The Founding of El Shaddai Ministries

Charmain Coertzen, El Shaddai Ministries’ Founder, knew since the age of 13 she was called to the mission field. Her heart for the needy continued to grow, and in obedience to her calling she began her missionary training at Africa School of Missions at age 28.

In 1998, God called Charmain’s family from South Africa to Swaziland to begin a children’s home. He promised her family that provision for the ministry would depend solely on Him, not man. He has remained faithful to that promise for the past 17 years.

God’s abundant provision for El Shaddai has remained nothing short of miraculous as He continues to bless and build this ministry. Through the generosity of donors and partners, El Shaddai has expanded to include a community church, a no-fee school for local children, a garden, and a farm. Charmain believes El Shaddai Ministries can become self-sustaining with God’s continued provision.

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• Vision & Mission
• El Shaddai Currently
• Future Projects
• FAQ

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Vision

​El Shaddai Ministries (ESM) is a safe haven for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected, or abandoned. Providing a loving and Jesus-centered environment for children to live, learn, and grow in, El Shaddai Ministries seeks to raise up leaders who will build a brighter future for the next generations of Swaziland.

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Mission

• Provide a loving home for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected, and abandoned.
• Impact the community surrounding El Shaddai Ministries by offering a free, well-rounded education program for grades 1-12.
• Raise up young leaders who will bring change and a brighter future for Swaziland.
• Give Swaziland's young leaders the opportunities to achieve their dreams through home schooling the teenagers and giving them the opportunity to attend college or university to give them a secure future.​
• Delivering quality medical attention and clinic services to the community with assistance from local government nurses.
• Increase AIDS/HIV awareness and bring the healing and love that can only come from Jesus Christ.
• Support family sustainability by purchasing seed for those in the community who cannot afford to buy their own using funds donated by our financial partners, Compassionate Life Foundation.

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EL SHADDAI CHURCH

This one-room church building is bringing hope and truth not only to the children of El Shaddai, but to the people of the surrounding community as well. Charmain is an ordained minister, and services are held every Sunday morning at 11am. Once a month, guest Pastor Dumsani travels from Mbabane to preach to El Shaddai’s congregation.

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EL SHADDAI CHILDREN'S HOME

The Children’s Home exists in two locations: a home in a city off the mountain for infants and children under age 6, and several dormitories on the mountain including a boy’s dorm and a girl’s dorm, and separate dorms for high school students. From infants to high school seniors, El Shaddai is presently home to approximately 84 children.

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EL SHADDAI PRIMARY SCHOOL

El Shaddai Primary School (grades 1-7) was the first primary school in Swaziland that did not charge school fees for its students. While the school was built by El Shaddai Ministires, children from the community attend the school along with the children of El Shaddai. The school is currently assisted by Swaziland government curriculum and teachers, although the ultimate vision is to use Christian curriculum taught by Christian teachers.

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EL SHADDAI HOME SCHOOL

This past year, we had to pull our high school students out of the local high school due to the environment. Not only was the quality of education not up to our standards, but our youth were being influenced by the strong culture of alcohol and drugs (primarily marijuana). These are common themes in all Swazi high schools, and we felt it was best for our students to be taught at home.

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CLINIC

Adjacent to El Shaddai Church, the clinic is open twice per month to the children and staff of El Shaddai as well as residents of the surrounding community at no charge. It is operated by licensed medical professionals to treat those unable to pay for medical care.

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EL SHADDAI FARM & GARDEN

The property boasts acreage used exclusively to raise farm animals (currently chickens and pigs) as well as a large plot of land for gardening. Both the farm and garden help offset food costs at the Children’s home and provide maize to the school and vegetables to the surrounding community.

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Future Projects

El Shaddai Ministries has high hopes, big faith and wild dreams for the future. God’s provision thus far has been nothing short of miraculous, taking things from seeds of vision to actuality. While some dreams have already come true, there are some still waiting to become reality.

Find out more here about how you can help turn these dreams into reality.
 

