Fieldnotes - Winter 2024

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SOUTHERN AFRICA

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ASIA

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LATIN AMERICA

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EAST AFRICA

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WEST AFRICA

Fieldnotes

Winter 2024

Helping students flourish in MALAWI

By Faye Yu

Southern Africa I

n Nkhatabay, a small district in Malawi,

that there were opportunities the lake

families often rely on fishing as a primary

provided other than fishing. Members

source of income. Moses Milanzi, 13, is one

of the church visited the homes of local

of many children who dropped out of school

families and began to advise them about

to fish in the waters of Lake Malawi. Peer

the earning potential of becoming a tour

pressure and a lack of parental support drove

guide and other business ventures. When

Moses to abandon his education in favor of

they visited Moses’ family, they encouraged

fishing.

his parents to support his education and he soon returned to school. Then the church

World Renew with our local partner, Nkhatabay Word Alive Church, recognized

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WINTER 2024

monitored his academic performance,

attendance, and provided him with support whenever needed.

The church also supported the community

Prayers for Southern Africa

by Steve Sywulka

in starting vegetable and chicken farming.

The income generated through these

•

Pray that the Malawi government

activities helped to provide for some of the

will continue to welcome World

needs of the village, including purchasing

Renew and our partners’ efforts to

school supplies for students like Moses.

share Christ’s hope with vulnerable communities.

•

Pray for God's provision for farmers in Malawi as volatile weather continues to impact their harvests.

•

In Mozambique there has been political tension as recent municipal election results are being disputed, please pray for peace.

After Moses passed his final primal level test, he was accepted into secondary school. The church continues to support and encourage Moses. He is dedicated to attending school on a regular basis and is setting a great example for other children in his community.

“My dream had been to become a medical doctor upon completion of my studies, but living in a lakeside village made my ambition harder to accomplish. I preferred and was sometimes forced to help my

Thanks to your generosity,

28 congregations

in Zambia are practicing

parents with fishing, and I missed classes.

child safeguarding principles

Now my ambition to become a medical

they learned in 2023

practitioner is back on course,” says Moses. “I am very thankful to World Alive Church and World Renew."

WORLDRENEW.NET • 1-800-552-7972

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Taking steps to improve health in LAOS

By Mike Fennema

Asia W

orld Renew recognizes that

World Renew staff have met with

healthy families help build strong

community members to discuss how health

communities. In Houaylai and neighboring

is affected by issues like mosquito breeding

Nanoy, remote villages in Laos, villagers

places, open defecation, rubbish disposal,

rely on what they grow and gather fishing

and availability of water. As a result,

and hunting to survive. At times, their diet

villagers are working to deal with stagnant

is limited, and they lack clean water and

water and to cut down weeds to let in

latrines, which causes health problems. The

sunlight and reduce pests and diseases.

difficulty of traveling for medical care makes

People are using mosquito netting, and

it essential to tackle health issues at the

children are learning about handwashing

village level, so in 2019, World Renew began

and other proper hygiene practices.

working with the villages to do just that.

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WINTER 2024

Villagers now see that unsanitary conditions lead to poor health and they are committed to making changes. Cleanup efforts have resulted in a high interest in latrines. At first, just three families contributed labor and some of the cost of new latrines. They worked alongside World Renew staff, who provided technical assistance during construction. After seeing the first latrines, ten more families built theirs. Eleven latrines are in progress, with plans for 15 more. The use of latrines has led to health improvements that the villagers notice.

take medication. They encourage prenatal care and support on-site health checkups.

Through the project, mothers and children are being vaccinated. In addition, families with limited means and people with disabilities are receiving support, including

World Renew also encourages villagers to

educational support for children with

make the journey to a health center and to

special needs.

Prayers for Asia

by Ruairidh Waddell • In Bangladesh, as the late monsoon season brings lots of rain, please pray there will be no flooding and crops will continue to thrive.

