Lost in the Jungle

Feed the Hungry – Stop Press - East Africa Office Kampala Uganda Pastor Solomon Mwesige

Refugee Crisis: D R Congo - Uganda Relief

Urgent Report: Rwamwanja Refugee Camp

Committed to feeding 2,000 in Jungle over 30,000 in the camp

Cannot wait for containers will buy food locally – food prices have soared. Please send funds

 Pastor Solomon’s raw account of what is happening on the ground in Rwamwanja may not have the silky smooth patter of a PR press release, but expresses the urgent need of a people running scared and living in desperation that we cannot even begin to comprehend.

“It's horrible. The water they can't use its horrible, it's shocking because when I stopped and was giving out some rice to the few little hearts that were close to the road you would see children running to me to receive something… anything…. and I said I can’t believe these are human beings that are starving and living the way they are, and living the way they were living. It is just unbelievable.

They've been there since April. When I went there it's because I wanted to move back some of the children that were in Kampala that had been brought to me by the police for help. So because I knew there was a refugee camp I wanted to see if I could help take them to the refugee camp and that's when I got to see what was actually happening there. (Congolese children in Kampala helped thanks to you)

That is the worst I have ever seen. This is way beyond what I have ever seen. Nothing anywhere close to what I have seen in my life.

Starvation is what you see on everybody's face. Wrinkled, sickly. One old guy that…a lady was seated dizzy because of hunger.... but I gave out food. I had some boxes of rice even. The very first time they denied me…I still had to …to be able to come with the letter and also come with more help.

It's a jungle. They have left these people in the jungle. It’s just…. you see nothing but you know the forest and even monkeys, you see monkeys and people are living together. I would say this, I have never seen this in my entire life. And one pastor ; Pastor Thierry came to me , he introduced himself as pastor in the camp, and he asked if they could pray with me. So they made a circle and wanted me to come into the middle of the circle and all of them laid hands on me and said “You are a Moses. We believe God is going to use you to take us out of this Egypt”. And that really touched my heart, so this is why I have to tell the story. I don’t know….it's a disaster.


My plea would be could we have an immediate support so we can buy at least some corn and beans inland so that we can at least save the most vulnerable, and that is children and women, at least the children and women. At that is really needed because you never know what could happen tomorrow. People could start dying.

They walked miles through forests. Others even went through swamps to be able to run out. All of them tell you of different horrible stories. There were even cases of rape, killing, stealing, and gunshots everywhere. And the people run. Some people were even being reunited with their families that they thought were dead but made it in the camps.”

“FURAHA NAPASKALINI is a tiny 5 year old girl that I randomly picked from a population of 2051 kids at a Congolese refugee camp compound in Rwamwanja. This camp of 30.000 people where over 60% are below 18 years, was reopened for the refugees from Congo after it had been closed in 1996 when the refugees from Rwanda went back to their Country.

Furaha is from a place called Uvira in Congo, she is very shy and got very frightened when I started asking about her experience and how she escaped to come to Uganda.

I asked her why she came to Uganda and she told me that she ran and ran away from the bullets. I asked her how she feels and she said that the sound of bullets made her heart hurt pain like it was coming out of her body.



She told me that her Father and Mother were both killed when they were in the bush running away from their home. 4 of her elder brothers and sisters were also killed while running from Congo and she was left alone. She told me in tears that she saw them die and a man by the name of Mackley Mapendo carried her when she was sitting next to the bodies of her dead members of her family and told her to go with him because he was going to protect her if they make it alive.

She says that as they run through the forests, she was scared of wild animals that she saw, and snakes and bugs. Again and again they had to jump over dead bodies in the forests.

I asked her about the condition she was living in here in the camp compared to her former home in Uvira Congo and she said, apart from hunger and the bad situation she lives in, she is actually happy that she is safe.( Mackley Mapendo is keeping his promise and is keeping her safe.)

She said she will never go back home to Congo because of the flying bullets.

Feed the hungry has already committed funds for Pastor Solomon and Pastor Thierry to start working amongst the refugee thanks to your donations for emergency stocks. We need to do more, and food prices are rocketing in the area.

But still we can feed a child for £6.30 for a month. A family can be supported for £25 for a month. He are praying that the prices will drop when the harvest comes in in January. But we need to act now.

You can help right now     

TEXT   

FEED Congo  to  70444

and donate just £3

Please tell a friend of how they can help to feed children Lost in the Jungle.

