Thank you

Thank you so much to everyone who donated shoes and coats to send to Serenje. It was a real community effort with children from Sandy Lane, mums and children from Sparklers and church contributing. In total we gave 240 pairs of shoes and 160 coats to the children in Serenje. That's a lot of children who can now go to school in the winter because they've got a warm coat and a decent pair of shoes for the long walk. You can see the boxes being collected by DHL from church on Thursday, ready to be flown out to Serenje. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this possible, in particular Penny Lander who headed this up. It's so exciting to know there will be more children in school because of these shoes and coats.

Sharing

I was watching one of these fashion make-over programmes and they were saying that you should throw out anything you haven't worn for 6 months. One statistic I read recently said 'Women spend £1,000 a year on their wardrobe but only wear 30% of their clothes'. Wow.

We live in a throw away culture don't we? The fashion changes, the size of our body changes (sad but true!), we're bored of it, we don't know why we ever bought it in the first place etc etc.

I have to be honest and admit that I enjoy getting new clothes, and feeling lovely in my new outfit. But when I was in Serenje we met a family whose children wouldn't be able to go to school because they didn't have a warm winter coat or shoes for the long walk to school. And suddenly two such different worlds collide. I have a wardrobe full of clothes and they will miss out on essential education if they don't get a coat and a pair of shoes. Crazy isn't it?

It isn't about guilt, it about sharing what we have, with those that don't. What a privilege to be able to give stuff away. To a friend, to a charity shop or if you have some children's shoes and winter coats in your cupboard, to Serenje. From
Sunday 14th to Monday 22nd June we're collecting shoes and coats to send to the children in Serenje. What we need is:
Shoes for children aged 5-15 (need to be hard wearing-for cold weather and long walks!)
Warm winter coats for children aged 3-15
Please take them to reception and let them know that they're for Serenje.

So while I do enjoy new clothes, I've got a feeling giving some away is going to feel a whole lot better.

Connections

It's so exciting to see how our connections with Serenje are growing all the time. We had our first team meeting for the group going out to Serenje this summer last week. We're going from the 24th July to the 9th August. Please pray for Alex and the team at EFZ as they prepare for our visit. We're going to be doing a range of things:
-teaching sports and games to schoolchildren
-helping to set up and organise a library
-write a business plan for the guesthouse (this will be on the plot of land we've bought, along with the dormitory)
-teaching gardening skills to a youth group who want to set up a gardening project

But there are a number of other connections with Serenje which are developing. Following on from Sandy Lane partnering with Kankoso primary school, a number of Bracknell schools have expressed interest in partnering with schools in Serenje, so Alex and his team in Serenje are looking into what this will look like.

While we were there in April we heard about 5 deaf children who aren't able to go to school and 2 children who need wheelchairs. We're in the process of getting costings for the deaf children getting to school as well as exploring the best way to provide wheelchairs, with support from an organisation called Wheelchairs for Africa.

We're also collecting shoes and coats for children who stop going to school in the winter because it's too cold for them to walk. For some of them the trip to school can be up to 5 hours there and back. Penny and myself will be providing more details of what's needed and where to bring donations, shortly. The above photo is of Lee and some of the children we met in a village in Serenje called Kashitu, who need coats and shoes for the winter. As you can see they're gorgeous and love seeing themselves on film!!

So it's really exciting and there are lots of ways to get involved with what's happening in Serenje. We are gathering a team to help organise the various projects I've mentioned above. If one of these particularly interests you and you'd like to get involved please contact me (Zoe) - I'd love to hear from you!

News from Serenje

Those of you who were at last night's Prayer Meeting will have seen a 5 minute film from our recent visit to Serenje. Seeing the film reminded me again how exciting it was to seeing the amazing things that are happening there and what a privilege it is to be partnering with such special people.Things are developing all the time.






