Bif on a Bike

Bif on a bike

Fri 23rd March to Sun 15th April 2012

BARWELL TO BROSTINI 1652 MILES

Thank you for  taking the time to read about my intended bike ride early next year inspired by my visit to Romania a few months ago, Romania why Romania its old news? Old news with new problems.

120,000 Street Children 100,000 children in orphanages does not barely touch the problem that Children in Romania face from day to day.

Here is an extract from my report from the trip.

.........our next destination up in the Northern Mountains to a small town of Brosteni, to The Bread of Life orphanage, where we were met by Gabi and his team who care for children ageing from as young as 3 to 18 years of age. The statistics where a stark reminder of the needs in this country as exemplified by the rural town of  Brosteni with a population of around  8,000 people which has a state orphanage caring for 50 children, as well as The Bread of Life orphanage which has 95 kids and an extended food program for another 50 children in the area.

Yet whilst we were there we were given a taste of the heart of the team and the children, when we were invited to follow the ‘meals on wheels team’ of young lads from the orphanage who go out every day on their bikes with hot food in back packs to widows and less able people in the area. When asked why they do it, there reply is ‘its good that we can give a little from what we receive’ it was a very humbling experience to meet such great young lads who will ride up to 2 hrs to get the food out to those in need...............(read more at www.feedthehungry.org.uk)

Unable to shake these images from my head I was convinced to cycle from Barwell to Brostini a mere 1652 miles to raise money to feed over 1200 children in our feeding program in Romania. My head and my 50 year old body are in complete disagreement but I am determined to make this a point of difference for these kids, Hence the Bif on a Bike cartoon....which is too like me for comfort.

I hope that you will partner with me in this project to Raise £8,000 to provide enough food for  a year  for the 1200 children. The equivalent of 4 pence a meal or as the our slogan says £4 = 100 meals the price of a take away.

Just think  £1 for every 100 will provide 400 meals or 4 pence a mile will provide 1652 meals

or £4 the price of a take away will provide 100 meals

If you would like to know more about our Every Child Every Day Program in Romania

www.feedthehungry.org.uk

 

If you would like to Sponsor me please visit

http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/oldblokeonabike

Thank you for your support.

Gwyn Williams

Operations Manager

UK and Ireland

The Silent Cries of the Horn of Africa grow to a Crescendo

The world has been shocked by a series of sudden and ferocious natural disasters this year: state wide flooding in Queensland; deadly earthquakes in Christchurch; and Japan's triple disaster - earthquake, tsunami and radiation threat. While the world's media has clambered over one another to beam pictures of these unfolding disasters right into your living room, a deadly famine has crept silently through the Horn of Africa with little of the world's attention.

Not enough rain has fallen for two consecutive years in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan & Uganda, countries collectively known as the Horn of Africa. A drought this severe has not been seen in the area for over 60 years. The impact of the drought has skyrocketed already high grain prices, devastated livestock mortality rates, encouraged conflict and exacerbated the restriction of humanitarian access to some areas.

10 million people are affected by the famine. 1 in 3 children are suffering malnutrition. Refugee camps are filling up with despondent people faced with agonizing decisions about life and death for family members.

In Uganda our local distribution partner, Pastor Solomon Mwesige, told us about a young pregnant mother that was sitting on an ant hill with a stick. The mother was trying to collect ants to feed her hungry children and herself. "I've never seen something like this. Never." explains Pastor Solomon, "it is extremely, extremely bad." Costs continue to skyrocket after yet another planting season has been lost. Just a handful of flour can cost a day's wage.

In Kenya, ABC news reported a story of a mother who abandoned her 6 children at home. No longer able to bear the anxiety of caring for her children, nor the thought of watching them die, she fled to a UN refugee camp. When UN workers learned of the situation and eventually reached the home, 2 of her children could not be saved. Starvation is forcing families and their children to travel on foot to refugee camps - often 6 weeks hike in distance. Those that make the journey arrive covered in sores and wounds. They are acutely malnourished, and completely dehydrated.