Thank you



Romania August Trip

Marko and I from the UK and the team from Australia arrived a day earlier than the rest of the team and we were therefore able to pave the way in some of the preparations, in purchasing food,  in preparing family food packs as part of the planned work for the week that we were to engage in as well as purchasing some paint for the orphanage we would be staying in later in the week. The afternoon was spent putting the food packs together for 70 families that we would minister to during our time in Romania. That evening when the rest of the team  arrived,  we had a time getting to know one another and discussing the program for the next few days before going out for a team meal.

Our First visit was to Chiselet, like Manastirea, is a mainly Roma village with a large unemployment problem. FTH has a feeding program based at the Church which assists around 85 children.  Here we had the opportunity to take some of the food packs out to needy families in the area, One mother who had nine children thanked us for making the time to.  Through these encounters our partners were able to also monitor the condition of the children, and with the mothers consent took into care 4 of the children, as she was struggling to feed all of them. 


The children came up to the Bread of Life orphanage the following day with the pastor’s daughter and friend as company until they settled in to their new environment.( please note that this process had taken a period of a few weeks to discuss this thoroughly with the mother and social workers and setting out boundaries for visits and contact for the mother to be able to keep in touch with the children.)

From there, we then went to the church to help with the children’s lunch which they receive every day, from either the soup mix or pasta mix that Feed the Hungry supply, supplemented with beans and a hot drink made from dried fruit, also provided through FTH and accompanied by locally produced bread.

After the meal we then spent the afternoon with the kids playing with balloons, face painting and playing football, which the team enjoyed as much as the children.

From Chiselet we travelled back to the Hotel in Bucharest, for our long trip to Brosteni the following morning. Our itinerary including stopping in another of the feeding programs newly started in Padureni, where together with Bread of Life we had initiated a program to feed 30  children every day.  We also distributed food packs to  a number  of  widows  and vulnerable adults in the village. The situation in this village was again dire and the Bread of Life team agreed to help out one family by taking into care  3 children who where  severally malnourished . From Padureni we continued our travel up north to Brosteni and arrived at the orphanage later that evening.

The Bread of Life orphanage was to be our mainstay venue for this ministry trip to Romania, as we spent time giving the kids some quality relational time, participating in games,  mountain walks, developing a song for recording, painting a mural, as well as painting some of the bathroom facilities at the orphanage .

One of the highlights for the men on the team was to participate in their ‘meals on wheel s’  program -  where the older lads take out meals to widows and vulnerable adults in the locality every day of the week.  This  was a humbling experience,  as the lads expressed their enjoyment of being able to help out those more in need than they themselves.  

Mironeasa the final visit for the team, in the middle of a forest,  we had to drive over a so called road that looked worse than the field . The feeding station in this locations was a home under construction but with a decent kitchen that could hold about 20-30 children.  The brother said:” my wife and I have no children; if she agrees we will receive the children in our home and feed them here.”  Guess what!  ... after two words and a wink the decision was taken.   A few days later over 50 children were waiting in line for their turn at the Bread of Life Mironeasa MFC.

It was to this new location that we bought the team.  These were probably the poorest,  most deprived looking kids that the team had seen all week.   As well as understanding the need of the feeding programs in such locations, this was also a reminder of great work that was already being achieved in more established feeding locations in Romania.

Can you help us help 2,000 kids, by providing clothing, food or blankets. email me today at gwilliams@feedthehungry.org. Or donate £4 to feed a child for a month online at www.feedthehungry.org.uk

Burkina Faso is a little known, French-speaking country in West Africa next door to Niger. Almost half of the population lives below the poverty line. With the help of friends like you, Feed The Hungry is expanding our Every Child Every Day program into this poor country.

For the first time, we are feeding 600 children daily meals, and our local partners say the help could not have come at a better time. “Right now we are in a famine,” says Reverend Joseph Koomson, our ministry partner in Burkina Faso. “We do not have enough food!”

Because of drought conditions, the government has declared a disaster in the region — with 1.7 million people at risk of malnutrition. But your faithful gifts will help feed hungry children in two different orphanages and a school for blind children in Burkina Faso.

Koomson says every meal will provide much-needed nutrition and share God’s love. “Food is just for the temporal, but the Word of God, the love of God is eternal,” he says.

Food for the blind children is especially critical. “When you have a blind child, most of the families don’t see any value. They cannot work,” Koomson says. “So they marginalize the blind child. They don’t care about them. It makes you want to cry.”

