OMF Special Update April 2007

Dear All

Don’t worry, not another newsletter! Those of you who struggled to the end of the last one may have picked up a cryptic reference to “some important news” I needed to share, and finally I want to clarify what I meant, so I would like to share the following with you as our friends and supporters.

Recently I had 3 weeks leave which I enjoyed immensely. As well as relaxing, I was able to take the time to take stock of how things are going in all aspects of our work here. It is now nearly 4 years since I took over as CEO of Zambian Airways, and I have been extremely busy over that time, in particular during the last 12 months. I have felt for some time that this was taking an excessive toll on health and family life, and in addition the work amongst the boys has taken more and more time and effort. Towards the end of last year, the Chairman and major shareholder in the company announced that he planned to come into the company on a full time basis as CEO. Over the past 4 years we worked hard together and have been fairly successful in growing the business from very small beginnings, including restoring profitability and increasing annual turnover from $3.6 million to $18 million (if you are interested see the attached article from the Wall Street Journal).

After some thought, Christine and I decided this was the push I needed, and so I have resigned from my post within the company effective 30 April. I will however remain involved as the board have kindly asked me to serve as a director of the company in charge of business development. I intend to split my time between running a number of business projects I have been approached about, and taking more time looking after the work amongst the boys which I feel is at an important crossroads. On the one hand the needs are greater than ever, and the requests for help overwhelming (more little boys coming on to the street every day, the whole issue of street girls, how can we secure employment for the guys when they “graduate” etc). On the other hand, the interest, concern and support from friends in Zambia, Scotland and elsewhere, seems to have reached an all time high, and the whole thing needs more co-ordination and administration as it grows. I seriously considered working full time in the Street Kids project, but have held back because:

a) I need to earn some money to support the work and the family;

b) I feel keeping contact with the business community is important to encourage them to support the issue of Street Kids; and

c) working full time with the boys would probably drive me crazy in a very short space of time.

So, as the time to make this change comes closer please pray for us that:

· we make the right decisions;

· the administrative issues are dealt with especially with regard to work permits and our being allowed to stay and work in the country; and

· our business efforts succeed so we can continue and expand our work with the boys.

All our love

Don