• As Bangladesh experiences rising cases of dengue, pray for health for the Bangladeshi people and World Renew and our partners working in hard-hit communities.

• Praise God for the generosity of the donors

In 2023, thanks to gifts like yours,

173 people

in India participated in a trauma healing project

who have allowed World Renew’s work to continue in the region; pray for new opportunities to share his hope and love.

WORLDRENEW.NET • 1-800-552-7972

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Rebuilding hope in HAITI

By Corstiaan van Aalsburg

Latin America N

atural disasters, including a magnitude

an aunt in the town of Les Cayes. Lescave was

7.2 earthquake in 2021 and ongoing

hard hit by the 2021 earthquake but with the

gang violence are driving factors behind the

support of donors, World Renew Haiti has

economic crisis. Haiti has one of the highest

been able to work to help share hope with the

levels of food insecurity in the world with

most vulnerable families in the community.

nearly half the population not having enough

One way World Renew Haiti is helping

to eat.

families to change their stories of hunger and poverty is through Self Help Groups (SHGs).

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Ernise Lewis, 48, lives in Lescave with her

SHGs provide a space for members to pool

husband, Roosevelt Lindor, 52, and four of

their savings; once the savings pool is large

their five children; their eldest child lives with

enough, members can access low-interest

WINTER 2024

loans. Through the SHGs members also have opportunities to receive training in money management, income-generating activities, and more.

Ernise became a member of a SHG in

Prayers for Latin America

by Corstiaan van Aalsburg • Economic instability and violence in Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and

June 2022. “My group is made up of 49

Nicaragua are worsening; pray for

members, including 26 women. We meet

peace and for the safety of World

every week and collect our money together.

Renew and our partners.

In October 2022, I received a loan of 50,000

• Pray that the Nicaraguan

gourdes ($379.58 USD) which I had to pay

government will continue to allow

back in four months,” she shared. Ernise

humanitarian organizations like

invested the loan in the purchase of yams

World Renew to share Christ’s hope

and vegetables in the Lescave region, to

with families in crisis.

resell at the Les Cayes market. She repaid

• Agricultural production is

the loan and generated a profit of over

deteriorating in Honduras; pray for

30,000 gourdes ($227.75 USD), which she

God’s provision for the growing

used to pay for her son's schooling, to

number of Hondurans struggling

send groceries to her eldest child, to help

with hunger.

her husband buy seeds for his farm, and to invest in buying vegetables for resale.

At a time when many Haitian families are struggling, Ernise feels blessed to be able to help provide for her family and is ready for her second loan. “May God bless World Renew and its donors,” she prays.

In the last 6 months, thanks to generosity like yours,

285 women

in Nicaragua now have access to credit through membership in a Village Savings and Loan group

WORLDRENEW.NET • 1-800-552-7972

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God’s Word is transforming lives in UGANDA

By Carol Musoke

East Africa ruth Centered Transformation (TCT) is a

T

TCT program and are seeing participants’

program that is designed to help churches

lives transform—participants like Thorom

experience God’s transforming power in every

Quinto, a member of the TCT in Olyeko

area of their life with the purpose of seeing

village in Northwestern Uganda, who

God glorified, churches strengthened and

shared his experience.

growing in numbers, and communities moving out of poverty. TCT provides simple training to churches, teaching believers to apply biblical truth to their everyday challenges and to demonstrate God’s love to others. In Uganda, World Renew’s partners are committed to the

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WINTER 2024

“I joined the TCT training on September 13th, 2019. When I attended Understanding God’s Truth and Satan’s Lies, my eyes were opened,” Thorom said. I understood that I was not cursed to be poor nor was it what God desired for my life. I saw how

Prayers for East Africa

by Barbara Kayanja • As Kenya continues to grapple with unrest due to rising food prices, please pray for peace and stability.

• Praise God for rains that restored droughtweary soil and allowed for crops to start growing again, breathing green back into the Kenyan landscape.

