At Children's Relief International our most valuable assets are our people. We are proud of those who work with us.
Our Partners
Pastor Jeronimo and Noemia Cessito
Jeronimo and Noemia are the directors of the Ray of Light project in Dondo, Mozambique. Jeronimo is the senior pastor of Dondo Baptist Church and the director of the El Shaddai Christian school. Noemia manages the project's preschools, feeding programs, medical clinic, and hospice ministry.
George and Jane Kairie
George and Jane are the directors of the Mayatima Project in Nairobi, Kenya. Almost 10 years ago their family fled their home in Northern Kenya because of a tribal uprising. They saved themselves but lost everything else, including his job as a school principal and hers as a nurse. They moved to their ancestral land in Kikuyu county on the outskirts of Nairobi. There they found numbers of HIV affected orphans with no one to care for them. Today, in partnership with CRI, they manage a child sponsorship program, a farm and a micro-finance program.
Isaiah and Surekha Babu Gottimukkala
Pastor Isaiah and his wife Surekha are the founders of the Rajah Boys Home for orphaned and hardship children in southern India. These children come from the Deep Forest location in the rural areas outside their city.
Our Missionaries
John and Cindy Pieper
The Piepers moved from rural Anamosa, Iowa to serve with us in Dondo, Mozambique. John is in charge of construction at the El Shaddai school where he leads a team of local workers that he has trained. Cindy is a nurse and serves at the Ray of Light medical clinic and hospice ministry. jcpmart@netins.net.
Janine Westlund
Formerly from Minnesota and Denver, Janine serves as our Mozambique Field Leader, Mission Team Host and helps with teacher training at the Ray of Light preschools and at El Shaddai. jaywest18@earthlink.net
Carl Califano
Carl is our Project Developer for the Mayatima project in Kenya. He remains an active businessman but finds time to oversee the management of the Mayatima farm and micro-finance program. He and his wife Paula live in Salem, Oregon. c.califano@comcast.net
Phil and Pam Johnson
Pam and Phil are retired "Finishers" coming out of First Baptist Church in Powell, Wyoming to serve with us at the Ray of Light Project in Mozambique. Phil leads our Green Door Housing, building homes for those who have none. Pam works with Project Life outreach to widows in the community and their children. She also assists with our child sponsorship program.
Todd and Christa Bush
Todd is currently the youth pastor at 2nd Baptist Church in Auburn, New York. He and his wife Christa, along with their twins, are raising support to serve at the Ray of Light Project in Mozambique. He will work in leadership training of young men in the community while Christa will use her medical background in various capacities. The Bushs plan to move to Dondo for 4-months beginning in July 2008.
Jason & Lindy Pieratt
Jason and Lindy are raising support to serve with us as a Mission Team Facilitators to India and Mozambique. Within the next two years they will serve for a time at the Ray of Light Project in Mozambique. Lindy is a CPA and Jason's background is in elementary education and educational management. They currently live in Dallas. pie_ratt@yahoo.com
Our Volunteers
Krystal Burns
Krystal is an MK from Brazil and is raising support to help with recruitment and short-term team management. She, Niall and their daughter live in Houston. krystalburns@hotmail.com
Lee Nordstrum
Lee is a research assistant for grant proposals, country and project background, and advisor to our educational work. He and his wife Elizabeth live in France.
Rebekah Casteel Latchis
Rebekah is a Director of Corporate Responsibility for Bon Secours Health System. She is our resource person for legal questions and issues. She and her husband reside in Washington DC.
Our USA Staff
Alan Pieratt
Alan wears two hats. One is his role as founder and president of CRI. The other is his role as Relief Ministries Coordinator with WorldVenture. The partnership between these two organizations is as unique as it is effective. Together they have launched the overseas ministries represented in this web site. You can reach Alan at support@childrensrelief.com
As you can read in the section, A brief history of Children's Relief International, CRI is a young organization, founded in Chicago in March of 2000. Its primary distinctives are a commitment to work with the very poor using indigenous leaders to lead and direct the projects.
WorldVenture, on the other hand, is one of the largest mission sending agencies in the US today with over 500 full time missionaries serving around the globe. Founded in the 1940s, it is known for the quality of its human resources. You can learn more by visiting their web site www.worldventure.org.
Melody Pieratt
Melody oversees missionary and project newsletters, directs the child sponsorship program, and manages short-term team logistics. She loves to send and receive mail at mpieratt@comcast.net
Kristen Pieratt
Kristen is the communications assistant and spends most of her time managing newsletter production and website editing. She also communicates regularly with project directors overseas. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and son. kristen@childrensrelief.org
Maggie Rother
Maggie does our receipting. She's a science teacher and lives with her husband John and three children in rural Nebraska.
Cyndi Lemmon
Cyndi is our child sponsorship coordinator and handles the many details that go into the program. She and her husband Miles live in Columbia, Missouri. childrelief@mchsi.com
