Report From Pastor Solomon from Kampala Uganda
January this year as we prepared to open the school for our first term, many women visited our school, these included very old women,widows and those neglected by their husbands leaving with them a challenge of taking care of the kids.
One of the ladies whose kids were screened and accepted because of her very bad situation was Nyinabarongo, a title given to a mother of twins.The two boys were in a very bad shape. They were very skinny because of chronic hunger , had no clothes, they had a very bad eye problem, one has failed to heal and needs a specialist and we don’t have that money yet, the type that Dr.Carl calls” throw away kids that we turn into winners”.
As you can notice, apart from the eye problem of Isingoma, his name meaning first born twin son, they look well fed and well dressed in their school uniform and happy. The three months we have been with them is a huge blessing to their lives and the change can be notices easily by everybody.
For kids like these, and a few who were dropped and left at our school, we are planning to have a dormitory built at our school to allow such kids to stay in our hands and we take full and good care of them starting with our second term that starts in mid May 2012.
When I look at the sacrifice of keeping these kids in our school and also see the impact and the hope we give such kids, I say, it is worth it.
We still believe God to help save Isingomas eyes.Thanks for always believing in us and supporting us to keep the doorsof the school open to such kids.
Yours Solomon
Thanks to support of people like you we can provide hot nutritious meals specially mixed to provide a healthy diet, tht makes all the for these twins. All it takes is £4 to provide 100 meals enough meals for one child for 3 months.
Become an Every Child Every Day supporter online at http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ to sow a seed of lasting hope in a childs life.
Testomony from Cambodia Mission Trip 2011 ( make sure you look at the video)
In November of 2011, along with the organisations Feed the Hungry and AFCM Australia, I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a short term hunger exposure missions trip to the nation of Cambodia with a small group of schoolies aged youth. I didn’t know what to expect as I had never been to a third world country before but knew that I would be challenged in my outlook on life and the world we live in.
Our team spent most of the week based in the province of Kampong Thom. Our main mission for the week was to help and support the Local church and the ministry they were running in Kampong Thom. Each day we would travel to a few different villages, some were close only 30-40 minutes by bus and others took us up to 2 hours by bus/foot and boat. In each village we had the opportunity to minister and play with local children through games and Bible stories-with help from our translators. We were also given opportunities to minister and share our personal testimonies to the adults or village leaders to encourage them in their faith. Most importantly we would help to prepare a meal for the children that we were ministering to, rice and a vegetable that had been purchased locally through the support of Feed the Hungry. The meals were so simple yet so life impacting-By providing a hot meal to these children 3 times a week, the pressure is removed from their families and instead of the children working in the field, they can have the opportunity to attend school and gain a better education.
Over the course of the trip my life was impacted greatly, and can be summed up into three main points.
The first is the attitude of the Khmar people-their selflessness. Everywhere we went in each village the need was so great and almost incomprehendable. Yet their ability to share everything they had was amazing. We live in such a blessed country where we have so much and yet still want more, even in our excess we fail to give, we never share or seek out ways to bless others-we are always putting ourselves first and trying to increase our own possessions. Yet these people who have nothing are always looking at ways to share with each other-whenever they experience increase, they share it out and look for ways to help each other. I was encouraged to no longer seek increase for myself, but to look for ways to give and help others who may not be as blessed as I am.
The second thing that has left an impact on my life from the trip was the healing power of God that we experienced. One afternoon we were in a small village and a close friend and I were asked to give our testimonies to the adults and elders there, after sharing with them we asked if there was anything we could pray for and one by one they began to ask us for prayer for healing in their bodies-we began to put into action what we had learnt about laying hands on the sick and seeing them recover. We prayed for sore backs, sore knees and headaches. Then they brought to us a little girl who had sores all over her feet and could barely walk, after praying over this young girl she stood and walked pain free. We give all the glory to God and we were so encouraged to experience God’s healing power first hand.
