiting and providing comprehensive care for hundreds of the sick and dying with teams of local church based volunteers. We have a state of the art Gender Based Violence (GBV) mitigation program as well as community transformation efforts championed by pastors and Christian chiefs. SCM has become a national treasure as WOW has been and continues faithfully to be its key supporter.

In Zambia WOW partners with CHRESO (“chrezo” meaning “need” in Greek) based in the capital, Lusaka, and ICO (Impact Community Outreach) located in the mining town of Kabwe. With CHRESO we provide the funding of medications for 5000 rural orphans and widows via mobile medical clinics. And with ICO we are engaged in HBC with several impoverished communities surrounding Kabwe. Both of these Zambian partners are local church based, their pastors proven men and women of God who are unfailing in their love for “the least of these”.

In South Africa we are vitally engaged with our partner ministry called Cross Connect (CC). WOW has funded the purchase and renovation of two houses that are now “homes of rescue” for abused and abandoned children. From this centre CC is also caring for the needs of orphans and widows in surrounding “irregular settlements” (read “slums”) with a population of 3000-plus. Their impact has attracted the social services and police of the greater Johannesburg region who often call on CC to be first responders to reports
of children in distress.

WOW also is involved in a vital ministry in India, but due to governmental and cultural opposition I can say nothing in a public forum lest our partners there be shut down.

And as you may know we have been quietly helping a ministry to orphan and widow refugees from the Russia–Ukraine war.

In all this, we are committed to unfailing love in the name of Jesus. I am counting on you (and myself) to be faithful.

Blessings

Jim Cantelon

Yes, Jim, I’ll respond with unfailing love!

April 30, 2025

Written by Jim Cantelon on April 30, 2025. Posted in Blog.

As is always the case WOW’s ministry on the ground in Africa is awash in adversity. From drought, crop failure, electrical grid “load shedding” (up to 18hrs a day without electricity!) and the grind of endemic poverty, to recent USAID funding withdrawal, our champions and their impoverished, diseased volunteers and communities are hard pressed to find hope.

The most pressing of these urgencies is the USAID abandonment of the anti-retro-viral (ARV) programs that have literally saved millions of Africans and Indians from death these past 20 years. Former US President George W. Bush initiated his PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) vision during his tenure. It no doubt will be his lasting legacy, eclipsing even that iconic moment when he took the loud speaker on the pile of ruins at the site of the 911 attack.

WOW is taking this personally. We have about 1200 volunteers at work. The majority of them are widows themselves and are HIV positive. But ARV’s have kept their viral loads at an imperceptible level giving them life. ARV’s, however, only suppress the disease. As soon as a patient stops or is forced to discontinue the meds the HIV virus reawakens and slowly but surely death is at the door.

Suddenly, because of the precipitate action of the White House, we’re back to where we were 25 years ago where an HIV diagnosis is 100% fatal.

So there is a rising tide of anxiety as the current stockpile of ARV meds is about to be exhausted. What’s more the aforementioned crop failure in MALAWI has seen the cost of maize meal, their daily staple, increase by 35%. Indeed the cost of everything in MALAWI, ZAMBIA, and SOUTH AFRICA has gone up significantly. Stress is pandemic.

Rather than a wail of woe, however, I choose to see opportunity in this dark picture. We’ve always seen ourselves as lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness, and now, more than ever in our 25 year history I believe WOW has “come to the Kingdom for such a time as this”.

We’ve already increased our food support to Somebody Cares Malawi by 35%. We’ve added a solar electric system to Rob’s Farm in Zambia so that the new maize mill we provided can operate during load shedding hours, and we’ve also funded a solar system for our CHRESO ministry in the rural south.

In Johannesburg our champion ministry CrossConnect have just about completed the second House Nehemiah that we funded last year and it will be focused on the rescue and care of sexually abused girls.

And in war ravaged UKRAINE where our support is so valued we continue to provide food and clothing relief for our partner “Loads of Love” (LOL). We give little public profile to this work but there are several faithful WOW donors who share our compassion for these beleaguered people. Just last week the Russians attacked a neighbourhood a few blocks from one of LOL’s distribution centres with 6 children killed.

The Lord loves “the least of these” and so do we in Jesus’ name. Money is no issue for Him. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and will supply our need according to his riches in glory. All we need to do is to stay faithful and keep growing.

Which we will.

Jim

One Hand Up. One Hand Down.

