Reintegration is the mainstay of the centre; the visits never finish and neither do the community needs.
We have continued to accept new children into the centre, build houses to enable children to return to their families, and reintegrated children back into their homes once the family crisis has resolved.
Angelo, Antonio, and Abel, a set of triplets, began with our milk program at 6 weeks of age. Their weights were all well below the WHO -3Z score for their ages.
Over the last six weeks, as they have consistently received the milk supplements, all 3 of them have gained a little more than one and a half kilograms each.
[The blossoming trio.]
They are so beautiful!! Thanks to IMC for your support with this program.
Vovo Salimina has a new helped named Flora, who lives very close by. Flora comes to work with her young children, and Vovo enjoys their company. With IMC’s extra funding, we were able to put a back door in her house, which gives Vovo easier access to her outside bathroom. Vovo is pleased that she does not have far to go now, as walking is painful and difficult for her. We also gave her a solar lamp – a real blessing, as she was using an oil lamp that was difficult for her to light. We had been talking with a friend about buying a solar lamp, but did not know where to get one from.
Along with the new 2014 year came the beginning of many activities at Iris Malawi. The Bible school hosted a month long program only for women, followed by a fourth year pastor student class who returned to finish their leadership training. Iris secondary school youth headed back to their respective boarding schools in Blantyre and the children on base continued their year of learning at the Iris Primary School. The production fields on base were planted and then with the sufficient rains, yielded a healthy harvest of cow peas.
The Zimpeto Bible School prepares young men and women to be focussed in the Word and be filled with the Holy Spirit, in preparation to carry the gospel into the community of Mozambique.
The reintegration team continues to make many home visits. The team consists of 3 Mozambican women who do all of the home visits, and one driver (a missionary who oversees the administration and finances). We are kept busy with:
We are pleased that while the Blanchettes are back in Canada for this season, the sewing training program has been able continue and flourish! Below are three first hand reports.
Lourdes (who is teaching the girls and ladies) writes:
Seventy food boxes are put together every two weeks, to be collected by families from the nearby community. Each box helps supplement their needs and consists of rice, sugar, oil, peanuts, soap and washing powder.
Vovo Salima was delighted to join us at the Centre this year for Christmas lunch. She loved the singing and dancing and enjoyed the meal so much she did not want to go home. Just as she was leaving, one of our young boys (about 11 years old) appeared and said he wanted to give her some money. He has a gardening job and had just received his weekly amount. Although he did not know Vovo, when he saw her at the meal the Lord touched his heart and he wanted to bless her.
The vision of our program is to maintain contact with existing family members of our children, with a view to one day enabling the family to receive the children back into their family. Some children don’t have family to reintegrate them, so we have to be resourceful in finding alternative solutions. In 2013 we have reintegrated a number of youth and children into different situations.
Seventy food boxes are put together every two weeks, to be collected by families from the nearby community. Each box helps supplement their needs and consists of rice, sugar, oil, peanuts, soap and washing powder.
Vovo Salima was delighted to join us at the Centre this year for Christmas lunch. She loved the singing and dancing and enjoyed the meal so much she did not want to go home. Just as she was leaving, one of our young boys (about 11 years old) appeared and said he wanted to give her some money. He has a gardening job and had just received his weekly amount. Although he did not know Vovo, when he saw her at the meal the Lord touched his heart and he wanted to bless her.