Topic: Week Twenty-one's Work is Complete (Read 3643 Times)

ccarr · « **on:** December 13, 2008, 10:04:37 AM »

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Week Twenty-one's Work is Complete

Each week we introduce you to the children of Hope Centre Burundi. We upload a picture of one child and give you their story.

Jimmy Nkunzimana

Jimmy's Story

Jimmy is 6 years old.

Jimmy is the cousin of Solange, Yvan and Kevin.

His parents were killed in 2002 when he was only a few months old. He was taken by an old woman but she was unable to care for him, so asked Pastor Leonard to take him. He could not afford to buy cow’s milk for him but convinced another woman who had a baby to feed Jimmy also.

When he was 2 years old he returned to live with the rest of the children at the home of Pastor Leonard. He is currently in primary 1 at school and doing well.

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The saga ends for elusive container:

The container was packed in the the UK in June this year and then it began it's journey to Africa at the beginning of July. There were many problems obtaining everything that was needed and agreeing the finer details with the shipping company. Just after it left the shores of the UK we were hit with a fuel surcharge due to the rising cost of fuel.

When, finally, Dar-Es-Salaam was in sight the container was kept in a holding port for at least five weeks just up the coast due to a processing back log in Dar-Es-Salaam. When it eventually reached there we were then told by their port officials that the container was too heavy and that they would either have to be split it into two smaller containers or charge us a hefty fine for the container being on their roads. We were advised by friends that we would have to visit their port and supervise the container being emptied. Thankfully this didn't happen as the shipping company managed to sort out the problem.

The container finally left Dar-Es-Salaam and made it's way across country by lorry and arrived in our port at Bujumbura last Monday (1st Dec). Our agent informed us about it's arrival on the Tuesday.

Even though we had all our documentation in place and had a good agent working for us we knew that there would be a battle to stop everybody and anybody in any position of authority trying to extract as much money from Hope Centre's funds as they could. In this Pastor Leonard worked hard and achieved a lot over the following days. However several times we were told that the container would be released that day and we would be sitting in a car for many hours at a time in the hot African sun doing nothing and then be told that there was some other document now required and yet more money to pay. Bureaucracy and corruption is killing this country

I must admit that I haven't coped well with all of the nonsense surrounding the container with many sleepness nights worrying about what lay ahead the next day and on top of all this for the last few days this week I have had the worst cold of my entire time here in Africa which made me feel very weak. This may actually have been caused by the stress surrounding the container. It's a shame really as this should have been an exciting and exhilarating time with all the donated items that were about to arrive into such a poor country.

Last Friday we were told that we could take the container but it wasn't until Wednesday this week that it was finally released from the port. Once again we were told that we could take the container at 9am. After many hot hours of hanging about at 4:30pm we were given the green light. Finally all the documentation was in place.

The Container Finally Leaves the Port for Hope Centre.

The lorry driver only had to drive out the port but refused to do this, insisting that there was some extra insurance which had to be paid and we had to give him the money for this. He knew he had us over a barrel so we reluctantly paid.

Because it was late in the day the arrangement was that the container would be put on site at Hope Centre but not opened until the following day in the presence of the port police and custom officers (Thursday). This was the part that concerned me the most as they can insist on anything and the security of the contents could easily have been compromised.

Finally we were on the way to Gatumba. Here the lorry has just left the port:

We followed the lorry to Gatumba stopping the usual tag-a-longs from hanging on the back for a free ride. The police on the road stopped the lorry but there were no problems. Pastor Leonard was with the lorry driver. When we arrived in Gatumba we went ahead to get some photos.

Now all the lorry driver had to do was just drive straight into the site where the ground had been specially prepared for it's arrival. Here is the lorry passing the site:

OK Driver, you know where the entrance is, just turn left . . . . .

For some reason, the lorry driver must have decided to reverse into the site. Possibly to get a quick get- away. In doing this he drove over a very soft piece of ground. When he began to reverse, the lorry just dug it's wheels into the ground and began to sink. Nobody had anticipated him doing this:

As we arrived most of the workers had already changed and were heading home. As soon as they saw the situation most of them returned to the site, changed into their working clothes and got straight back to work.