Koomson said the new partnership with Feed The Hungry’s Every Child Every Day will make a life-saving difference for children in one of the poorest nations of the world. “We see the future for the nation, full of the children that we are reaching,” he says. “There is hope.”

Thank you for helping Feed The Hungry expand our efforts into this needy country. Your continued prayers and support will let hundreds of children know God loves them.

Your most generous gift today will make an immediate and eternal difference in the lives of the children in Burkina Faso.
visit our website today at www.feedthehungry.org.uk or text CHILD SAHEL to 70444 to make a £3 donation
Thank you 

Text Donations for Feed The Hungry UK (Monthly)

Mission in Haiti

Extract  from Doreens Story on Mission In Haiti

I was privileged to take a team from Victory Christian Centre (Edmonton, Canada) to minister with FTH in Haiti this past March.  VCC has been a solid FTH partner in Canada for many years.   It was also a young team, the youngest member being 13 years old, but they conducted themselves responsibly and compassionately.  I would take this team anywhere!

Our host for the trip was Victory Compassion/Homes for Haiti, under the direction of Pastor Rod Baker.  This is a new partner ministry for FTH, feeding over 1400 people every day, with a potential of many more.  In addition to Pastor Rod, there was 5 other staff who work with the ministry.  All are passionate about Haiti, and very dedicated to bring hope and help to the people they serve.  They are wonderful people, and will be solid partners for FTH.

During the 8 days of ministry we had on the ground in Haiti, we managed to prepare and distribute over 200 Family Food Paks (3 Kg Corn, 1Kg Pinto Beans, 1Kg Refried Beans), as well as deliver bulk food to 4 orphanage sites. 

Each day began with assembling the food paks, according to the need for the day’s distribution.  From there we hopped in our fancy transportation – an open truck bed with wooden seats – and began to our first location.  Once we arrived at our destination, the team greeted the children for a few minutes and then set up for a time of ministry.  Each program was approximately 1 hour.  The team involved the children in group games, sang songs (they learned the chorus “God’s not Dead, He’s Alive” in Creole, which was a big hit in every location), performed skits, and told Bible stories.  They communicated through an interpreter because no one understood English, or even French...solely Creole.  After the program was over, the team gave out gifts to each child.  They brought a significant amount of gifts – and not just lollipops!  I have never seen such generous, organized, and thought out giving from a mission team before!

JENELLIA’S VILLAGE

Our first stop was to the village of the girl who cooked for us during our stay.  The village had a small church (pastored by US missionary Donna Bryce, who has been there for 35 years), and a water well.  The whole village came out to watch the team’s presentation, and to receive the FTH food paks.  We distributed food to roughly 50 families.

C.A.D

We visited a government run institution in Fond Parisen, called CAD (Centre for Action and Development) 3 separate times.  It is a transitional home for child rescue victims (almost all have been severely sexually abused).  The government brings the children here until they are able to place them with extended family or a foster family.  Therefore, some children are only there a short time, while others can remain for years.  It is a heartbreaking place because there isn’t proper oversight or leadership, and not a completely safe environment for children.  Victory Compassion visits and ministers to these children twice a week, doing their best to bring the love of Jesus in every way they know how.  It is very difficult for them when they encounter situations of neglect or abuse perpetrated on the children, because they have no recourse to appeal to.  On Sunday morning, when we went for a service, I encountered a girl of about 10-11 years of age crying.  I then noticed that her hand was swollen like a balloon and causing her a great deal of pain.  I thought for sure it was broken.  Through the interpreter we were able to glean that her name was Karolina, and she came for the service from another orphanage (wouldn’t say which one) where one of the leaders had smashed her hand TWO DAYS PRIOR.  I was absolutely crushed that she had been in that kind of pain for 2 days.  I immediately prayed for her healing.  Nothing happened at first so, using my North American flawed wisdom, I began to ask the American mission staff if there was a medical clinic we could take her to.  Long story short – there was no medical intervention possible.  It was such a stark reality of how these children live, and I couldn’t fathom it.  So, as the service began I just sat with the girl and held her hand gently in mine and continued to pray quietly.  After about 15 minutes I noticed the swelling had gone down significantly.  I asked one of the team to verify this, and they agreed it was less swollen.  I began to ask her to move her fingers, and she could move all fingers except her thumb.  I continued to pray as the service went on.  At the end of the service we called her up for prayer, and the team and all the children stretched out their hands in agreement for God’s healing power to touch her.  By the time we left an hour later she could move all her fingers, including her thumb, and the swelling was down enough for me to check that no bones were broken, and there was no pain.  The following Wednesday we returned to CAD for another service.  After a few minutes I felt a nudge at my side, and there was Karolina, with a big smile and a perfectly normal, functioning hand!  God is good! 

