our history
Orchard: Africa started in 1991 as a church ministry in Mafikeng, South Africa in response to vulnerable children rummaging through the city garbage dump for food. A few people from the church decided to cook a pot of food and, under the shade of an Acacia tree, feed these children.
From this compassionate response, the organization, Orchard: Africa, was born.
For the first ten years Orchard: Africa grew from being a church-led feeding project for thirty children to becoming a multi-programmed response to the daily social and economic injustices that plagued vulnerable communities in South Africa.
The next 15 years saw Orchard: Africa grow beyond being a church outreach programme to become a registered ministry in its own right. Orchard: Africa moved beyond the town of Mafikeng, grew exponentially, and extended its reach to over 800 community churches and 100 funded projects in sub-Saharan Africa.