River Refuge International Inc

The River Refuge International was formed in September 2016 as a Community Development Corporation by Pastor Terrell Scott. The Malachi Project, started under The River Refuge originally started in Pastor Terrell’s living room, serving the children in the neighborhood. 

Our vision is to see the next generation transformed for the glory of God, to impact them in such a way that it transforms their families and community and breaks the power of generational curses and poverty.

The Malachi Project is structured to address the multi-faceted needs of the children being raised below the poverty level and in single mom households including education, mentoring, counseling, social skills, financial awareness, and spiritual/emotional support. We also provide meals for the kids. The educational element of the program is designed to align with the local school's curriculum and provide tutoring at the lowest possible tutor to student ratio to individualize the learning to the students' current level to close the gap in areas that are lagging. 

The after-school program offers creative ways of learning to keep kids motivated and excited about learning. The children are often isolated from the broader world and lack vision to see beyond their current circumstances, so mentoring shows them other opportunities for an improved way of life through decision-making and positive reinforcement. A core tenant of everything we do is spiritual/emotional support to establish a foundation for all of the other elements of the program.

We serve 100s of children and families annually on a consistent basis.  The families we serve are predominantly single-mother, or grandmother heads of household, so generations are being raised without a father figure to raise them, guide them, or teach them. Studies have shown that removing all demographics, the main indicator of imprisonments, poverty, school drop outs, and many other maladies is the lack of stable fathering, so our mission is to point the next generation to our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Our afterschool program is designed to not only help with their schoolwork but also to build a Christ-centered self image/identity, mature in coping skills, understand and heal from negative experiences and traumas in their lives and to know the love of Christ through those who serve at Malachi Project.

The funds will be used to help finish the construction of a 6,000 sf, 2-story Malachi House. This building will have classrooms, offices, a kitchen, and multi-use space for the afterschool program and the other ministries of The River Refuge. The building will greatly increase our effectiveness and consistency with the children and their families. We have raised over $700k in donations and in-kind services.