Dear friends and supporters of Brook of Hope Home,
I am at the halfway mark here in Kabwe, Zambia. God has been busy busy busy in our lives here. Praise Him!!
We have had a few " adjustments" that have had to be put into place but all is well. The Zambian government has made an extreme policy to close up, shut down all orphanages.
In theory I agree that children thrive in a loving home environment and should be with family relatives. However, the children are being placed into homes which are already heavily burdened and struggling. Many of the orphans are mistreated, neglected etc. So in practice their policy has many flaws. Be that as it is, we have created a wonderful program to help transform the lives of vulnerable and homeless children.
We are ministering to 15 vulnerable children from a nearby community. They are all now going to school, praise God. Funds have been used to buy each one 11 books, pencil, pen and a couple of uniforms. Most of them are still in need of school shoes and new, properly fitting uniforms. We are praying for further financial support.
We are also building strong relationship with a group of 15 boys who choose to live on the streets. Weekly we meet with them of Thursdays. They have a discussion time, games, laugh, feel loved and are served a large meal. They greatly appreciate the bathing opportunities and a place to wash their t-shirt. Their smiles are priceless. Tough on the outside but still children on the inside.
By God's grace 6 of the 15 have returned to school. One condition to our sponsoring them is they must leave the streetlife and return home. 2 more are now willing to go back also but we are waiting to get them registered. Uniforms, shoes, belts, shoe polish and of course school supplies have been purchased for them.
As for the income producing activities, Peter and his team have been hard at work with the vegetable gardens and consistent care of the poultry. People are enjoying the good quality of produce available to them.
A new program, the shop, has now begun. It will be a small grocery store and is in a very good location.
For the street boys who do not want to go back to school if it means living at home, we are working on getting them skills training such as carpentry, agriculture and poultry management. For now we have hired them to do " piece work". They are treated with respect and value the opportunity to help us help them.
Ministering at the school and churches has gone very well. There have been fun and games and food but most importantly gospel applications. Please see attached photos. With so much going on we are experiencing financial issues and keep remembering everything in God's time. He knows best. At this point we ask for your prayers on the following concerns:
- we find ways to more fully tutor the children to get them up to grade level, especially
the couple that are 13 years old and can not read yet - we are given great wisdom on how to best support these vulnerable children in their
studies and daily life struggles - counselling is found to assist the streetboys
- for the Canadian and Zambian team members, wisdom and discernment on how to
raise funds to sustain the programs - a special prayer for softening the heart of the landowner to sell the house at a much
more reasonable rate. It is in a great location and the Zambian team have put much
work into creating a profitable working environment. Currently we are on a one year
lease expiring October 31, 2024.
With all of your prayers and support, Brook of Hope Home will flourish and expand to fully provide what is needed, as God sees fit.
In loving service,
Debra DiPaola