As Simon has mentioned, we're buying a plot of land. The plan is to build a dormitory and a guesthouse on it. The dormitory is so that when girls move from primary to secondary school they have a safe place to stay. Rather than having to rent accommodation locally and put themselves at risk. The guesthouse is for income generation so that the project is sustainable. I heard today that money for the land is being handed over to the buyer tomorrow. This is great news as it means we've definately got the plot we wanted! You can see from the photos it's a big plot of land.




I also heard that they have been able to purchase 10 bicycles. They will be offically handed over to the Serenje Project Committee tomorrow. Two bikes will be given to each of the 4 communities that we're working in and then 2 bikes will be given to Alex (on the right), who is our amazing Project Officer based in Serenje.

The bikes given to the communities will be loaned out for use in the work of the project - for example pastors or volunteers visiting people living with HIV. By foot these journeys could take hours. You may have heard stories of Alex flying around Serenje on his motorbike while we were there. I learned today that the motorbike isn't his and has to be hired out each time he uses it. So now he has his own bike and another one for people joining him on visits to the communities. What a difference a few bikes can make.

A different future

Serenje is a district of around 144,000 people and we're working in 4 communities. The first of these is a place called Kashitu. The community only has one primary school and because of this, some children walk 56km to get there. This can be a 5 hour round trip. As it's such a long journey some of them sleep on classroom floors Monday to Friday and go home at the weekends. You can see Simon and Alex (our Project Officer in Serenje) standing in front of 2 of the classrooms. Around 30 girls and 30 boys sleep on the floor of these classrooms. As we walk inside my heart drops. They are empty rooms with cold stone floors. In the boys room there is rubble all over the floors and a old wheelbarrow. There are no beds or anything to indicate that children sleep there. The other photo shows how the toilet blocks have sunk into the ground because of the rain.

We chatted with 2 of the teachers in a small room. There were lots of educational posters on the wall, but I noticed on the wall a hand written chart, with the following columns:
-Grade
-Number enrolled
-Girls
-Boys
-Deaths

Deaths. One those poignant reminders of how different our worlds are.
This was our first visit of the trip and it was all very sobering.

But then we walked into one classroom and there were 18 young people and children studying. And we are told that these are children we're sponsoring to go to school. I can't stop a massive smile spreading across my face. Most of them are orphans and they had dropped out of school. But now they're having extra lessons to help them catch up. If you were at church on Sunday you'll have seen Simon show this photo of Mapwe who is 15 and is one the young people we're supporting.


There are lots of challenges in Kashitu, but 18 young people are now going to be part of creating a different future for that community and their families.

Back Home

It's weird to think that on Tuesday I was watching an African sunrise in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. And now I'm back in Bracknell straight into the routine of work and everyday life. How can two such different places exist in the same world? I'm struck again by the luxury and convenience of my world. In Serenje we stayed in fairly basic accommodation, where we washed using a bucket, the toilet didn't flush properly, we couldn't drink water out of the tap and we ate the same food every day. And yet this was incredible luxury compared to most of the people we met in the villages. And now I'm back home and I have my hot shower, my flushing toilet and my fridge full of my favourite foods. So what do we do with all this? How do we hold these two extremes together?

One way is to stay connected with what's happening in Serenje. I'll be updating this blog around once a month with info, stories, photos and prayer requests that I hope will connect us with individuals and their lives. Please encourage your family, friends and Life Group to sign up to this blog, so we can share what's happening with as many people as possible. Hillsong worship leader Brooke Fraser went on a trip to Rwanda and wrote a song about a little girl she met called Albertine. One line from the song says: 'Now that I have seen I am responsible. I will tell the world, I will tell them Albertine.'

Let's tell the world what's happening in Serenje.

Heaven touches Earth

Our trip is coming to a close and we will be flying home tomorrow a.m. As always the sun is shining and the beautiful green African countryside is at it's best. It has been inspiring spending time with the team in Serenje who are doing such a good job.

I am humbled to see all that God is doing here. We have met orphans who are now at school, we have seen fields full of crops and women who visit those with HIV and pastors who love their communities. The task is huge but many lives are being changed. God a here and something of heaven is touching earth.

Zoe