What if there was a way to rescue orphaned and abandoned children living on the streets and in the dump grounds of third world countries and to empower them to reach their full potential so that they might become future leaders in government, business, medicine and ministry and change their countries? This was the question that began to form in the hearts and minds of David and Rachel Gallagher while on a trip to Kenya.  At the time, Rachel was working as a pediatric intensive care nurse, having served on the front lines of third world poverty while working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta.  David was putting together large evangelistic outreach festivals for the Luis Palau Association.Touched by the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the children in Kenya and motivated by their conviction that these children could move mountains if given the chance, David and Rachel began to form a vision for what would later become Open Arms International.  They developed an idea to create secure and productive, eventually self-sustaining “Village Communities” where kids, orphaned by aids, civil war, disease and other tragic circumstances would be given an opportunity to reach their full potential, encouraged to pursue their dreams and trained to make those dreams a reality.  These villages would raise up new generations of leaders equipped to confront the difficult issues facing their people and to effect lasting change within their countries.  The first Village would be near the city of Eldoret, Kenya.In 2008, the newly formed Open Arms International purchased 52 beautiful acres in the Kenya Highlands on which to build Open Arms Village. Soon after that purchase, construction began of Family Homes for orphaned and abandoned children who were living in the streets and garbage dumps in Eldoret.  The first family home was completed in 2010, and today, in 2012, six family homes have been completed as well as a baby home for infants.  Each home is staffed with a loving married, Kenyan Christian couple who serve as permanent parents for the children in their home.Open Arms Academy was also opened in 2010 providing quality education for otherwise hopeless children, and it is currently receiving the highest test scores of any school in the district.  In 2012 Open Arms Academy opened its doors to receive tuition paying students from outside of Open Arms Village, children from the nearby communities.  As a result, Open Arms Academy is now financially self-sufficient for day to day operations.When this first prototype Open Arms Village is complete it will have approximately 175 rescued children in 11 family  homes,  and a modern school, a small teaching clinic, adequate office space, comfortable lodging for guests and work teams, a children’s play ground, a soccer field,  and a multi-purpose facility.  This dream is rapidly becoming reality while lives are being changed and leaders are being built.  Today, Africa is being transformed…One Life at a Time.