1.    SELF-SUSTAINABILITY

One of El Shaddai’s primary goals is to continually work towards self-sustainability. Currently, a garden (growing cabbage, spinach, maize, green peppers, potatoes, and beets, to name a few) and farm (currently chickens and pigs) are helping make this more of a reality every year. The goal of these projects are to:

• Produce enough food to feed the staff and children at El Shaddai
• Have enough surplus to support the needs of the surrounding community

2.    COLLEGE AND HOME SCHOOL FUNDING

Once Swazi youth complete high school, there is often little else they can pursue for their future. Not only does El Shaddai want to see their youth finish high school, but to have the opportunity to attend college.

To see this vision come to fruition, sponsors are encouraged to commit to their sponsored child’s education through the completion of their college education. A college fund separate from sponsorship is currently offered through El Shaddai’s financial partners, Compassionate Life Foundation.

3.    EL SHADDAI PRIMARY SCHOOL

God has already provided the physical buildings that made El Shaddai Primary a reality. Doors were opened allowing the students’ education to be provided for free. The next step in this dream is to incorporate a faith-based curriculum taught by Christian men and women willing to volunteer their time to teach and serve the youth of El Shaddai and the nearby community. 


4.   VOCATIONAL TRADE SCHOOL

Because they are valued as the future of Swaziland, El Shaddai encourages their youth to dream big dreams while working to make those dreams attainable. In addition to developing a college fund, El Shaddai is pursuing opening a vocational trade school staffed by certified instructors.

This school would provide training not only to the children of El Shaddai but the surrounding community who are interested in careers in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical trades, as well as cosmetology and culinary arts. Part of this includes encouraging students to develop their own businesses, producing and selling goods and crafts to support El Shaddai.

EL SHADDAI HIGHER EDUCATION

Beyond providing grade school education, El Shaddai’s dream is to also undertake the creation and staffing of an entirely free, faith-based education curriculum for the community’s high school-aged students. The need for this is tremendous; drugs, alcohol, and sub-par education define current Swazi high schools.

For now, this project is entirely in the seed stage (the detailed building plans approximate the cost at $300,000 USD), and will provide:

• An education facility for grades 8-12
• A science lab
• A computer lab to expose and familiarize the students with technology 
• A full college preparatory curriculum
• An agricultural development building where students will learn good planting practices and proper care of animals
• A home economics building to train students in the basics of household tasks and cooking
• An electrical Workshop.
• A mechanical Workshop.

If you want to help speed this building process along to provide a better education for the children at El Shaddai, please consider supporting us.

Q: How did El Shaddai Ministries (ESM) get started

A: In 1998, God called ESM's founder, Charmain, and her family to Swaziland to begin a children's home. Read more of El Shaddai Ministries' story here

Q: What does "El Shaddai" mean?

A: In the Hebrew language, the name means "The All Sufficient God.

Q: How can I get involved with ESM?

A: Find out how to get involved with ESM by reading more here.

Q: How did El Shaddai Ministries (ESM) get started

A: In 1998, God called ESM's founder, Charmain, and her family to Swaziland to begin a children's home. Read more of El Shaddai Ministries' story here

Q: What does "El Shaddai" mean

​A: In the Hebrew language, the name means "The All Sufficient God."

Q: How can I get involved with ESM?

A: Find out how to get involved with ESM by reading more here.

Q: What is a "Children's Home"?​

A: A "children's home" is a home for orphaned, abandoned, abused, and neglected children of all ages. The children are provided with a safe and loving place to live, learn, and grow until they are equipped to provide a better life for themselves as adults

Q: How many children do you serve

A: El Shaddai Ministries currently cares for about 84 children between the ages of birth and 23 years old

Q: Why should I get involved with El Shaddai Ministries (ESM)

A: Swaziland has the highest percentage of orphans and abandoned children in the world, and El Shaddai Ministries exists to provide a safe haven for those children. El Shaddai is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization dependent on sponsorships, partnerships, donations, and volunteers in order to accomplish these goals. Read more about what El Shaddai Ministries does here.