HOMEPAGE | EVENTS | NEWS | LINKS

DUNVANT GOSPEL HALL
Heart of the Community

You are in: News>Kasama Herald

Other articles

Kasama Herald

Mark and Shirley Davies' latest newsletter from Zambia.

Introduction
News on the Church Front
"Domestic Matters"
New Bemba Bible Translation Team
Meeting the social needs created by AIDS
   The Baby Crisis Centre
   The Orphan Project
Zambia Missionaries in Mozambique Mutita and Charity Kashimoto
Mark's Home Visit

[Back to Previous Page]

Meeting the social needs created by AIDS

The Baby Crisis Centre.
There are seven babies in care at present. The eighth baby, Hector seven months old died last week, an AIDS victim. For the five months following his mother's death we looked after him at the Centre as he struggled to stay alive. At the end of August he gave up the fight having gained only 1 kg from his birth weight. Main prayer need is for suitable arrangements to be made for the remaining babies to be returned to their extended families. We hold a Baby Club each Tuesday afternoon which keeps us in touch with our discharged and out cases. The first baby, David, we took in is now two years old, healthy and in the care of his father. The quads are almost two and it's a joy to see them develop well. Taking photos of them is difficult as they want to run in four directions! We had a dedication service on 17th September, for four of our in-cases and the triplets. The triplets are now one year old and due to go back with their mother to her home village about 25 kms away. The four in-cases are also due to be settled back with their extended family by the end of October. The dedication service was a tremendous opportunity to present the claims of Christ to the relatives of the babies. There were 25 relatives and friends who attended. Afterwards we had meal in our home for them all, with the Crisis Centre staff and some of the local churches' leaders. Pray for these extended family groups as they take on once again the care of their own children.

The Orphan Project
With the Orphan scheme, we have been asked to work with the District Health Board, to cover home based care of AIDS suffers and their families for five sections -of the District. Funding is being provided for the extra work but the greatest need is for the right people. Part of the work is to train Christians to co-ordinate home based care of terminally ill patients in their area. Pray for key Christians to volunteer for this work. We need five in each area, i.e. at least 25 total. Pray for evangelical Christians to give themselves to forefront the work and take up the many opportunities it will give to share Christ with others. So far, the main training workshop has been completed and went well.

Dr Le Bacq, a Belgian doctor who with his wife Ann recently came to know the Lord and with whom we have been having Bible studies, did a lot of the lectures at the workshop. So it was good to be working as a team with him and hearing technical, medical lectures being delivered from a Christian viewpoint! Pray for the implementation of training given and that local churches will support and utilise these 25 or so believers who are embarking on this home care work. Shirley is busy co-ordinating the Crisis Centre and the Orphan care work plus the above mentioned new initiative with the District Board. Mark is handling the admin. and accountancy work involved. We now have two full time staff with the Scheme. Timothy Kaimba is project coordinator, an excellent brother who we have worked with over the years in Scripture Union work and other youth activities. The other is a nurse, Mary who was seconded to us by the District Health Board. We think should be able to work together well in the Orphan Scheme.

We, (Shirley and I plus the Zambian Team we with in Kasama) feel that we critically need property in Kasama, which would be a base for the Child Care Crisis Centre. This would include the residential care of the babies as well as space for an office for the Orphan Care Scheme and storage rooms. In conjunction with the church planting teams we want also to include a Christian Resource Centre on the same property with a Library, Study room, store for teaching aids/videos to loan out to church leaders and a small hall in which to hold seminars. A couple of properties have come up for sale at very reasonable prices. Pray with us that if it is right before the Lord, we will see the way ahead and get the required resources to move forward in these avenues of work. The immediate problem is finding the most suitable property from which to run two activities (Crisis Centre and Resource Centre). It is cheaper to buy already constructed buildings than to build ourselves on an undeveloped plot. Pray that we may get the right property.

[Read more News -Zambian Missionaries in Mozambique] [Index] [Top]

Zambian Missionaries in Mozambique Mutita and Charity Kashimoto

Pray on for Mutita and Charity. Communication with them isn't easy so we've no recent news. Remember them as they work in this remote corner of Mozambique among an essentially Moslem tribe. Pray for the growth in Christ of the new believers.

[Index] [Top]

Last Update 30 December 2000