The Orphanage set up as a result of the inflow of children displaced from the Northeast. The Northeast is a ministry ground and a mission centre for Youth With a Mission (YWAM). YWAM do not usually provide orphanages, but due to the pressing need, it decided to make an exception with the setting up of The City of Refuge Orphanage. The Orphanage is currently home to 100 children and 30 adults who are provided with shelter, food, medical care, education and vocational training.
The City of Refuge Orphanage had an urgent need for clean drinking water due to the increasing numbers of Internally Displaced Children (IDCs) arriving in Jos, Plateau State. The only available source of water, a well, was inadequate to meet the needs of these IDCs and also was by its nature inherently unsafe source for drinking water. Many people who had drunk from the well had suffered from various illnesses, such as typhoid, due to the contaminated water from the well. The medical bill for treating these diseases was becoming a severe drain on the finances of the home.,