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SEE
ALSO
A Generation
of Hope
Global
Connections: Africa
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Blessing.
Golden. Lovemore.
Their
names are as bold and beautiful as their young
spirits. And at Ishe Anesu, an after-school/weekend
project for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe,
these young lives look to a future bright
enough to fulfill the promise of their names.
Participants
in the 2000 Mission Travel Seminar to Africa
witnessed the changes the project has made
in the lives of the children. Ishe Anesu,
run by Hilltop United Methodist Church, is
located in Sakuba, a township in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
It began in 1998 under Bishop Jokomo, episcopal
leader of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference,
to meet the needs of a community struggling
to survive in the face of immense poverty.
Anesu provides scholarships, social and moral
instruction, recreational activities, tutoring-and
for some, the one daily meal they receive.
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Volunteer
at Anesu with a gift for participants of the
Year 2000 Mission Travel Seminar to Africa
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Photos
of children in the initial stages of the program
reveal signs of malnourishment and sadness. But
their eyes sparkle with life in current photos showing
them dancing, singing, performing Bible skits, and
displaying arts and crafts created in after-school
projects.
Anesu,
which means "God is with us" is under-girded
by the General Board of Global Ministries of the
United Methodist Church and directed by Maria Humbane,
a native of Nigeria. Mrs. Humbane is a missionary
assigned to Zimbabwe by GBGM along with her spouse,
Bill Humbane. A professor at Africa University,
he frequently lends a hand at Anesu, along with
student volunteers.
In a
Spring newsletter, Maria gives an update of activities
at Anesu with profiles of new children of the community.
She writes in part:
We
are happy to inform our supporting churches and
friends that the Ishe Anesu Project is growing
. . .. We started in 1998 with 15 children and
are now working with 50. While we rejoice for
the opportunity to extend help to more needy children,
we are, nevertheless, concerned about the space
to accommodate them. The room that hardly accommodated
the 15 children is the same one we use for 50.
Basically,
all the children of the Anesu Project have common
problems and needs, namely, living with a single
parent or extended family or guardians who cannot
afford to pay for their education. Other common
problems include loss of mother or father or both.
Still other problems include abandonment by either
the mother or the father. They therefore need
money for school fees, uniforms, books, supplies
and food. It costs about US$200.00 per year to
keep a child in elementary school. It jumps to
US$950.00 for high school expenses. This year
we have only four students attending high school.
As of January 2002 we anticipate four more students
attending high school.
Among
new Ishe Anesu children are: Promise (boy), 7
years old and in first grad-an orphan brought
to Anesu by his grandmother; Tafadzwa (girl),
10 years old and in fourth grade-an orphan living
with an elderly sick grandfather; Justin (boy),
11 years and in fourth grade-an orphan whose grandmother
is also deceased and lives with an elderly grandfather
who cares for three other children; Memory (girl),
9 years old and in second grade-lives with a very
poor 70-year-old father and mentally-ill mother;
Lovemore (boy), 8 years old and has never attended
school until now-resides with a sick elderly grandfather
who cares for four other AIDS orphans, one of
whom is Cosmas, Lovemore's 9-year-old brother
who also attends Anesu and is in third grade.
Bill
and I continue to express our sincere gratitude
to you all for your generous support of our ministries.
Your prayers and financial support enable us to
make a difference in the lives of those with whom
we work. My God bless you abundantly.
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