The final thing that has had a major impact in my life back in Sydney is my career focus. Before going to Cambodia, I had previously deferred a university degree and worked full time in a real estate office and was busy establishing a career for myself in the real estate industry. While in Cambodia I had the opportunity to speak with many of our translators and other youth that were still in high schools in the local area- and all the conversations led to me asking what they were planning to do after they finished their high schooling. One by one I heard these young people tell me of the dreams God had placed in their hearts, whether it be to go to university and study business so they could come back and help build up the local church, go to study law so they can come back and represent the locals in their home village or become a teacher and help teach English and Sunday school. Each of these young people had one thing at the centre of their dreams…Others. They were all planning to help others, help build and support the local church and it was all for God, none of them were trying to climb the social ladder of success, none of them wanted to be rich and famous. This made me think "what am I really doing with my life?" I have so many more opportunities to make a difference yet the choices I had made were so success focused and self-centred. God spoke to me so clearly about my life on that trip and I thank Him for it.
Since returning to Sydney, I have begun a degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Sydney and when complete, I plan to travel back to Cambodia and help with the nation’s economic development.
During our trip we saw extreme poverty and experienced almost unbearable temperatures; we saw how one bowl of rice can change a child’s life, and how the power of God’s love has the greatest impact of all.
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
Anna van Schie
(Pictured)
A life changing experience for a a young lady that saw how she could make a difference not only in the short term but for the rest of her life, In partnership with Feed The Hungry these young people have allready made a difference in helping provide food for the children you see in the video, spiritual food in there journey with them on the mission trip and a legacy of hope for the child that was healed.
You to could be part of this adventure by partnering with us today, for only £4 pounds a month you could provide 100 meals for these children, thats 1200 meals in a year. A mustard seed of hope that brings wells of blessing to children in desperate need.
Visiting new developments for our feeding program is never easy,. Conditions for giving the go ahead would not at times meet normal criteria for governmental standards of Hygiene, Health and Safety, and many other criteria that we would class as essential within our daily environment.
Very near to the centre of Bucharest we visited one of the proposed new city sites for providing a feeding program for children in some of the poorest areas that I have seen in Romania. Located in an alley way off the main street, it was a surprisingly big church that had an attendance of around 80 people. To reflect on the nature and outreach that the church was reaching into, the pastor described how one of the mafia type gangster’s wives had recently come to the Lord.
The heart of the church was to reach out to the people in the area and bring hope to the children that lived in squalor and chaos, to provide food yes but also an education and a hope that they could have life beyond their current circumstance.
Poverty here could be measured within a contained environment of blocks of flats, streets and communities that could be identified with and be appalled at. Our next port of call was to an area called Love Field which took our emotions to a deeper level and one of admiration for those who are called to work there and a heartfelt pang for the situation of those who lived there. Unable to take the vehicle onto the site for the mud, we had to walk down a path strewn with human faeces.
A shanty town built on reclaimed land once used for a dump for construction material, with a ramshackle collection of clay brick, pallet wood patchwork walls and tin roofed huts, with no electricity or mains water, right in the middle of Bucharest. In the midst of the squalor sat a hut used as a church which will be turned into a feeding centre by the congregation, run by a young man, who had spent 7 years in prison who now had a vision to work with ex convicts, who the majority of those who lived in the commune where, having to live under such conditions as they had no support and less opportunity to find a mainstream job.
Rejected by society, they have not turned against it, but having found hope in Christ, turned to look at how they could reach out to the local community to help, provide food and an educational program to the most vulnerable of children in the surrounding area. What love is this that breaks down walls of human reasoning, core values that resonated with us at Feed The Hungry, to help the unloved and rejected, and to bring a hope and a future to those in need.
Read more about the different places visited and the new feeding locations opened on our full report on http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ . The difference you can make today will pour out an avalanche of grace on these children for with every £4 donated we can provide 100 meals to provide meals to over 35,000 children Every day
To the Feed The Hungry Team.
I need to present a situation to you for your advice. In Romania we have many requests for help from churches, families, and from the village officials and CPS department. Entire villages are covered with snow, cutting off the people from deliveries of food and basic supplies. The army is now digging some of these houses out of the snow but it is a slow process.