Written by Jim Cantelon on October 12, 2023. Posted in Blog.

Kathy and I will be in Africa as you read this letter.

We try to be there at least twice each year in compliance with government “monitoring & evaluation” requirements. But we find it’s so very important to be there to meet with our champion ministries and their orphans and widows both to inspire and to be updated in person. Every visit, however, we wonder who’s inspiring whom.

The widows inspire us with their child-like trust in God even as they live in abject poverty and disease.

They love Kathy especially. Whenever we enter a dusty rural village the children gather about her and follow wherever she goes. Sometimes a group of them will reach up and take her hands as she walks. One time I saw four children on each hand!

This total trust in “Momma Kattie”, as they call her, has often reminded me of a little song we used to sing as children in Sunday School:

And the picture of their hands reaching up and Kathy’s reaching down captures it.

We are just like them in so many ways. We may not be impoverished or diseased but we ARE ultimately totally dependant on the Lord. This may be why Jesus said we’re to be like “little children” in our trust and obedience. We reach up even as our Father reaches down.

This hand-in-hand relationship is what the Father seeks. He has taken the initiative. He has reached down. And his love captures our heart – so we reach up.

You need to know that our entire ministry with WOW is predicated on this truth. The orphans and widows in their desperate plight are reaching up to the Lord by reaching up for our hands. We too reach up to the Lord and down to them. As we do so we see ourselves as your hands extended to them in the name of Jesus. This truly is a partnership between heaven and earth.

So it’s one hand up and one hand down. Our faithful offerings of our time, talent, and treasure are the evidence of our trust and obedience as we humbly seek to do His will.

We truly value you! You are proven friends of “the least of these”. We’re so grateful for your support.

It’s Something Extraordinary!

Written by Jim Cantelon on June 14, 2023. Posted in Blog.

Once a year WOW does something extraordinary!

In cooperation with a proven Christian global organization, “Health Partners International”, we are able to provide desperately needed medications to our African ministries at a 7:1 match. This, of course, means that our donated funds are magnified 7 times, as is the volume of pharma we are able to ship.

One of the areas where we administer these vital medications is in the Siavonga region of southern Zambia. Situated on the shores of the man-made Lake Kariba and bordering Zimbabwe, it is a semi-arid, harsh, remote area thinly populated by the historic Tonga people. It is unserviced and impoverished in every way. Thankfully, with our Lusaka-based ministry partner CHRESO, we are engaged in vital health care for approximately 5,000 of “the least of these” every month.

A saintly nurse practitioner named “Suitebertha” (pronounced Sweet-Bertha), with a skeleton staff and a well equipped 3 ton box van, does a circuit to 27 remote, rough hewn clinics. Faithfully, week after week, she and her driver-cum-triage nurse- cum-orderly-cum-mechanic process up to 150 people a day. She is truly an “angel of mercy” to her suffering clients. The people gather at these humble way stations as dawn breaks and patiently await her arrival. A cheer erupts as they see the dust trail of the van on the horizon and they greet Suitebertha with joy and not a few shouts of praise to God.

Every patient has a file and every medication is recorded, as is their current health status. It’s a totally efficient operation. We travelled to Siavonga last September and it was humbling for Kathy and me to witness the relief and gratitude on the people’s faces. As they gave thanks to the Lord so did we!

The medications we are able to provide are the “over-the-counter” products like pain killers, cold medicines, topical skin salves, antiseptics, etc. – all of which are unavailable apart from what we can provide. Our costs also include shipping, which can range from $16,000 to $20,000 for the air transport of meds overseas.

So with gratitude in my heart I encourage you to join us in this extraordinary opportunity to give a generous gift at a $7 – $1 ratio to the Lord’s dearly loved Tonga orphans and widows in Siavonga.

Together we have been faithfully ministering to thousands of orphans and widows in Jesus’ name for 23 years. What a privilege, what an honor! Such a blessing to bless others and hear them, from their hearts, give thanks and glory to the Lord.

A Thank Offering

Written by Jim Cantelon on April 13, 2023. Posted in Blog.

Gratitude to God is a critical core value of the believer – both for who God is and what He faithfully provides.

Closely allied to thankfulness is remembrance. The Lord wants us to remember Him, not only when we worship, but in our daily life choices as well. And it’s always important to praise Him. Indeed, our prayer life should be more about thanking than asking.

