Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, March 2012: Kenya's Children Find Hope through Christian Recording Artist Brandon Scott Smith

Kenya's Children Find Hope through Christian Recording Artist Brandon Scott Smith

NEWS SOURCE: Nashville Publicity
March 13, 2012

(ATLANTA, Georgia) -- An opportunity to lead worship at a pastoral conference in Africa led to a life-altering personal mission for Christian recording artist Brandon Scott Smith, who has partnered with Kenya-based Manna Ministries to create the No Hungry Children initiative. The program will directly affect and potentially save the lives of thousands of poverty-stricken children each year.

In 2002, Smith took his first mission trip to Africa, where he led worship for a pastors' conference in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In two weeks time, he had little interaction with the locals, and the continent's vast poverty and devastation. But a trip to Kenya for another conference four years later was an entirely different experience. Instead of hotels and missionary housing, Smith stayed with a local pastor's family, and the less-than-ideal conditions of the poor community were eye-opening. Smith, a father of four, decided to partner with Kenya's Manna Ministries to help develop a feeding program in the slum schools of Nairobi.

"After seeing the children in the slums of Nairobi first-hand, there was no way I could come back to my comfortable life in Atlanta and do nothing to help these children. My life was forever changed."

Smith has launched a new initiative to raise $120,000 annually, so that an additional 2,000 children can eat each year, since it only costs $60 to feed a child for a full year.

On May 19th, No Hungry Children will hold a benefit festival at Bergfeld Park in Tyler, TX. The all-day event, sponsored by Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-a, Jason's Deli and State Farm Insurance, will include a variety of events for the whole family, including food, silent auction and musical performances.

Smith is also donating 100% of the sales of his latest album, See the Glory, to the No Hungry Children initiative. The first single, "Can't Get Enough," is currently being serviced to Christian radio stations nationwide.

"With 100% of the donated funds going directly to purchase the food, it only takes $1 to feed 1 child for 1 week. I still can't believe how little it takes to make such a HUGE difference. I won't rest until we're feeding them all.

For more information, visit www.nohungrychildren.org and www.brandonscottsmith.net.

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