In Sudan, our local distribution partner, Pastor LoNathan has been looking after two children, 9 year old Janet & 13 year old Denis, who fled for lives from their very own mother. The death of their father left their mother under such tremendouse pressure. Medical costs and daily search for food seemed too great a burden for the mother, who felt the only solution was to strangle her baby to death and bury him in the bush. The heinous act was discovered and the mother was convicted, arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. On her release, the mother apparently tried to do the same to her other children, Denis & Janet. Thankfully, relatives intervened and contacted Pastor LoNathan who now takes care of Dennis & Janet.

Many of distribution partners in these countries have ongoing feeding programs for children as part of the "EveryChild EveryDay" program, but this crisis is affecting whole families not ordinarily covered by the program. Our distribution partners are doing their best to stretch their resources and share we so many people in the greatest need - but all our partners need an emergency boost of food resources to see their nation through this drought.

Substantial rain is not expected for another six months. "We need a miracle. We don't have enough food. Please, please pray for us." pleads Pastor Solomon.

Please heed Pastor Solomon's please and join us in prayer for a miraculous, super-natural, divine intervention in this tragic situation. Pray for gentle, soothing rain that will prepare the soil for planting. Pray for water to fall from heaven that will bring life and strength to a desolate land. Pray for the miraculous multiplication of food in distribution hubs across the region. Pray for stretching, of all related resources, that does not break. Pray for our workers and distribution partners that the do not weary in doing good. Pray for our Gospel workers that will provide bread for their bodies and bread for their souls. Pray the people of Africa will find Jesus - the source of living water - so that they will never thirst again.

FTH workers all over the world encounter families that literally pray, "Our Father which art in Heaven... give us this day our daily bread." This is not just a poetic stanza to them, it's a heartfelt prayer of desperation. You can help answer that prayer.

Through established distribution hubs in affected areas, managed under the careful watch of trusted Pastors LoNathan and Solomon we can greatly increase our distributions in affected areas. We continue to look for new distribution hubs to be established to make sure your donations helps get food to those that need it most.

You can help! Go on line today at www.feedthehungry.org.uk or call 0845 519 6025

Even if substantial rains fell today, it will take another three months to plant and harvest the crops. While food costs have quadrupled, we can still purchase food from our suppliers and deliver it for about 8pence a meal. That means a gift of £8 will ensure we can send 100 meals today.

Please prayerfully consider sending your best donation to the Horn of Africa famine appeal today.

Drought in Uganda Continues

The drought in the The Horn of Africa is also affecting Uganda, below are extracts from various reports on the situation over the last 3 months, as the situation gets worse and as we seek your help to strengthen the Church in Uganda, they are also partnering with us to find churches and mission to act as resource centres in northern Kenya. What joy it must bring our Lord that we can act in unity to bring hope in this unfolding natural disater.

Greetings in the name of the Lord. from Kampala


As I have been sending information about the drought that has caused the major food shortage. Thank God we got some little rain to cool down the heat, even if we got much now, by the time people start planting to the time of harvesting, the situation will still be very bad. Our Government has no food reserves, so it has no solution apart from telling people to use food sparingly, the food that people don’t even have.

As food prices continue to raise and hunger continues to bite even the more, some people have decided to demonstrate violently to force the Government to help which still has not even promised anything, while others are watching helplessly as they wait to see what tomorrow may bring, some people even don’t have hope for tomorrow.

Our ministry has continued to help in 4 feeding centres in the city and outside the city to help people get something to eat as they wait for a miracle to happen.

On the pictures are families lining up for food in Bulenga as you can see, we had more than 1000 people lining up for food from 4:00pm to 7:00pm,at our school waiting for their chance to get some thing to eat. I believe if the church is equipped, it can help reduce the suffering of the people.

You can see the smile as they see real food being served. What a joy to see peoples needs being met as we demonstrate Gods love Keep us in your prayers to help us keep putting food to the table ofthese we are feeding so far.

It is Holiday time, and therefore the kids are not at school to receive probably the only meal that they get every day . Most parent have no idea what to do to feed their kids that are out of school, you can see them ready with their plates.

One old woman who had no plate had a plastic bag where I poured her food. The need because of a long drought has made it very had for people to feed themselves and their families.