So, in this brief letter I want to thank the Lord for you, our faithful supporters, and I want to thank Him for our champions in sub-Saharan Africa who are so true to their calling in caring for dying orphans and widows. Together we are a team representing the hands and feet of Jesus to “the least of these”.

Over the past 23 years we have partnered with you and our champions in ministering to literally thousands of at-risk orphans and widows. Some of these vulnerable ones have died but many more have lived. In fact my heart swells with gratitude when I see a lot of our current local church based volunteers active in care for the dying when only a few years ago they were dying too. They tell me they do it as a thank offering to the Lord for saving their own lives. They remember and they’re grateful. And, by the way, a “thank offering” is very biblical! (see Leviticus ch.7).

We’re thankful for CrossConnect in SA with our champions Kyle and Niki Tolman caring for over 3,000 in an area stricken with abject poverty, crime, and hopelessness. The new “House Nehemiah” (which you helped purchase) is providing much needed refuge for women and children needing emergency rescue.

We’re thankful for Eric Mwambelo and his team bringing Home Based Care (HBC) to a multitude of orphans and widows in central Zambia.We were thrilled to see the increase in enthusiastic, next-generation volunteers taking hold of the vision for HBC.

We’re thankful for Theresa Malila and Keta Ngosi of Somebody Cares who touch the humble homes of thousands in the rural villages of Malawi with faithful Home Based Care.

And we’re thankful for our Indian champions caring for the poorest of the poor on the streets and in the slums of a major city (due to recent crackdowns on Christian charities in India we’ve been asked to refrain from any online or social media reference to our partners by name).

And last but certainly not least we’re thankful for our ministry partners in Ukraine whom we’re assisting with food and warm winter clothing for a myriad of displaced orphans and widows.

So thankful that Kathy and I have decided to double our monthly gift to WOW this month as our “thank offering”. Perhaps you’d like to do the same? Or your thank offering might be an amount over and above.

Whatever the case let’s offer up a thank offering to the Lord…

For great is His faithfulness!

Jim Cantelon – President
WOW – Working for Orphans & Widows

Wrap up a Bicycle

Written by Jim Cantelon on December 5, 2022. Posted in Blog.

In September Kathy and I flew to Africa to visit our champion partners in South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. It had been Three Long Years since our last visit. So good to connect in person rather than the stopgap ZOOM meetings we’d conducted during the Covid pandemic. We were grateful and humbled to see that our ministry to at-risk orphans and widows has grown and is thriving.Kathy called it “The Fruit of our Labor” trip

It was especially gratifying to see that the workforce of local church-based volunteers continues to grow as well with the involvement of a whole new group of fresh young twenty-somethings! Many were vulnerable orphans when we first met twenty years ago. Now they’re “giving back” in Jesus’ name.

As we accompanied the volunteers we discovered that many of these “angels of mercy” walk an average of 20 miles a day (!), to provide Home Based Care (HBC) to the many suffering souls in very remote areas. That’s 20 miles over rutted, almost impassable roads in relentless heat.
20 miles of blowing dust and exposure to the elements… 20 miles of thirst…

Women walking alone can be especially vulnerable to the risk of sexual assault.

I stopped and “Did the Math”. At an average walking speed of 2.5 miles an hour that’s 8 hours per day! At an average speed of 10 miles per hour on a bike their travel time would be reduced from 8 hours to 2 hours. Can you imagine their relief?

It was clear to us that they needed bicycles. A bicycle for them is like giving a car to someone in North America. It’s HUGE.

The last time we gave bicycles to our volunteers was 10 years ago. We saw many of those 10-year-old “work-horses” at a recent gathering of over 600 people at Kapunula Village in rural Malawi. Parked under the trees, row upon row of well-used (& well-loved) bicycles. We were pleased to see them in good working order and highly valued!

Bicycles are needed! The number of new volunteers requires a new infusion of these two-wheeled wonders. We need to provide scores more.

With a bulk order we can purchase them for about $100 per bicycle. And another $10 will provide a repair kit. For such a small amount we can literally liberate a godly volunteer.

And what joy to celebrate Jesus’ birth by the gift of a bicycle to dedicated volunteers working as his hands and feet providing vital life giving ministry to “the least of these”.

So I’m inviting you to “Wrap Up a Bicycle” this Christmas! Let’s do it for love’s sake!
And Merry Christmas!

