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Residents of the Acts 3 Children’s Home in Malawi have built bonds with local resident Randy McEwen. The smiles on their faces hint of hope, love and friendship.
Hiwassee Dam Randy McEwen has a heart for serving others. Born in 1969 in Powder Springs, Ga., he grew up and graduated from high school in Lithia Springs.
He recalled working at Six Flags amusement park as a youngster. When asked if he got to ride the roller coaster for free, he said, “Yes, it was nice because they would have employee night and close the park early and supervisors would operate the rides just for the employees for several hours.”
McEwen attended college, receiving a bachelor’s in business at South University in Savannah, Ga. He continued his education at Liberty University in Virginia, earning a master of divinity degree.
For the last 20 years, he has been director of missions for Acts 3 Global Ministries, overseeing local and foreign missions. Locally, he’s part of running a thrift store in the Savannah area, which helps raise money for the ministry.
“I also travel to foreign countries and establish a presence there to do pastor and leadership training, as well as church planting and feeding programs,” McEwen said.
In 2001, he founded the Act 3 Children’s Home in Malawi, Africa. The orphanage was created when McEwen went to Africa for the first time and saw little children roaming the streets unattended. They were dirty, wearing trash bags, and small children were carrying even smaller children. They were also picking through the garbage.
At the time, he thought the kids had terrible parents. It wasn’t until McEwen was ready to leave after his trip to the region that he realized the parents weren’t bad – the kids simply had no parents. They were orphans.
At the time in Africa, there were 15 million people with 2 million orphans under age 15.
“Many had died from such things as AIDS, malaria, TB and poor nutrition,” McEwen said. “One in six had AIDS at that time, and the life expectancy for women was about 41 years of age, and for men the average was 39.”
“Over there, they practice a lot of voodoo, witchcraft and such. We’d find these little street kids who had been raped and abused. Nothing has broken my heart more than seeing what people can do to these kids.”
It was then that McEwen realized they needed to do something to help these children. The Act 3 Children’s Home was started, but it was a tough build.
“In that area there’s a lot of corruption, it took months to get the permits because we refused to pay the government officials’ kickbacks and bribes,” he said.
They started building in 2005, and it took two years to complete. Since then, the Acts 3 Children’s Home stands as a beacon of hope, able to house up to 96 children.
The 10,000-square-foot building has within its walls a medical suite, dental office, dining hall and full kitchen, as well as a barber shop and two large classrooms teaching children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
When asked what his favorite part of his work is, McEwen said, “Seeing lives changed – and it’s not gospel, especially for places like Malawi that’s so poor. For these people, it’s mind-boggling that God would send somebody 10,000 miles just to bring them hope.”
Future plans include phasing out the day-to-day operations in Savannah in order to focus more on foreign missions. His greatest influence in his life has been God.
“Outside of the Lord, it would definitely be my wife, Julie,” McEwen said with enthusiasm.
He enjoys teaching and investing in other people, making them better in any way he can. His other interests include hiking, kayaking and outdoor activities like checking out waterfalls, exploring and walking.
McEwen and Julie have been blessed with two grown children and three grandchildren. He credits his successes to finally giving up control of his earlier years to Jesus after living life for three decades on his own terms and “in the flesh.”
“I felt like I was drowning in quicksand,” he said. “Just surrendering to God’s will is the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”
In their 20-plus years, the McEwens have never asked for money nor have spoken to the church members about needing money. However, when they began building the orphanage, they would receive checks for large amounts of money from people they didn’t even know, with the funds arriving right on time.
They’ve never lacked for resources, which McEwen believes is solely by the grace of God.
For details, visit Acts3.org or call 912-826-2981.