Two planeloads of relief supplies for Darfur!

Posted by christine, August 21, 2007

Nothing short of a miracle…

On August 9th, we received word from our partners on the ground in the village of Jach in Darfur, Sudan that the area had turned into a swamp because of endless rains. That meant that the men, women, and children could not be reached with the emergency relief supplies that YOU, our Mocha Club members, have helped provide! This was discouraging because the warehouse in Kenya was overflowing with food, medicine, blankets, shelter tarps and mosquito nets – yet the plane sat idle on the tarmac unable to leave. But God provided a way!

Two days later, our team sent word that the airstrip in Darfur was landable and the plane left with all of the supplies! Every area where the plane flew was cloudy and threatening rain, but we trusted in the Lord to keep the rain away. He held the rain and our plane landed safely with the supplies in the village of Jach.

As they were unloading the supplies, it started drizzling. However, soon after the team finished unloading, the pilots were ready to take off again, and as they were turning the plane, the front wheels hit a mud pit and the nose of the plane nearly touched the ground. The plane had dug down into a 2 foot hole and you could hardly see the wheels. The whole village was there with hoes, spades, machetes and other digging tools to rescue the plane but not even a push could help move it. And the more they pushed, the more it sank.

Everyone worked to dig the wheels out until 9 pm that night. The pilots had no choice but to spend a night in the village with the plane on the ground. The next day the sky was very clear, and all the men from the village were there very early in the morning to push and dig.

At about 1pm, the plane was finally pushed out of the mud pit! The plane moved to the runway slowly under strict supervision and off it took, the whole field full of screams and shouts of merriment and joy!

The next day, Sunday, we were blessed again with clear and sunny skies, and the second flight with African Leadership/Mocha Club relief items landed in Jach at 10 am!

Because of these relief supplies, you have provided…

  • Mosquito nets – huge need because of massive mosquito breeding
  • Blankets – it is now very cold in Darfur
  • Tarps – temporary shelter for the new refugees arriving in the area
  • Medicine – during rain season, many type of diseases are encountered – stomach problems, coughs, malaria, diarrhea, skin infections etc.
  • Food – many families in Jach are hungry and some cases of people dying of starvation were reported

Thank you, Mocha Club friends, for making this possible!

More building progress at Village of Hope!

Posted by christine, August 17, 2007

We’re excited to give you an update for the Village of Hope in Gulu, Uganda. This a village where nearly 500 “child mothers” and their babies have access to a medical facility, a job training center, a school for their children, and homes for those who need shelter. Some amazing progress has been made, thanks to you, our Mocha Club members…

1. As you already know, the Job Training Center has been completed! It was officially opened on July 6th, 2007 in a colorful ceremony, with the mayor of Gulu, Uganda in attendance.
Currently, the center is training the women in tailoring, designing, and bread baking. One of the training center rooms is being used as a nursery school for the children living at Village of Hope, until the school is completed.

2. The Medical Clinic is almost completed! It’s slated to be finished by September and then the center will begin receiving medical supplies, which we will provide as well. Here are some photos of the progress…

Clinic Pictures 001 Clinic Pictures 017

3. We are helping fund a micro-finance program for the Child Mothers. As the Child Mothers face difficulties such as fear of re-abduction, lack of food, rent money, and medical care, we are giving them loans to help fund their own businesses. This helps the mothers become self-reliant, thus reducing the temptation of prostitution for survival. Currently there are 180 girls trained with basic business skills and are ready to start up their businesses.

How does the micro-finance program work?

  • A grant of about $180-$250 is given to each Child Mother as initial capital for the business (no interest is charged).
  • The Child Mothers form groups of 10 girls each, and conduct weekly evaluation meetings, study Bibles together and share prayer requests.
  • Our staff monitors the progress of each of the businesses.
  • The micro-finance beneficiaries are mentored and monitored by the local staff for 8 months, including evaluations on the progress of the business, growth, problems, and how to solve those problems, examples, and guidance in sound decision making. After 8 months, the women are prepared to fit into their community and equipped to make sound decisions on their own.

>> See all building plans for Village of Hope

What is a “Child Mother”?

These young women are called “child mothers” because they were only children themselves when they were abducted, trained as fighters, and given as sex slaves to rebel soldiers in the “Lord’s Resistance Army,” a rebel paramilitary group in Northern Uganda. Now that they have escaped or been excused as expendable, the community at large rejects them and their children.

Video message from Prince in Ghana

Posted by christine, August 16, 2007

In a recent update, we introduced you to “Prince” one of the HIV+ orphans we care for at Grace Orphanage in Ghana. Today we’re excited to share some unique video footage of Prince himself, interviewed by one of our staff members. Is it worth giving up $7 a month to help a child like Prince? We think so…

The Rocks Cry Out.

Posted by christine, August 6, 2007

We thought you’d enjoy this update from our partners in Sudan. What a great reminder of God’s hand in all things. Thank you for being an instrumental part of helping us rebuild and regrow Sudan with our partners on the ground.

