3 minute read
ZIMBABWE
PLANTING SEEDS OF KINGDOM GROWTH
Supported by the Mustard Fund, the Foundations for Farming project in Zimbabwe has led to personal and community transformation.
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You look out over the Zambezi river, to the mountains and trees surrounding you. You hear the distant roar of waterfalls, but here, all is serene. The powerful river contained within the curved walls of a mighty dam. A dam that was built to bring electricity and light to the nation. But has brought darkness to the people who once lived on the river’s banks.
The Tonga. A resilient people group, relocated to an inhospitable part of the Zambezi valley, renowned for malaria and valley fever. Impacted by drought, their maize crops regularly fail. Outside aid, however well meant, has not always been constructive, increasing the Tonga’s sense of dependency. OM workers in Zimbabwe have brought training and hope. Over the last four years, the team have trained 120 Tonga people in sustainable farming. They have seen communities transformed, as the trainees go on to train one or two others, who in turn also train another one or two more. One person at a time, entire villages are transformed.
The farmers learn sustainable skills while returning to traditional crops, growing small grains that fare better in their environment. Families can now grow enough to meet their needs throughout the year, and many have surplus to sell. These surplus grains are sold to a drinks company, which uses the grains to produce nutritional drinks for school children. The
OM WORKERS IN ZIMBABWE HAVE BROUGHT TRAINING AND HOPE. ONE PERSON AT A TIME, ENTIRE VILLAGES ARE TRANSFORMED.
profits from their sales go back into the community, and the drinks are helping the children to thrive.
SHARING THE GOSPEL Discipleship sits alongside the farming training. As participants experience God’s transformational work in their lives, they seek to see other villages impacted. A once unreached community, they are now looking beyond the mountains, to other Tonga villages that have never been reached with the Gospel.
Thank you for partnering with us. Your gifts to the Mustard Fund are helping people like Lwiiyo to break the cycle of poverty and experience God’s transformational power in their own lives and in entire communities.
OUR COMMITMENT
In times of crisis, OM always seeks to support longer term development as well as providing immediate relief. It is in the long-term approach that we truly demonstrate God’s love to those most in need. Relationships are restored, lives are touched by the Gospel, and churches are planted.
Community development projects, like this one in Zimbabwe, create opportunities for vibrant discipleship and church planting among the least reached and lead to resilient and sustainable futures.
Thank you for your partnership in planting lasting seeds of hope in vulnerable communities.
LWIIYO’S STORY
Imagine a 13 year old in charge of a family home—responsible for the welfare of younger siblings and bringing in enough money to keep the family afloat. This was Lwiiyo’s reality.
“Life in my community is a real struggle”, Lwiiyo told us, “but those days were especially dark.” He recalls the challenge of poor harvests, constant hunger and the pressure of finding enough work.
It was in the midst of this especially difficult season that Lwiiyo found out about Foundations for Farming. Attending a training course was the beginning of transformation for Lwiiyo. The combination of practical training and discipleship sent Lwiiyo on a journey of physical and spiritual nourishment.
When he implemented the new farming techniques, Lwiiyo found that he was able to harvest enough food for his family and even have surplus grain to sell and make a living. “I thank God.” he said with joy, recognising God’s goodness and presence in his life, “I always have something to harvest from my field.”
