MercyAIDS was founded by Holger Lorentz from Germany. Holger served 13 years with Youth With A Mission in South Africa and Texas, USA. During that time he received training and taught at YWAM’s Christian school. For two years he was also involved in relief work in the Americas, Asia and Albania/Kosovo. Until 2003 he worked at Beautiful Gate in Crossroads in a home for children with HIV/AIDS.
Holger and his wife Kay joined Father’s House Christian Fellowship in 2000.
Since 2004 Holger is the project manager for the German NPO “Helfen In Verantwortung e.V.” In 2005 they started to get involved in Fisantekraal. With the help of the local clinic which is run by a Christian organisation the most needy families infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS were identified. These families receive regular food and other support since then.
Since the end of 2005 Holger is also involved in Philippi Trust’s camp work with vulnerable children. Through that work he got to know the “Mother Teresa of Mfuleni”, Regina Gcwabe. With little funds beside her small pension she ran a soup kitchen, took care of needy or sick adults and children in many ways, and had taken in several children into her own house. Her dream was to have a children’s home. Out of her own money she had already raised up walls for three big rooms and a bathroom on her property. She had no money to complete it until God crossed our paths and joined our hearts together. Within a few months the necessary money was raised in Germany and within FHCF to complete the rooms, bathroom and kitchen and furnish the rooms. MercyAIDS has supported the home ever since and also supported the soup kitchen until Regina’s untimely death, because she had always cared more about the needs of others even on expense of her own. Since her death her daughter Nondumiso is in charge of the home. There are currently 13 children and 4 adults in the home.
In 2008 Kay meet Patricia who was running a project for children and adults in Dunoon. Soon FHCF provided funds for food to help their crèche and after care program. A year later H.I.V.e.V. received funds for playground equipment and toys and also started to help with food. Both these supports continue. Kay and PT have provided several training for their workers and we had a few camps for their children as well.
So MercyAIDS’s regular areas of support are Fisantekraal, the Mfuleni home and Dunoon.