Jim Cantelon – President
WOW – Working for Orphans & Widows

A Double Blessing

Written by Jim Cantelon on September 23, 2022. Posted in Blog.

I think we’re all troubled by the world of hurt in which we live. On the heels of a slow three-year COVID-19 retreat we’re suddenly facing serious environmental news – major rivers drying up (Germany’s Rhine, the Colorado in the US, the Yangtze in China, and even the Jordan in Israel), horrific pollution of “sacred” rivers in Nepal and India, scorching heat in Europe and the UK, wildfires and drought threatening global food supply, flooding and earthquake… to say nothing of the universal collateral damage of the ongoing war in Ukraine. As is often the case in history Africa seems to be bearing the brunt of much of this adversity.

As a valued partner in WOW’s ministry you’re committed to bringing some healing to the beleaguered “least of these” as Jesus put it. Because you care I’d like to bring you an update on the recent challenges of our African and Indian ministries and what your prayer and giving is accomplishing.

As is the case everywhere costs have escalated. Fuel prices have doubled, porridge is up 81%, bars of soap are up 300%, while the local currency (the Kwacha) has been devalued by 25%. These increases directly impact the Home Based Care (HBC) of thousands of at-risk orphans and widows. And the “lowest of the low”, elderly widows, are suffering the most.

Yet there has been an increase in local church volunteers who have initiated a program linking young Christian teens and adults with what they’re calling “surrogate grannies” so that these senior souls will be comforted and cared for.

What’s more our “Home of Mercy” in Lilongwe is expanding. YOU responded generously to our Matching Fund appeal to build added facilities for this vital safe house compound for young widows and at-risk girl orphans who’ve been sexually abused. And, to further encourage you, our champions “Somebody Cares” report that their evangelism outreach has never been greater. It’s dark out there but SC is lighting a candle in 35,000 humble homes.

My wife Kathy and I began WOW’s ministry 22 years ago, responding to the ravages of the HIV&AIDS pandemic in South Africa. We’ve been engaged there ever since, even as we’ve expanded to Zambia, Malawi, India, and most recently Ukraine.

Our ministry champion in SA is “Cross Connect” who has established an effective ministry in an “irregular settlement” (read squatter camp). With strong support from a partner church, WOW has recently funded the purchase of a large home to be a safe house for orphans and widows in duress called “House Nehemiah”. Much needed renovations are almost complete. They’re already flooded with desperate calls for help. It’s such a privilege, and responsibility, to be the Lord’s hands and feet for these precious souls.

WOW has a significant signature in Zambia comprised of two champion ministries.“Impact Community Outreach” (ICO) in Kabwe is centrally located in the nation with a semi-urban/rural HBC ministry to hundreds of HIV&AIDS and COVID-19 afflicted orphans and widows. All costs have doubled, in some cases tripled, during the COVID pandemic.When the local clinics prescribe medications there’s often no drugs to fill the prescriptions, and when there are drugs there’s no money to purchase them. So ICO relies on WOW to help fund those vital meds.The latest news is a bit disturbing: there’s a sudden resurgence of drug resistant TB (tuberculosis). Much prayer for protection of the vulnerable needed. Nevertheless ICO is soldiering on with more impact than ever in its history. All in Jesus’ name…

Our other Zambian champion ministry is CHRESO (from a Greek word “crezo” – “need”).Their work is comprehensive and national in scope. WOW helps support their work with orphans and widows afflicted with HIV. Our engagement with CHRESO is both urban with a clinic in Lusaka for those living with HIV, and rural via mobile clinics in impoverished villages. The need is relentless. Costs have doubled.

Due to a recent governmental crackdown on Christian charities there is little that can be said in terms of the name and location of our champion ministry in India.Yet there is great progress in spite of the adversity. Our ministry there has just increased its reach to the number of orphans and widows suffering from both HIV and COVID-19 complications and they have recently included two unreached people groups who are considered sub if not non-human by Indians: Gypsies and “Snake Catchers”(!).The Gypsies are homeless and the Snake Catchers are outcasts as they catch venomous snakes to protect rural villagers.Talk about the “least of these”! Their costs, like our other champion ministries, have doubled.

As you know WOW has been helping fund the feeding needs of hundreds of widows and orphans as they flee the war and are temporarily housed in churches that have become refugee centers.We are only a small player in this massive crisis but by God’s grace we, and YOU, are making a difference. We need to double our support.

A Double Cost requires a Double Blessing!