For the next few remaining hours of daylight they worked really hard to release the lorry. They carted bucket loads of stones and planks of wood:

We even had a steel tow rope between our truck and the lorry but still the lorry sank further into the soft ground:

Of course, there are always some that just see the funny side. These local kids just had lots of fun following us about.

Work continued whilst the sun set over the Congolese hills in the background. The container and lorry were far from the safety of the site and it became increasingly obvious that we were left with only one choice. We would have to unload everything from the container next day and leave it where it was over night.

A few phone calls later and I went to collect three armed policemen who brought along their beds. They would sleep with the lorry and container.

The next morning I met Pastor Leonard at the port where we were to pick up the port police and custom officers. When I arrived I discovered that Leonard had managed to convince the police not to come. Eventually we left with a custom's officer from the port who turned out to be a woman. We had a good conversation with her in the car.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get pictures of the opening. We reversed the truck up to the container and assisted the customers officer up onto the truck. It took about ten minutes to break the seal and open the doors.

Amazingly everything was there and hadn't moved about that much. With the lists that we had given her of what was in the container she was able to see that things were as per the list. I offered to show her pictures of the the container being filled but she was happy to accept that everything was in order even though she only looked at about 0.1% of it's contents. She left the site and we began to remove the items:

The first section of the container contained some of our belongings along with clothes and bikes that had been donated so I passed all of these to our site supervisor who passed them to our workers. We filled the truck with the clothes, bikes and our belongings. Later this would be taken to our house and garage for safe keeping until Hope Centre could use the items.

By this point I was on the verge of fainting with my infection and the intense heat inside the container and only managing to get two hours sleep the night before:

I took this picture from the container. You can see the three policemen keeping the children in line whilst materials are being carted off to the site.

Our truck was filled with the many boxes of clothes and bikes and everything else in the container would all go to the site. Amazingly, nothing was stolen:

Around about this time, our supervisor told us that the lorry driver had been given instructions to take the empty container back with him to Dar-Es-Salaam. Obviously we told him that this wasn't to happen and that we had bought the container. I asked Val to clarify with the shipping company and they advised us that the driver was correct. The reason for this was apparently due to mis-communication or a misunderstanding. We had requested that we keep the container with the contract and they had agreed but the shipping company said that they had understood this to be extra time for us to off load the materials. We don't have the container.

This does give us storage problems on site with the small container now being full, making it difficult to access anything inside so we will have to do something. If we buy another small container locally it will cost us about $2,000 so we are considering building some other temporary store on site?

Some of the tools and materials that were being moved into the site:

Next the large cement mixer is off loaded. By this time one of our Burundian friends offered to take some pictures with my camera.

Although this image doesn't quite show it as soon as the cement mixer landed safely everyone clapped and shouted. I and one other had straps wrapped around our wrists holding some of it's weight. I was joking, in sign language, with the other worker that if this mixer drops we would catapulted out of the container:

Next came the smaller mixer. These items will be so important on site:

All the paint came off next:

On one of my trips back to the site I thought I would carry a bag of cement on my head. Carrying heavy weights like this make sense to me with all the weight going down through the centre of your body. However I must admit that by the time I reached the gates of the site my back was sore and I had to move it down to my shoulder.

We put a tarpaulin over the truck and headed back to our house in Bujumbura:

On the road we were stopped by custom officials and also twice by the police. Amazingly we didn't have too many problems with them. The extremely fancy looking bike particularly could have been a big temptation for them. One policeman did ask for 100fbu but, if you know me by now, on principle I don't pander to their requests for money even though their 100fbu is the equivalent of about £0.05. They let us go:

Amazingly the lorry managed to reverse right into our garage where we off loaded everything. This gives Val a chance to sort through all the donated clothes etc:

One of the items that appeared in the truck is this 20 person medical kit donated by children in the UK. This is now back on site where it belongs:

Over the last couple of days Val has had a chance to go through the many bags and boxes of clothes that were donated. She was very moved by what she found. Before we left we were too busy to take a look and so everything was just put into the container. Now she is finding that many of you have even purchased new clothes etc especially for the children. Val has already sorted out a lot of the clothes and has discussed with Pastor Leonard the best way to distribute the items.

