Our Story

Open Arms Foundation was conceived in 1991 by missionaries William and Wanda Perrow in response to the abandonment, violence, abuse and neglect of the children living on the streets of Medellin, Colombia. The children were primarily the victims of poverty, prostitution, alcohol ,and drugs. Many of them sniffed industrial glue to take away their hunger pangs and numb them from the atrocities which defined their reality. Often considered irreparable and incorrigible, they were known as "throw-aways," destroyed by the emotional, physical , and sexual abuse they had endured. God reminded Bill that just as Christ had rescued him from the damaging effects of drug addiction, He could transform the lives of these children too. With the enlistment of other volunteers and missionaries, the Perrows took to the streets of Colombia, looking past the filth, tattered clothes, and indifference of society to reach out to these forgotten faces. With Open Arms they are committed to feeding, clothing, sheltering and restoring these children through the love and transforming powers of Jesus Christ.