Another cool testimony from CAD is that the team’s give away for the girls was Barbie Dolls.  Afterwards we heard that the girls had been specifically praying for Barbie dolls, because it seemed like an impossible prayer!

Feed the hUngry is comitted to working in Haiti, to help build a future for these children, bringing hope out of adversity. If you would like to partner with us. visit http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ to learn how you can help

4200 miles in one week

What motivates a person to spend 3 days, 12 hours a day driving a vehicle full of food and clothes to Romania and Bulgaria?

This can only be a for the need of the 1400 children that Feed The hungry provide for in 23 different locations right across Romania, from Bread of Life orphanage in the Carpathian Mountains in the north to Giurgiu located on the Danube River on the Southern borders of Bulgaria.

Thanks to the heart response of every who donated clothing, food, catering equipment and toys for these children, this trip would not have been possible. This is a story about partnership and teamwork, a story that happens in many different ways and many times each month across every continent in 29 projects in 21 different countries, but a story worth telling.

Over the past year Feed The Hungry have been developing a program to allow a rapid expansion of resources in Romania, establishing a warehouse facility in partnership with Bread of Life, enabling the distribution of food on a regular basis to each feeding program location. This facility has enabled us to consider branching out into the Baltic countries, and prayers and research program to locate a suitable partner in Bulgaria was initiated. After careful consideration a suitable program was established in Plovdiv to assist families with children with disabilities.

Children with multiple disabilities, complex health needs and acquired brain injury pose a huge problem for their parents, as there are no facilities to help them, therefore needing constant care means that they have to stay at home, in the main these are usually single parent families, falling through the inadequate benefit system, they are left with out an income and very little state help, isolated by their circumstance they feel trapped and alone and in many cases suffering from malnutrition.

With the help of Feed The Hungry the Christian Centre at Plovdiv have opened their arms to the needs of these families. Initially we are starting to reach out to 100 families with the vision of helping 250 families in Plovdiv city alone. It is with such a cry of help from those in need that brings to life the plans and purposes of God to his children, providing these families with a weekly support visit and much needed supply of food.

Behind the scenes our logistics team in Southbend action a 40ft container of Food which this time is gifted through suppliers arranged by our Canadian office, and made available through your support from around the world to be sent by sea to Romania, a journey of 4 weeks. Whilst here in the UK your support enabled me to transport clothing, toys and food to join up with the food from America, in the process our German office had been gifted some medicine and medical equipment which I was able to pick up on route.

A journey of 1800 miles to Bucharest which took 3 days, arriving in 30C of heat exhausted but relieved to locate the warehouse, we secured the vehicle and fell into bed and comfortable slumber.

Day 4 having dropped over nearly a ton of supplies we then went to initiate a new feeding program for 70 kids in one of the poorest areas of Bucharest. The church here was desperate to provide a feeding program for its community, but without adequate resources as most of its congregation is out of work. Feed The Hungry was able to resource the kitchen, tables, chairs, and steel tableware. By resourcing 3 more tables and chairs sets we are now able to provide for 100 kids in this church, sometimes it’s the little things that need to be provided that opens avenues of hope.

Later that day we loaded up with the food that had arrived from Canada, only a few days earlier, ready for our onward journey to Plovdiv. We also used this opportunity to support our friend s in Romania by dropping monthly supplies in Giurgiu. And Ruse a partner church to Giurgiu based in Bulgaria, a further 250 miles later we arrived in the National Christian Centre Plovdiv and greeted ecstatically by Vessi and Svetlo Petrova.

For Vessi and Svetlo their family and the Church this is a big step of faith to break out into communities and families, breaking with old formats of providing group supports and having to engage with the families in their homes, families that are in need of not only physical help but relational support. Please pray that doors would remain open for them to build on these new found relationships and build bridges for these families to feel part of the community again.


For this Christ has died that we might have fullness of communion with the Father and in him be able to poor out His grace and love to those around us.

For Feed the Hungry this was a breakthrough moment, dealing with new cultural customs and linguistic challenges. Feed The Hungry will be working very closely with the Church family to provide them with supporting materials and workshops to develop the program, of family support that bring Hope and Life into dark places.

If you would like to know more about  feed the hungry please go to http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/

Thank you for taking time to read this blog

THE TWINS AT KING SOLOMONS ACADEMY.

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.