On site Vincent is doing his best to re-organise all the materials that can't go in our small container.

As for the manufacture of the doors and windows. These are going well. In this picture you will see some of the timber stacked up at the back that came in the container:

The block work is still going well but compared to the UK the brickies are still a bit slow. This is not a problem as they are building to a good standard and, relatively speaking, it's not costing that much for their time. Here is house number two:

And here is house number one:

On Friday I prepared the cement mixers and generator. They all worked first time.

We were impressed with the big cement mixer as it has a battery starter built in. That battery has been in the container for 5 months and it started first time.

Elsewhere in Bujumbura, here is a picture that I took of some children outside their school in town. They are being made to cut the grass and clean up the grounds. When I drove past the school later in the day they were still hard at work:

Our boys have also had a tough week at school. The Burundian education system puts a lot of emphasis on exams and every term finishes with a whole series of exams on what has been learned that term. Even John, who is in year 5, has had exams each day, and Samuel has had up to three exams each day. Yesterday was French, Physics and Geography for him - a tough day. The arrival of the container containing some of their toys, Matthew's bike, and, best of all, their trampoline, has brightened up their week. We have put the trampoline in the garage where it will attract less attention and be out of the strong sun.

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Mission International

Christmas 2008 e-Newsletter:

In this issue:

Uganda

Rwanda

Burundi

India

Welcome to the Mission International Christmas 2008 e-Newsletter!
Below you will find a short account of each country/project in which Mission International is involved and a link to the related blog where more detailed information can be found. Please also visit our website www.mission-international.org there you will find a link to our prayer blog, we would really value your prayers as we seek to share the Good News with many and serve God amongst the world's poor, including many Christians who are in desperate need. If you feel you would like to get involved by going on a team or perhaps you can pray for Mission International and our partners then we would love to hear from you. If you can help support our projects/partners financially in even a small way please print the appropriate Bank Mandate (regular giving) form and GiftAid form or One-off donation Form (Includes a giftaid section), and send in your donation to:

Mission International

25 Tait's Lane,

Dundee, DD2 1DZ,

Scotland, UK.

mail@mission-international.org

+44(0)7982250514

Uganda:

This year has been busy in Uganda. Our partners there are all making progress and much has happened during the course of 2008.

Mighty Meals (Bweyogerere): Mighty Meals Blog Page click here

   * Bweyogerere Multi Purpose Primary School has now been running the Mighty Meals programme for over one year. Many children are receiving food every day whilst they are at school. Orphan children and those from very poor families may be able to have a place in school but the hunger pangs which they feel daily interrupt their education.

Africa Renewal Ministries (ARM-Gabba): ARM website click here

   * Menzieshill High School Team:
   o During October 2008 a team of 8 pupils and 3 staff from Menzieshill High School in Dundee accompanied Hugh Henderson to Uganda. The team was based in Gabba with ARM and travelled to Bethany Village and Namutamba to be involved with the communities there. The team were able to resource schools and medical centres as well as fund a sports field for the Bethany Village school and community. As a result of their visit to Namutamba the team has agreed to support that work with child sponsorship and the future development of the school on a new site. The team also visited some of the tourist attractions like the source of the Nile, the equator and the Murchison Falls and game Park.
   * Sponsorship partnerships:
   o Mission International has began a partnership agreement for child sponsorship with ARM. We currently have the names of 20 children who we have agreed to sponsor, please consider how you might help in this crucial programme.
   * Mwangaza Children's Choir UK tour:
   o The ARM team have asked Mission International and others to host a UK tour for the Mwangaza children's choir in 2010, we will keep you posted about this as and when all of the agreements are in place.

