“Take My name and My love into the hard places of the world.”

The inner voice was unmistakable. “Rescue the children.”

This is the mandate Dave Ohlerking and his wife Jean heard in 1992 as they founded Children’s Cup International Relief.

Having served as missionaries in Asia and Europe starting in 1970, Dave & Jean were asked to direct an international relief organization with projects in 53 countries. They directed the construction of 176 schools, fielding of 76 mobile clinics, famine relief in Sudan and Ethiopia, and the feeding up to 500,000 children every day.

In 1992 the Ohlerkings sensed a very specific call to launch a new organization intensely focused on the hard places of the world such as Vietnam (Dave had been in the final evacuation of Saigon in 1975), Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines, as well as sub-Saharan Africa.

In 1992 Dave met with the Vietnam Minister of Health, Ngo Van Hop, in Hanoi and asked for permission to do relief projects in Vietnam. The meeting that started out rather icy thawed when Dave told the Minister, “I don’t want our children to ever fight each other again.”

Dave’s next statement was a make-or-break moment. Showing his Bible, Dave said, “I believe this book is the Word of God. I try to live by its words and it tells me to help hurting people—even if they have been called my enemy.”

The minister was silent for a moment and then dismissed Dave saying, “I will consider this and let you know.”

Later that afternoon the Ministry of Health called and said to go to Vietnam’s chief surgical hospital and meet the Chief Surgeon. That meeting opened the entire country of Vietnam to Children’s Cup projects.

In 1995 Jean Ohlerking and Dr. Ramona Dicks sang a Gospel concert in the Hanoi Opera House—Vietnam’s Carnegie Hall. Government officials, diplomats, and general population filled the hall as the “New Beginnings” concert was presented.

Children’s Cup has continued to provide relief for Hanoi’s hurting children—including the Agent Orange Kids.

In the mid-1980’s the world cried as televisions showed the famines in Africa. Dave directed the movement of nine thousand tons of relief commodities into Sudan and Ethiopia.

Southern Africa received less publicity and as the media shifted its focus to other news, “compassion fatigue” set in. America largely quit helping the victims. Dave kept the focus on the Saharan famine as well as the war and famine in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Dave and his team delivered 65 thousand tons of relief commodities into the hands of the people in the African hot spots.

In the late 1980’s the war in Mozambique ended and 250,000 refugees staying in Zimbabwe were repatriated to their homes in Mozambique.

This left the infrastructure of five refugee camps largely vacant. But not for long. The AIDS pandemic broke wide open and some of the refugee camps became centers for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children (OVC’s). Children’s Cup made a major commitment to help these children.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of famine and a collapsing economy (inflation is more than 1,000 percent). This tragic situation is growing even worse by the increased use of food as a political weapon - to be allowed to receive relief food, people must swear allegiance to a certain political party.

Tinotenda’s story sets the perspective. This three-year-old’s mother could no longer cope. She just gave up and threw Tinotenda into a toilet pit to get rid of him. He was found near death, brought to Children’s Cup’s people and nursed back to health.

In 2003 Children’s Cup added Swaziland to its operations. By building a network of CarePoints in densely populated urban areas, as well as in peri-urban and rural areas, Children’s Cup cares for thousands of Swazi children every day, giving them food, education, medical attention and spiritual training. The youth are also taken to Bible Camps several times a year where in-depth character shaping occurs.

US ambassadors and Swazi government officials have identified ‘Cup’s CarePoints as models for OVC care for international consideration.

In recent months ‘Cup has launched a major effort in Mozambique and Zimbabwe following the Swaziland model with the added dynamic of having each CarePoint also serve as a community church.

The story of Children’s Cup is truly just beginning. God has already done so much but there is so much more to do, so many more children yet to smile and so much more Hope to give.