WHO IS STEVE?
Bio
More about Steve
Steve brings over 15 years of direct, hands-on experience working with orphaned and vulnerable children, including more than a decade living in Namibia as a missionary with Africa Inland Mission. During that time, he worked closely with Children of Promise Ministries Namibia, helping lead foster care initiatives, training families, overseeing child welfare programs, and responding to crisis situations involving children who were often homeless, severely malnourished, or without stable care. His work included hands-on involvement with children living in extreme conditions, as well as collaboration with multiple children’s homes and the transition of institutionalized children into family-based care environments.
Steve’s experience is both professional and deeply personal. Since 2001, he and his wife Karrie have been adoptive parents and have raised a large family that includes biological, foster, and seven adopted children, along with a growing next generation. In the United States, their foster care primarily involved caring for infants awaiting adoptive placement. In Namibia, their home regularly served as a place of refuge for children in need—some temporarily, others long-term, including children who eventually joined their family and others who were successfully placed with Namibian foster families or supported through to adulthood and further education.
In addition to his work in child welfare, Steve co-founded Anistemi College and Training Centre in 2015 to provide vocational opportunities for young people, particularly those from vulnerable backgrounds who needed alternative pathways to stability and employment. He also helped establish the Kehi Omuti Outreach alongside his wife, which served children living in extreme poverty, including those surviving from a municipal dumpsite near Otjiwarongo. While Karrie led hands-on care, Steve supported the administrative and structural development of the program.
Since returning to the United States, Steve has continued this work through Agape Gospel Mission, where he has spent over four years supporting child sponsorship efforts, working directly with sponsors, and helping strengthen connections between donors and the children they support.
Through I Care For An Orphan, Steve draws on both lived experience and program leadership to help others better understand the realities of orphan care—clarifying common misconceptions, emphasizing what it means to promote the best interests of a child, and guiding individuals toward informed, responsible involvement that leads to lasting impact.