We have a good supply of food and winter clothing at our warehouse in Bucharest that we could use to help the most desperate of these people. But before we try to make our way through the ice with snow chains on our truck, I wanted to first get your guidance concerning our supplies. Do we hold back the food for future use at our Feeding Centres or could we have a quick response now to the most desperate requests for help? If we do help now, what is the extent of the help? What is the limit? I can send you the money for the container of beans that we spoke about but this will not arrive until later, possibly to help replace some of the food that we use for the crisis now. But even with the bean container, we will still be low on can goods and soup mix.
I want to stay within the guidelines that FTH sets for using the food. I can raise a little money to purchase bread and other necessities but I could do much more if we could use a portion of our supplies at our Bucharest warehouse.
Please let me know your suggestions. We will stay within the limits and guidelines that you set.
God bless you and all of the staff at FTH
We received this request from Bread of Life in Romania asking if we could release some of the ECED inventory in their warehouse (soup mix, beans, canned goods) for emergency distributions to people trapped by the snowstorms outside of Bucharest. Of course we said “Yes” and told BOL to use up to 50% of our goods for emergency relief.
We have a lorry ready to go from Germany but is as yet unable to get through safely. We are also looking at what we can do to supplement this by sending a container of Food , clothing and blankets from the UK, if you can help please let me know. email me at gwilliams@feedthehungry.org or if you would like to donate towards thids crisis please go to http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/
Our Every Child Every Dayprogram has seen a 28 PERCENT INCREASE in the number of children who rely on us for a daily meal since last year!
We have extended the feeding program in Romania from 600 to 1200 children and we are aiming to increase it, to 2000, in this coming year.
In Bulgaria, new doors are opening and we hope to add another 350 children to the EveryChild EveryDayProgram.
In Uganda we have established the East African Resource Centreto look at supplying aid into Rwanda, the Congo and Zambia, as well as maintaining a supply of food into the Horn of Africa.
In the UK we have are involved in provding emergency food packs to families in need
Also launched will be a new long term feeding program to orphaned children in Sendai, Japan , where we are committed to helping vulnerable children to receive love and hope amidst tragedy.
Every £4.00 you share will feed a hungry boy or girl every day for a month and help us to expand our outreach to reach more children in need.
With every meal you help provide, these hurting children will see God’s love in action and learn more about how He cares for them. Together we can save children’s lives and transform their future!
Our aim is to increase our outreach to a total of 50,000 children in 2012. Together we have a choice to make this happen. You have already chosen to help the EveryChild EveryDaygo from feeding just over 4,300children five years ago to feeding 35,081 daily this year.
Your continuing support does make a difference to children around the world, not only in providing food, but in providing the children with educational or vocational opportunities, and through our partner ministries bring the good news of Christ’s salvation to them, their families and the communities that they live in.
Merry Christmas to you all on this wonderful celebration of God’s Gift of Life , thank you all for giving your time prayers and hope for people and especially kids who have suffered this past year, without you we would not have been able to extend our program from 26,000 kids to 35,000 kids this year, already your commitment is opening doors to new opportunities next year. Every Blessing Gwyn
Thank you for your outpouring of love and compassion toward the people of northern Kenya and east Africa. With your support, Feed The Hungry has sent another 8 ocean going container of rice meals, maize, and beans to provide much life-sustaining aid to thousands of women and children who are suffering. Another 40 tons of maize has been purchased in country to offer immediate relief!
Feed The Hungry Australia Director, Ben Evans, reports from the field,
“Traveling north you are lulled into a false sense of security. Southern Kenya is rich, vibrant, lush and full of life. In stark contrast, the Turkana region of northern Kenya is dry, dusty, and desolate. In Nairobi, children were playing carefree in fountains while just a few hundred miles to the north, people are dying from a lack of water. Feed The Hungry is there! Already in a few short weeks the difference we are making is amazing. Where once the people waited in misery and despair, Feed The Hungry teams were greeted with joy, appreciation, and deep gratefulness. Yes…we are feeding empty bellies, but even more importantly, we are showing the Turkana people that God has heard their prayers through generous donations. Hope has sprung once again in their weary hearts. They know that they are no longer alone.”
£16 provides an entire family of five with emergency rations for a month
