Show God's Love to Africa

Recent headlines declared, "Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum, has turned into one large battlefield." The world has watched in horror as Kenya, one of Africa’s most peaceful and stable countries, has been thrown into chaos in the last few weeks. Many of the nearly one million residents living in Kibera are AIDS' widows and orphans who struggle to survive each day in the best of circumstances. Now they are displaced with nowhere to go.

The current turmoil in many African nations has made the plight of Africa’s most vulnerable, women and children, even more difficult. From a worldly point of view, their lives seem hopeless and filled with despair, but with Christ’s love in action, there is eternal hope.

For the past five years, Global Action has been working with partners in Kenya, and other African nations, to show God’s love to those in need. Ongoing ministry programs provide micro-enterprise training and small-scale loans to those living in abject poverty, practical assistance to AIDS' widows and orphans, medical equipment for hospitals and AIDS' hospices, training for AIDS' hospice workers, and summer camps for AIDS' orphans. Weekly programs provide a nutritious meal, counseling, Biblical teaching, prayer and fellowship as well as practical training for small-scale businesses.

Of Kenya’s current problems, Judy Mbugua, International Chairperson for Women of Global Action wrote from Nairobi, "It has been a very trying time for Kenya. After many years of enjoying peace…, it is hard even for us here to believe what we are seeing. Your prayers are giving us solace and the promise of God that He will never leave us nor forsake us keeps our hopes high that indeed things will get better.

Nearly 800 people have lost their lives and over 300,000 others displaced and now living in makeshift camps. Many of the poor widows and orphans we are ministering to have lost everything. We need supplies to be able to help them. We need funds to buy food, clothes and blankets will be greatly appreciated."

In the next eight months, Global Action will invest $280,000 in the lives of thousands of Africa’s neediest as well as develop Christian leaders to impact their nations with God’s love. These funds will:

• Provide 2 summer camps for AIDS' orphans at $14,600
  
• Fund training for thousands of Christian leaders in East, Southern, Central and West Africa; $325 to train one leader
  
• Train hundreds of poor widows in microenterprise businesses and provide small loans for business start-up; $700 per person
  
• Provide food, counseling, support and encouragement to AIDS' widows and orphans at $370 per month for 20 families
  
• Ship two containers of medical equipment, valued at $300,000 each, for AIDS' hospices and hospitals caring for AIDS' patients; $21,900 to ship a container
  
• Help resettle victims of violence in Kibera’s slums and provide food, clothing and funds to restart their small businesses at $1,500 per family
  
• Purchase goats to provide milk and cheese for families raising AIDS' orphans at $625 for 5 goats