We are now starting to run out of food yet we have three more months to go until we get our first harvest. ( The failing rains makes this possability of a good harvest most unlikley this year)

I believe God has given us enough resources to the church to meet the needs of the needy if we could only share them strategically with a Kingdom heart to make an impact for the kingdom and to also help meet the need of Gods people.

Our master fed the hungry, healed the sick, healed the broken hearted and saved people from their sins.

If the church today decided to show the love of Christ the way he did, we would see more coming to the church than we are seeing today.

Thank you very much. Solomon

Our goal is to increase the resource into Uganda in order to help out existing Partners develop local strategies to work with keeping families and communities together, and together working with the teams on the ground locate sutable churches and missions in Northern Kenya that can act as a resource centres for the influx of refugees into Kenya.

Please pray for the churches in lthe local area who are suffering as well and that we also find the right partners to work with to enable us to provide long term help for this area to enable communities to weather the immediate storm but also develop a plan for the future.

Families rescued from slavery

During the year we have many reports from our partners on the ground, showing the impact of how your partnership works out in pratical ways, please continue to pray that these Godly adventures increase as we break out into new areas of service for our awsome Saviour.

I find these stories from Salik really heart warming, I hope that you to also find them inspirational.

Dear Family in Christ,


Greetings in the most precious and powerful name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. In June 2011, we rescued and redeemed three families from slavery in Pakistan. They were slaves to a land lord who owned a brick factory and these families were working for him. The whole families were making bricks including little children. My father (pastor Nathaniel Barkat) was informed of these families and the Lord put compassion on his heart to rescue and redeem these families. These families owed large sums of money to this land lord and they could not pay their debt and therefore they became slaves to this man. Now these families are free because their debt was paid. And their children will be educated in our School (The Children's Home). These children had no future but now the Lord has made a way for them to live a free and blessed life. Praise the Lord! Please pray for other families who are in slavery and they want to be free as well.

In June, 2011 our medical team went to different towns and villages in the province of Punjab in Pakistan. This medical team was led by my brother (Pastor Samson J. Barkat). Our medical team saw more than 2500 people who were affected with various diseases, viruses and infections. We also gave them free medicine. In all of these towns and villages our team shared the love and the gospel of Christ and prayed with the people in the name of Christ. Once again the name of Christ was lifted up and his love was shared with the people in Pakistan. Pakistan is in desperate need of your prayers that peace and hope is bought into the lives of its people .

The Children's Home is doing great. Kids are enjoying their summer vacation. This is a very hot summer in Punjab, in some areas the temperature gets up to 125 degrees. The School will resume in the end of August. Our churches, Bible school and other ministries are doing great as well. Please continue to keep us and our ministry needs in your prayers. Thanks!

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you richly and use you continually to expand his kingdom.
In Christ,

Salik John Barkat
Pastor/Evangelist

To find out more how you can support Pastor John Salik and the Children ttat we provide  hot nutritious meal to in the Childrens home. Go to http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ and help us be more than conquerors in a world of need.

Andrews Training For the Cardiff Half Marathon

Andrew Pemberton has been volunteering for Feed the Hungry since October 2010 helping around the office and looking after our Amazon account.

Andrew was born with congenital cataracts, which when operated on over the next 2 ½  years left Andrew with very little sight in his left eye and partial vision in the other, the result of this traumatic early years were also to leave him with severe learning difficulties. ( Not that you would think it by the way he ribs me)

Despite all these challenges, Andrew has been become a excellent team member of Feed the Hungry. In March this year Andrew took up the challenge to run the Cardiff Half Marathon on 16^th October. When asked why Cardiff why run at all? Andrew said that now he had a goal to work to for Feed the Hungry it seemed a good idea to combine it to run in his home town.

Andrew has now run several 5k runs in the Leicestershire and Warwickshire area where he now lives. And is supported by Nuneaton Harries to get him up an running......

If you would like to sponsor Andrew send me an email me at gwilliams@feedthehungry.org or facebook Andrew Pemberton message  and we will add you to the list of sponsors.

We will have Sponsor page up and running over the next few days

Gwyn Williams

Operations Manager

UK and Ireland