I’m calling on you, especially if you’re a monthly donor, to consider increasing or even doubling your gift to WOW at least for the short term. We don’t expect the COVID pandemic in Africa and India nor the war in Ukraine to last indefinitely. But between now and then, at this very vulnerable time,WOW is committed to meeting the need “according to God’s riches in glory”.

Please do your best as always.

Jim Cantelon – President

WOW – Working for Orphans & Widows

Light a Candle in the Darkness

Written by Jim Cantelon on June 27, 2022. Posted in Blog.

I don’t think any of us of the post-Second World War generation have ever experienced such dark times. There’s no need to list the litany of troubles facing us from natural disasters to pandemics and brutal regional wars. Our world is in a dark place.

But as tough as it is for us, living in the relative peace and abundance of North America, think of the pain experienced by the poor and war torn. As a supporter of WOW you’re invested in their plight.Whether it’s orphans and widows in sub-Saharan Africa and India afflicted with two pandemics – HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, or in Ukraine subjected to “Putin’s War” and fleeing in their millions, we are in a small but committed way lighting a candle in the thick darkness.

Our little light is shining in Ukraine where we are assisting a network of churches caring for desperate orphans and widows by providing food. So basic yet so necessary. Your response to our “Ukraine Rescue” appeal has been amazing!

Sexual abuse (Gender Based Violence or GBV) of young widows and girl orphans is a grim ongoing darkness in many of the countries in which we work. A few years ago we funded the construction of a safe house in Malawi for these vulnerable females through our partner “Somebody Cares”. The home is called the “Home of Mercy”. Scores of abused women and girls have been given refuge there. It is is now a walled compound of peace and serenity and has gained national prominence as a Christian response to GBV.

It has reached capacity, however, and there is an urgent need to expand its facilities. One of our long term supporters has just offered to provide half of the needed funds as WOW raises the other half – a TWO to ONE MATCH. The overall cost will be in the range of $100,000.

Here’s an opportunity for us to light another candle and dispel the darkness of GBV in Malawi.

It’s simply a candle, but as the old saying states, “It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness”. Yes we are that candle. Together we are chasing the night shadows away. Will you help?

I’m sure you will. In Jesus’ name we will light the flame.

Summer is upon us. Ours will probably be a time of rest and relaxation but let us not forget the unrest of others. Without our help, theirs will be “a summer of discontent”.

I want to thank you for your faithfulness. And for remembering WOW. You are pillars!

Let’s keep the candle burning.

Many blessings,

Jim Cantelon
Founder & President

Ukraine Orphan Rescue

Written by Jim Cantelon on May 11, 2022. Posted in Blog.

The world is in uproar since I last wrote to you. The conflict in Ukraine is dominating our lives, easily eclipsing the ongoing Covid crisis. While we watch in horror, “Putin’s war” as it’s called, continues to decimate cities and human lives. Every day brings new destruction. Indeed by the time this letter reaches you there will be, no doubt, much more sorrow than I can refer to as I write.

At this point over 3 million refugees have fled, mostly women and children, including many orphans. As a ministry that has focused on African and Indian orphans and widows for 22 years there is no way that we can ignore this painful new horizon of orphan care.

As you know WOW is committed to working through the agency of local church pastors and volunteers in the care of these desperately vulnerable and precious souls. We also hold as a core value that our “champions” be relationally known to and trusted by us. Love and accountability must be in the partnering equation. So it’s vital that if we’re to work in Ukraine and Poland there must be a pastoral/relational base.

Thankfully that base exists. A pastor whom I’ve known and trusted for over 40 years has been overseeing a network of Ukrainian and Polish churches for several years from Slovakia. He’s a proven champion, especially now as those very churches have become refugee centers, opening their buildings for desperate women and children. These local church “safe havens” have also become rescuers of orphans. Just a few days ago (as I write) 60 orphans were bused through the night to safety in Poland. As you can expect they need funding to continue for hundreds of orphans yet to come. This, of course, is a no-brainer for us.

So I’m appealing to you to help us help these helpless souls fleeing the pounding destruction of Russian bombs. We’ve already sent our first tranche of funds but there’s so much more that we must provide to these heroic churches. This will not be at the expense of our Africa/India work but will be above and beyond. We may be only small players but we must do our part in the rescue of Ukrainian orphans.

We’ll continue to be your arm extended to a world of hurt.