Hope
HOPE for the
FUTURE
Sonya Hemsley gives us insight into the work carried out in Africa. There are more than 60 million orphans and vulnerable children within that continent
F
or I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer 29:11) The younger members of every country are, in a sense, their investment for the future. They are the ones to whom the baton will be passed in years to come, and who will become captains of industry and leaders of churches and government. When this capital is not utilised, it works to the detriment of the nation, in terms of lost opportunity, but it can be worse than that. It can mean a body of disaffected angry young people who actively fight against the very society they are part of. This is often the case in Africa. Africa is a predominantly young continent, and the demographics show that the majority of the population are aged fewer than 30 in many countries. Currently, 44% of the populations in sub Sahara Africa are under the age of 15. It is currently estimated that there are more than 60 million orphans and vulnerable children within Africa. These are children who are orphaned as the result of the AIDS pandemic, or may be affected by AIDS themselves. Others are the result of conflict or abandonment because they have a disability.
In the African Enterprise ministries across Africa, these children have long been a concern. In countries like Uganda, there are children who have been forcibly seized and forced into rebel groups. This applies to many other countries as well. Through support, in Rwanda and Kenya, AE has been able to help many thousands of disadvantaged children, supporting them through education programs on reconciliation. The project in Rwanda has impacted nearly 40,000 children. The primary aim is to bring healing to the victims of the genocide and initiate forgiveness of the perpetrators of the crime and thereby establish peace in Rwanda. In Ghana, our street kids’ program takes children who are in and of the street, and enables them through training programs, to learn skills in areas as diverse as hair dressing, tailoring, mobile phone maintenance, refrigerator repair and car mechanics. The children are apprenticed to master craftsmen for periods of one - three years, depending on the subject being taught. At the end, they are given the tools of their trade, and helped to sit for government based exams so that they can become accredited in their particular field. We deal with 100 children at a time because cost is a limiting factor, but nevertheless over the years it has
30 | Find a Christian Mission Magazine December 2011
OUR WORK The integration of word and deed is the heartbeat of the AE ministry. Words alone can’t fully convey God’s love in a context where people are struggling to survive. We wholeheartedly believe that the gospel calls us to meet needs in both