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9 February 2009 Dear Sponsors, Our recent trip to Africa (December 31st – January 20th) was a great success! We were able to visit the children in all 4 communities where we had enrolled children back in May of 2007 and we were also able to visit a new community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where 37 new children were added into the program. As of this writing, we have 257 children in the His Hands for Africa program, 47 of which are currently sponsored. We were able to process 207 children on this trip – 49 in Ggaba, Uganda, 36 in Goma, D.R. Congo, 60 in Kabale, Uganda, 25 in Kigali, Rwanda and, as I mentioned previously, 37 in Rwankuba, D.R. Congo. During our visit, the conflict was still ongoing in the Congo and our visit to Rwankuba brought us into the rebel-controlled area of the Congo. The children in this area are in extremely difficult circumstances as a result of this conflict. Many are displaced and we met a pastor of one of the Shalom churches who is on the run but is trying to find help to send his children to school. Our hearts go out to the people of the Congo which has recorded a remarkable 5.4 million deaths in the past 10 years as a result of conflict and the humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 45,000 deaths each month! We had just 3 team members on this trip – myself, my husband Philip, and our son Sam. It was a wonderful time for us to spend in fellowship with our partner, Pastor Stephen Bamuleke, and his wife, Siriaka. We hope to have photos from this trip posted to the “trip photos” page on the web site soon. We also have photos of MANY children waiting for a sponsor on the “child in need” page of our web site. Please help us spread the word about these waiting children! In thinking back to the start of our Haiti program, we realized that the greatest growth at the beginning of that program came from word of mouth! When sponsors tell their friends about the needs of the children, when they point them in the direction of the website where they can see photos for themselves, and when they share brochures with them, this is the most effective tool for expanding the reach of the program. Won’t you please help us do that? I will enclose a couple of brochures for you to share with your friends. There were some children in each of the communities who were absent when we were there to do their interviews. If your child was one who was absent, Pastor Bamuleke will be going back to each of the communities in the coming months and will be updating the children who were absent, as he has opportunity. As soon as we receive this updated information from him, we will prepare it and send it out to you. Please notice that your child’s new information sheet has new correspondence instructions on it. You may now follow these new instructions instead of the temporary ones we had sent out previously. I also want to share with you about another opportunity to help. Siriaka has started a Pig Project to help single mothers and widows (both elderly and young widows) take care of themselves and their children. In a nutshell, ownership of a pig can provide a woman in crisis with enough income to take care of herself and pay her children’s school fees. At maturity, the pig can produce 3 to 4 litters per year and can have as many as 10 piglets in a litter. Selling those piglets can provide the necessary income for the family to sustain itself. When a woman receives a pig through this program, she is required to give away 3 piglets from the first litter produced by that pig. One piglet is given back to the project to be given to another woman in need. The other two piglets are to be given to other women in that particular community who are in similar circumstances. After that, the pig belongs to the woman without any further commitment. The cost of providing a woman in crisis with a pig is just $35.00. If you or anyone you know is interested in helping out with this project, please let us know. Again, we hope to have photos and information about the project on our website soon. If you haven’t already seen it, the His Hands for Africa website up and running! There are still a few pages that are currently “under construction” but we will be adding to those pages as we have time over the next few months. Again, please tell your friends and family members about this program which is reaching out to help the children of East Africa. Let them know about the ongoing crisis in the Congo and the opportunity they have to help children in that war-torn country to be able to attend school. The needs in Africa are overwhelming but, one child at a time, we can begin to make a difference – with your help and with God’s blessing. We greatly appreciate your interest in the needs of the children of Africa. We are excited about the ways God is using us to help the children of the Great Lakes region of Africa, as well as the children of Haiti, as we move ahead in this ministry. Thank you so much for your part in this ministry and thank you for your continued prayer and support. For Him and for the children, Jamie Charles Child Sponsorship Coordinator |
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