The Rocks Cry Out
by Matt Chancey

Whenever I go to Africa, my heart is to bless others. Yet, whenever I go, I seem to end up coming away with the greatest blessing. I want to share one of these blessings with you.

The “road” to the Kiir River was bumpy and windy. Clouds of dust billowed behind our vehicle as we slowly progressed through Southern Darfur in 130 degree heat.
I was crammed, along with several ministry partners and armed SPLA troops, inside a rickety old Land Cruiser, driven by a genocide survivor from Darfur. On the tailgate, someone had painted a portrait of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.
Among the team members was Patrick Kapuka of World Vision. We had invited Patrick as a geology expert to our refugee compound in Jach to survey the possibility of long-term sustainable agricultural programs. Then we headed to another refugee camp on the Kiir, inside Darfur, to review conditions there.

Matt March 2007 Photos 030

Matt Chancey (far left) with Patrick Kapuka (extreme right) near the Darfur border


I pocketed a few stones, and we continued up to the river.
That night at our base camp, I sat under a dazzling canopy of stars. With no light pollution, the night sky in Sudan is breathtaking. I couldn’t stop thinking about the stones and the truth of God’s Word. The Flood really did cover the whole earth, and I held the evidence in my hand.


God gave us rainbows to remind us that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. But the rocks are a sobering reminder that a global judgment did indeed take place.
Sin has consequences. But the same God who judged Noah’s world provided the rainbow. He also gave us a Redeemer who did what even a global flood was unable to do. He washed away our sins.
Whenever I look at one of these ocean rocks from the desert, I rejoice again in my incredible salvation. And I hope, as you read this, you will too.

Darfur Rock

Living Hope Update: Soccer Camp + Self-Esteem

Posted by christine, August 2, 2007

The following is an update from Living Hope Community Centre near Cape Town, South Africa, which is ministering to those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

2010, Here They Come!

LivingHope-July1

“We won! We won! We beat them 13 goals to none!” They are a bunch of boys, ages 8 to 13. They do not have fancy soccer clothes or shoes, and more often than not, they have to practice in what space there is in the church yard. Yet, the boys’ soccer club at Living Hope has the potential to change the lives of these young people forever. The alternative choices they could make for spending their time are far less promising and positive.

It all started on a holiday when Sonwabo, then a seminary student also on holiday, watched a group of boys as they played soccer. They fought and cussed, and right then, he determined to do something. Sonwabo asked if he could help them and organized the soccer dlub. The club now meets weekly to tune their skills, and to learn those life lessons not only with words, but through their interaction with Sonwabo as their teacher. “I want to influence them and impact them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Sonwabo says. The kids learn discipline, order, how to win and how to lose and what it means to be loved! Sonwabo believes that their lives will be permanently changed for good and that they will be empowered to make positive choices for their futures.

Living Hope Kids Learn Self-Esteem

LivingHope-July2

Living Hope volunteer Heidi Steinrock shared a video with the 11 kids at the after school club at the Ocean View location to show them how special they are. After the video, Life Skills Educator, Melanie Mogoiwa asked the kids if there is ever a time when they don’t feel special. “Yes,” one boy said, “when they hit you.” Another small girl in a pink shirt and braided hair said, “When you steal.”

“Do you think God makes junk?” Mogiwa asked. “No,” they replied while shaking their heads. Mogoiwa explained God loves them no matter how they look or where they’re from. After a day at school with classmates who poke fun, the kids look forward to this club where Mogoiwa is considered fun and cool, as well as safe, both in her words and actions. What a contrast to most people in their lives.

“If you tell them they can spend the rest of the afternoon into the evening here, they will do that, just to avoid going home,” Mogoiwa says. Because the kids don’t see hope in their life situations, Mogoiwa feels she must do all she can to be a living example of God’s faithfulness. “All I can do is say, this is how the love of God works. It’s here all the time, it’s secure, and He wants to protect you.” Mogoiwa’s work in helping the children with self-esteem is an important link to HIV/AIDS prevention.

AIDS Grows Faster than Treatment

The importance of a responsible Christian lifestyle in the work with HIV/AIDS cannot be overemphasized with the news that while anti-retroviral drugs have dramatically increased the health of people with the virus, they have also allowed so many to return to the kind of behaviors that led to the problem in the first place. This is especially true among younger people. A United Nations report says that “for every South African who started taking anti-retroviral drugs last year, five others contracted HIV, and research shows that a South African who turns 15 today has nearly a 50 percent chance of contracting the virus.”

“It is clear we cannot deemphasize a Christian lifestyle while we continue to emphasize treatment,” says John Thomas, Living Hope Chairman. “While we fully support every means used to help prevent this disease, we remain committed to our belief that it is primarily in abstinence and faithfulness in marriage that we can begin to slow this killer virus.” While one of the concerns is that Christians preach against certain sins and do not show much care, Thomas points out that Living Hope does both. “We demonstrate daily that we care deeply,” says Thomas. “We believe we have earned the right to speak up on this issue.”