Parental Care Ministries: (Mbarara): Henderson School Blog

   * Mbarara Pentecostal Life Church
   o Currently the church has a piece of land for which they have made part payment. The church currently meets under polythene in the Henderson School grounds but it is hoped that funds can be found to finally purchase the church land and construct a permanent building for worship.
   * Henderson School
   o This school has developed quickly over the last few years. New government regulations have made development of the school a lot more difficult but the team there are willing to do their best to comply.
   o After a recent UK tour by Pastor Emmanuel Nnyanzi and his daughter Grace there is now in place a draft plan for the future which UK and USA partners will adopt and work toward making the future of this vital ministry more secure in the long term
   * Parental Care orphanage
   o Henderson School currently educated 191 pupils all of who require some sort of care. There are those who are orphaned by one or both parents, there are those who are abandoned by one or both parents and there are those who come from extremely poor families and backgrounds. All of the 191 children fall into one of these three categories. The orphanage is designed to house and care for these children whilst they are at school.
   * Child sponsorship programme
   o The child sponsorship programme, run in partnership with Mission International, wants to bring financial support to the children of the Henderson School/Parental Care orphanage in order that their basic needs can be met. The financial support raised will make sure that the children are well fed, clothed, housed and educated, as well as provide basic medical care.

Rwanda:

   * Star School - Star school blog click here

   o Star School, the vision of Rev. Nathan Amooti Rusengo of Rwanda to provide high quality education for the children of Rwanda, is currently in need of resources to fund furniture and equipment for the school. The school need beds, and desks and books etc. If you feel you can help resource this exciting project please print off the forms linked to this message.
   o How about a team of carpenters and engineers heading for Rwanda for a few weeks to help put some beds and desks together? To download a teams application form click here.
   o Currently Star school requires an administrator, based in Rwanda, if you would like to know more please let us know. Please contact us on mail@mission-international.org for more information

Burundi:

   * Rema Team - Rema Team Blog and Rema UK website
   o The REMA team is a very strategic resource to the nation of Burundi. Currently Burundi is the poorest country in the world, politically sensitive and financially desperate. During their time in exile a team of refugees gathered to pray for their beloved country and seek ways in which they could support those in need including their fellow refugees and those with HIV/AIDS. Their efforts have been very successful but still there is need for much more support. Mission International has entered into partnership with the REMA team to find strategic ways of supporting the team in order that they can go about their work unhindered. To date Mission International has funded income generating projects for the team so that they can commit themselves to the ministry. Your help in this endeavour would be much valued.
   * Burundi Summer Team - Teams blog click here and Teams application form click here
   o During July/August 2008 a team of five from the UK visited Burundi and were involved in evangelism, discipleship training and income generating project work in centre around Burundi. The team visited, Gitega, Rutana, Rumonge and Gatumba, their ministry, support and friendship was very much appreciated. Mission International is planning a Burndi team for 2009, if you would like to be considered for that team please complete an application form and return it to us.
   * Hope Centre - Hope Centre website click here or Hope Centre Blog click here
   o We are so grateful to God for the involvement of Charles & Val Carr and their family in the development of this project. The Carrs were seeking a place to serve God where they could use their skills and contacted Mission International to see if there was a project in which they could become involved. Of course they got in touch at the right time since a new project was about to begin in Burundi called the Hope Centre. The Carrs agreed to go, supervise and manage this project and as a result there has been wonderful progress to this heart rending situation. A weekly update is posted on the Hope Centre website so please make sure you have a look.

India:

   * India Village Ministries (IVM): IVM website click here
   o Summer Team 2008. A team from Woodhill Evangelical Church visited both IVM & GEM over a two week period in August 2008. The team were involved in evangelism, church ministry and children's ministry, they also visited those who are suffering from leprosy. Mission International hopes to send a team to IVM in 2009.
   * Gideon Evangelical Ministries - Visakapatnam: Gideon Evangelical Ministries blog click here
   o Pastor Nathaniel Varaprasad and his wife Beulah serve in the villages surrounding the town of Visakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Currently Mission International is working with Pastor Nathaniel to develop income generating projects to provide support for

How to send your support:

If you feel you can help in even a small way please print the appropriate Bank Mandate (regular giving) form and GiftAid form or One-off donation Form (Includes a giftaid section), and send in your donation to:

Mission International

25 Tait's Lane,

Dundee, DD2 1DZ,

Scotland, UK.

mail@mission-international.org

+44(0)7982250514

www.mission-international.org

--
Hugh Henderson

Mission International is a charity registered in Scotland - Number SC038645

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Author Topic: Week Twenty-one's Work is Complete (Read 3643 Times)

« on: December 13, 2008, 10:04:37 AM »

ccarr

Week Twenty-one's Work is Complete