Humanitarian Service Activities

So many times in the past 11+ months we have said to each other, “Who would have thought that we would be doing . . .” We have experienced so many “firsts” on our mission. Often circumstances rather than assignments from the Mission President have dictated what we do. The most compelling circumstances are that we are the only senior couple within the borders of Namibia[Nam] and Stan is a counselor in the Mission Presidency.

This past month we have been focusing our efforts on Humanitarian Services[HS] activities.The project that has taken most of our time is one which actually began a year ago when a HUGE container of goods from the Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City was shipped to Windhoek for distribution to orphanages throughout Nam. Inside the container were 50 bales (HUGE bags) of bedding, 40 bales of youth clothing, 1 pallet of mixed-sized shoes (in VERY LARGE bags), 672 hygiene kits, 420 school kits, 2100 blankets—total value, US$51,863.60 or ½ million Nam dollars. The container was still en route this summer when the Southeast Africa Directors of Humanitarian Services, located in Johannesburg, were due to go home but their replacements would not be arriving until a couple of months later.

Thinking that the container might come before their replacements would arrive, they visited with us about it and a couple of other HS projects here. This was the first contact we had with HS of any kind. As it happened, the new HS Directors and the container arrived about the same time! Elder and Sister Davis were looking to us to orient them on existing and potential projects here in Nam. We have spent a LOT of time researching what has been done in the past, the status of present projects, and making inquiries and appointments with people for possible future projects.

Whenever a shipment of goods like this is given, there is an official “hand-over” ceremony involving the Church HS representatives, the sponsoring agency (in this case, The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare), and the local distributing agency (CAFO—Church Alliance for Orphans). Because we had been involved in some of the details, meetings, etc. we were invited to the hand-over ceremony as well as Elder and Sister Davis from Joburg. He gave a short speech explaining our belief in following Jesus Christ by helping our fellowmen, and thanks was given and gratitude was expressed by a rep from the Ministry and CAFO. Some of the children who will be recipients of some of the goods gave a dance performance accompanied by pre-recorded music. It was a very nice event and we felt a sense of joy that we could be part of something that would bring so much help where it was so needed.

There was excellent media coverage from local newspapers, radio, and TV.In addition to the hand-over ceremony, our schedule for the container went like this:

Wed, 1 Dec—packed our car with goods from the container and accompanied a CAFO rep to deliver them an hour away at Ileni Tulikwafeni[Let’s help each other] Centre for Hope and Trust which provides preschool and meals for poor children from the township on the other side of the fence. The “soup kitchen” feeds from 500-700 children each day. The center also sews school uniforms and maintains a large garden to generate income. When we saw the number of children there, our delivery seemed woefully inadequate.

Thurs, 2 Dec—went with Elder and Sister Davis to (1) see the Mount Sinai Center garden for which HS has committed to provide netting material for a sunshade canopy and fencing around the perimeter to prevent the produce from being stolen; (2)talk with CAFO director about the container, the garden, and bore holes[wells for clean water] up north which are not quite finished, as well as possible future projects; (3)BEN—Namibia[Bicycle Empowerment Network of Namibia] to talk about manufacturing wheelchairs from bicycle parts to be used in the African bush; (4)talk with a Church member, Dr. Ruth, about the possibility of vaccination programs for vulnerable[at-risk] children.

Fri, 5 Dec—went with Elder and Sister Davis to (1)visit a physician about his sponsorship of a NRT[neonatal resuscitation training] program; (2)attend the container hand-over ceremony; (3)visit the Onyose Trust, a center that helps people with disabilities, about the possibility of renovating their cafeteria and an office space; (4)sit down together and review and summarize all we had seen and heard in the past couple of days. Then we said farewell till their next visit.We made one more HS visit after the Davis’s left. We went back to the Mount Sinai Center, on the day items from the container were actually distributed. Each of the 60-70 mothers in attendance received articles of baby clothes and shoes, a blanket, and a hygiene kit. The Center provides formula to HIV-positive mothers so they do not need to breast-feed their babies, thus passing the virus to them through mother’s milk. It was sobering to realize that within 5 years, the majority of the mothers we were visiting with, will have died of AIDS and these sweet babies will be orphans.

The Church is doing many wonderful humanitarian projects in this country—something that we as members should feel very good about.We appreciate your support and prayers in behalf of all missionaries throughout the world.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and your Christmas season will be filled with the Savior’s Spirit and memorable family activities.