Post By - Ekonia Kamati
February Update
I would like to sincerely thank and appreciate you at Springvale for the unconditional generosity and the love for humanity you have fully demonstrated to us here in Namibia. Thank you very much for your obedience and response to the calling of God and the willingness to support the needy. We are joyful to report what DNC (Dream Namibian Child) and Partners International has achieved through our joint ministry. STAFF SUPPORT Our team remains focused on our vision to inspire children to break the cycle of poverty and contribute back to their communities. It breaks our hearts to see children struggling without the care of adults. Some have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS. Others have parents who neglect them because of drug and alcohol abuse. Our responsibility is to care for these innocent and broken children. Some have experienced a lot of trauma. We have a number of children who do not want to go to school because they feel ashamed. They assume everyone on the street knows their story. Their low self-esteem causes them isolate themselves. In some cases it leads to suicide. Our trained staff do one-on-one counselling and pray with the traumatized children and willing parents. Our purpose is to see families and communities restored. We want to see parents be responsible, children desire to learn, and people come to know Christ. We take pride to know that we are appreciated in the slum communities. Parents trust us with their children because they see our dedication to serve, and the impact we make in their community. There are many testimonies from parents of how our program has positively changed the lives of their children. In one meeting, Maano (meaning Gift) stood up to share her appreciation of how we helped her children to complete grade 10. She started by saying, “You must be angels sent to save our children from the pit of hell! Why do you do all these kinds of good things for our children which we ourselves failed to do for them? You must be God sent people. Why do our children listen to you when you talk to them? What do you give them?" She could not finish her speech as she broke into tears. Maano’s girls almost got sold into the sex trade. But our involvement turned their lives around and today Maano say they are the best children she ever could hope for. These kinds of stories are why parents in the slums want their children to attend our after school program. All volunteers are doing well and working hard during this time of Coronavirus. We went into some communities to teach people preventative measures to reduce the chance of getting Coronavirus. We visit a lot of homes while physical distancing requirements temporarily affect group programs. This is a risk for our staff and volunteers especially now that the Coronavirus cases are increasing everyday. AFTER SCHOOl PROGRAMS Our homework program has assisted children who attend our after program to improve academically. Some were recognized as the best the student of the year in their class. Many children who come to us are struggling to read and write. But through the hard work of our volunteers, some of these children turn into the best students. The public schools gets credit from the government. The real work was done by DNC’s staff! Bible study is our special machine that mends the broken hearts of children who daily encounter trauma that no child should ever experience. We use Bible lessons counsel children from broken families, and children and youth who are forced to play the role of a mom or dad. Most children pay attention to the stories of scripture and we apply the life lessons to the child's reality. For example, children are interested to know why people get sick or die. It is these kinds of questions that allow us to touch their lives. Both children and staff learn a lot during these lessons. We are simply shaping each other through God’s Word. Kalifeni: Kalifeni was born in Windhoek to an alcoholic mother. His mother is from the Damara tribe and his father is Oshiwambo, which is also my own tribe. Kalifeni's name means "shepherd" in Oshiwambo. His father decided to take his son to Kalfeni's aged grandmother far away in Owamboland in the northern part of Namibia bordering Angola. As Kalifeni grew his grandmother could not control him. He started visiting neighbours and sometimes would sleep at their houses without informing his grandmother. We can imagine that he was being neglected at home. And he was essentially abandoned by his father and mother. The old lady got tired of keeping track of Kalifeni and came up with a solution to control the young boy. She prepared a strong rope. One day when Kalifeni came back home he was hungry and exhausted so he fell asleep. While he was in a deep sleep, the grandmother tied the rope around Kalifeni’s legs. She woke him up and told him, "I am tired of your wandering around and so you are going to be tied from now on." She forced the young boy to crawl to a nearby tree and fixed the rope to the tree trunk. Kalifeni spent a year and half tied to the tree trunk. Finally someone reported this to the police and they rescued Kalifeni. We heard that Kalifeni, 'the boy who was tied to a tree', was brought to Windhoek. The police reunited him with his alcoholic mother. And that is where we met him. We moved in immediately and assisted him where we could. This is what we mean when we say we serve broken children who daily experience things no child should be exposed to. --- This is another exciting and big year for our partnership! We are trusting God for some major advances as we develop the strategic plan to expand our ministry and obtain a permanent base. Some goals are to: - Get our own property and building - Grow the feeding ministry - Raise enough funds for school supplies (this is a big need) Prayer Requests - You have been praying for me to find a life partner and today by God’s grace I am married. I would like to thank all those who dedicated their time to pray for me. May God richly bless you. - Pray for God’s protection upon Namibian children especially those who live in slum areas during this Covid-19. - Pray for God’s protection upon my marriage - Pray for God’s provision upon my wife and I. We are trusting God for a house but we are clueless of how this can ever happen. - Pray for my country’s economy and the leaders of Namibia - Protection over our volunteers Yours in Christ Kamati Ekonia
Changing Hearts Through Scripture
Teopolina Shidolo is a student at Mount View High School in the shanty-town known as Babylon in Namibia. The location of her school is a slum area where most of the city’s crime and drug abuse takes place. I have known Teopolina since 2012. She was one of the first children who joined us when we opened up an after school Program in Babylon. At that time, Teopolina was a shy, sometimes disagreeable eleven-year-old girl with very low self-esteem. We began working in Babylon because we wanted to share hope and opportunity with young people there. Our program is designed to change hearts and attitudes, and one way we do that is through scripture. Teopolina took our challenge very seriously. She began practicing what she learned through God’s word. Still, she experienced a lot of negative pressure from others in her community. She would tell us all the ways her friends would try to get her to quit our program. They would tell her that doing drugs is cool. Many of her friends joined gangs, and most of them abandoned her because she stayed committed to our program. We tried hard to reach out to Teopolina’s friends without much result. Hard work and obedience pay off. After some time in our program, Teopolina came and told us with excitement that she was picked to be the captain of the debate club at school. We were thrilled to see her stepping out of her comfort zone and being more involved at school. “You see, I am no longer shy and unfriendly like I used to be!” Teopolina shouted. God was working in her life and has truly transformed her! Today, Teopolina is in grade 11, and by God’s grace, she will go to university next year. I sat down with Teopolina and asked her, “What motivated you to keep focusing on our program and your schoolwork?” Without hesitation, she said, “It’s because of the word of God you teach and the love you show.” She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Uncle Kamati, I will always remember Psalm 139:14. It says we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” I know Teopolina will hold onto this verse whenever she is discouraged or struggles with her self-esteem. I am proud to tell her story because I am a witness to the positive change in her life. We want our kids to know who they are; to understand what they want to achieve in life; to stay focus on their school work, and to allow God to lead them in all of these areas. Like many young people in our program, Teopolina is grateful for Canadians who love and support her. “The love of God connects people, even when they have never met in person!” Tepolina shared.The after school program is a much-needed outlet for children living in underprivileged shanty-town communities in Namibia. It is designed to holistically invest in young people, making it possible for them to escape negative influences, complete their schoolwork, learn about Jesus, develop their strengths, and have fun.