King's News - Latest News - Containers to Africa

Latest update - Background - Thanks! - Future needs - News flash - Prayer pointers - Further info

One down, one to go - the first container filled

Latest

Saturday 21st September 2002 - Members of Tavistock Community Church (TCC) at the King’s building in Pixon Lane, Tavistock, loaded two 20-foot containers with goods donated from hospitals, councils, schools, businesses and many individuals from all over the UK. Under the auspices of Great Lakes (Africa) Mission (GLAM), the team from TCC loaded about a thousand items ranging from computers and printers to bandages, uniforms, gowns, oxygen masks and even spare legs!

These provisions will prove a tremendous help to the people of Central Africa, some of whom are recovering from the ravages of war, while many others still suffer from ongoing conflict (see News Flash below). With a lot of help, GLAM is working with local African people to set up up clinics and dispensaries for the sick and wounded. The computers will be used to provide administrative backup to the clinic and church work, as well as providing much needed business opportunities in the larger towns and cities.

Background

Tavistock Community Church began working with Bishop Sadiki in Rwanda in 1998. Back then, Sadiki led one church in Kigali with a congregation of 30. With the support of TCC, he now heads a network of 100 ‘Family of God’ churches with a combined membership of about 30,000.

The containers project began back at the start of 2001. The seed was a simple idea – ‘Could computers that are unwanted in this country be useful in Africa?’ – but it quickly grew. Within a matter of months we had received hundreds of items of computer equipment, and had also started receiving surplus medical supplies from local hospitals. Great Lakes (Africa) Mission was formed to oversee the project of getting the supplies out to Africa and seeing that it is distributed and used wisely once the containers get there.

Close to filling the second container with computer and educational supplies

Thanks!

The containers were financed by people from TCC and the townspeople of Tavistock, with some generous donations from outside benefactors. The Tavistock townspeople and the Tavistock Times have been a great support and encouragement to us. Tavistock has become the centre of a huge amount of donated equipment from contributors including county councils, schools, businesses and even other charities (Operation Sunshine from Whitchurch donated some bikes)! Many local people have helped provide transport and vital storage space for all the equipment.

If you donated some equipment, provided some storage space, helped out with transport, sent a letter or e-mail of encouragement, prayed for us, helped out financially – whatever you did, it helped get the project to this stage and we’re so grateful. It wouldn’t have happened without you!

Especial thanks to the following:-

Storage – Noel Meakin, Hurdwick Farm, Gilead
Advice – Alfred Tobler (Swedish Evangelical Society), Les Church (FSI Ltd), Felicity Derry-Thomas (Operation Sunshine)
Transport – Gilead, Anthony Bridge, Jerry Morris, Ivybridge Tile Centre

Future needs

Over £8,000 has been spent by TCC to send these two containers. We still have materials ready and waiting to go, and have more goods arriving still! We need another £8,500 to send more containers. Donations? Phone 01822 616625.

It would be wonderful if local schools could sponsor a Rwandan classroom. Children could donate pencils, books etc, while a school donating £50 a month would pay the wages for a teacher in Rwanda. That teacher could educate up to 40 orphans who otherwise face a life of begging, prostitution or crime.

Doctors, technicians, teachers may like to give a couple of months training, in situ, to the locals. There’s a real need for managerial/administrative/organisational/book-keeping skills.

News flash


Africa...	...the Great Lakes region...	...Rwanda

There is still tribal rivalry and some bloodshed in Rwanda and Burundi, but their problems pale into insignificance beside the terrible (and largely unreported) war raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west of Rwanda (see map above). An estimated 3½ million people have been killed in the last few years. Only last week (mid-September 2002) a massacre was reported at Nyankunde Hospital (near Bunia) in eastern Congo, where 600 doctors, nurses and patients, including babies, were slaughtered as part of an ethnic cleansing programme.

Prayer pointers

STOP PRESS - URGENT

Rwanda's national economy is in a very distressed state. The government has stopped paying some of its soldiers, but haven't taken away their guns and uniforms! This has given rise to some penniless soldiers with guns and uniforms able to threaten people into giving them money, resulting in a widespread sense of general insecurity in the country. Other bandits have acquired past war equipment and are also causing trouble.

Sadiki and his family have been frequently attacked and threatened, and are currently scattered around Europe. Sadiki's wife Violette was especially unnerved by the attacks (she barely escaped with her life after a violent beating during the 1994 genocide). Praise God, they are gradually reassembling - four of the children are now back together in Rwanda and Sadiki is returning there very soon.

PLEASE PRAY...

- for Sadiki and Violette and their children - that in this testing time, God may grant them to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in their inner being, and that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith (Eph 3:16-17). May He grant them hope and courage, especially to Violette who is such a tremendous warrior for the Lord! Also pray for their safety, and that God finds them a secure home.
- that the fellowship of the church network leaders in Central Africa grows and matures during Sadiki's absence.

FINANCE

- please pray for God's great blessing in establishing the work of GLAM in Central Africa. There are thousands of recipients waiting, tons of goods waiting and no finances! Help!

THANKS

- for the Holy Spirit spreading more churches across Europe and the UK as a result of Sadiki's visit here.
- for family safety.
- for the growth of Family of God fellowship in Europe.

Phone Colin on 01822 616625. If you would like higher resolution images suitable for printing, contact Ken on 01822 616625.

Press release from Tavistock Community Church; registered charity number 801576

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Tavistock Community Church - registered charity no. 801576