Bad news
Let me start with the bad news and end on a high!
Stories of severe flooding have been filling the media in recent days in the UK. To have your house inundated with water must be devastating but in the UK there are ways through and support is available. Now imagine living in a mud block house when the torrential rains come – and they are a lot heavier in Africa than in the UK. This is what happened to our brothers and sisters in Burundi two nights ago. And many of them are not just poor – they are destitute, not knowing where the next meal is coming from.
Donna Bloomfield is there at present and is doing all she can to help the people start to rebuild their lives. To this end she has launched an appeal. Can you please help? Even a small donation of, say, £10/$10 goes a long way in Africa. Here is what she wrote yesterday:
“CRISIS APPEAL:
Last night torrential rain in Bujumbura, Burundi caused flooding and led to many homes collapsing and left others too dangerous for people to stay in. In the communities we are working with, where families are already struggling for food and shelter, this is devastating. They have nowhere else to go. Some families told us they planned to sleep outside in the open tonight as they don’t have the means to move elsewhere or find a safer place to stay.
“Can you help? Any amount will make a huge difference.
“Thank you so much for your support.”
Donate here
Good News
The good news is that these people are very resourceful and want to help themselves. In the last few days these same people have been able to harvest the maize crop that they have so faithfully grown having been faithful and diligent in learning how to use the Foundations for Farming principles they have been taught, as developed by Brian Oldreive in Zimbabwe. Sadly the crop is not as plentiful as had been hoped due to earlier rains resulting in flooding and water-logged land. But despite that the yield has been 3 to 4 times that expected from traditional methods of farming. In this way they have made a significant in-road to the challenges of hunger that they live with.
During their training and working in the fields many have also come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. I love to see the Kingdom of God advance in such ways!
Jesus (and his body, the church) came “to bring good news to the poor…to proclaim liberty to the captives … that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord…” (Is 61:1-3)