• Pray that God will open doors of opportunity, so World Renew East Africa can expand community programs and share Christ’s love with more families struggling with hunger,

Thanks to generosity like yours,

1,001 smallholder farmers in Tanzania joined Village Savings and Loan groups and learned new incomegenerating activities and how to save for the future

poverty, and injustice.

my previous thinking had contributed to my

annually ($52.48 USD). It may not seem a

needy lifestyle.” Thorom continued, “I saw how

lot but the money I get from the business

God has given us so much, Mathew 25: 14-30,

helps me save, invest in agriculture through

and how it’s important to save.” Thorom goes

purchase of seeds for planting, as well as

on to explain how before joining the training

pay for laborers to work in the garden. God

he never set aside money for emergencies and

blesses our hard work and when we save,

always saw himself as poor and needy, but

he can multiply our savings by enabling us

after joining, he said, “I realized that I could

to reap so much more from it.”

make money with my own hands using the gift God gave me of weaving baskets.”

Thorom and others in the training learned how to use the bamboo that grows abundantly in their community to make baskets. Now Thorom is generating additional income by selling the baskets he makes and said, “I anticipate getting at least UGX 200,000

WORLDRENEW.NET • 1-800-552-7972

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Prenatal classes make childbirth easier in NIGERIA

By Grace Garnvwa

West Africa N

enpin, 33, and her husband, Joel, live

partner, Beacon of Hope (BHI), started a

with their four children in Gochom, a

new Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

small village in Nigeria. Because of struggles

(MCNH) program in her community, she

with poverty, neither of them was ever able

eagerly joined.

to complete even a primary school education, and with limited skills, the couple turned to

“My husband and I had never heard of

subsistence farming to support their family.

pre-natal care,” Nenpin says. “The Lord has been merciful to me by not allowing

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In 2022, when she became pregnant for

the same difficulties that happened with

the fourth time, Nenpin dreaded having the

my first three children to happen again.

same serious problems she had with her

The program taught me all that I needed

previous pregnancies and births. During her

to know about a healthy pregnancy and

first trimester, when World Renew’s local

childcare.”

WINTER 2024

Nenpin started to care for herself and

Thanks to gifts like

followed all the recommendations of the MCNH program, which included avoiding too strenuous tasks, taking vitamins, and scheduling two ultrasounds. Finally, she had her baby at a health facility, a totally new experience for her.

yours,

625 people

in Sierra Leone participated in justice awareness training

“I was determined to do everything that I was taught to make sure that my baby will be healthy, and thank God it has been a success,” shares Nenpin. “My baby is three months old now, and we have not needed the clinic except for immunizations. This is all thanks to BHI, the facilitators of the

and learned about domestic violence, property rights and more in 2023

MCNH program, and I pray that the good Lord will sustain this program.”

Prayers for West Africa

by Harouna Issaka •

Praise the Lord that despite security challenges linked to armed and jihadist groups in the region, World Renew and our partners are able to work well and meet our objectives of seeing communities flourish.

•

Pray for political and social stability in Niger and Mali; where there is violence, pray that God’s peace will reign.

•

Pray for God’s guidance for World Renew West Africa and our partners as we work to extend his love and hope to communities struggling with hunger and poverty.

WORLDRENEW.NET • 1-800-552-7972

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Helping Restore Creation

We lean on God and the gifts from generous donors like you to help us address the health needs of families struggling with malnutrition and disease, provide trauma healing to the broken hearted, and build strong, food-secure families who know God loves them.

Your gift to our Where Needed Most Fund helps us react quickly to extend God’s love and hope to people in crisis.

Thank you for your support.

worldrenew.net 1-800-552-7972

• Are they in good physical health?

• Do they have trauma to overcome?

• Do they know they are loved by God?

WORLD RENEW 8970 Byron Commerce Dr SW Byron Center, MI 49315-7400

World Renew believes we are called to take part in fulfilling God’s promise to restore creation. We approach our mission holistically—sharing hope with communities struggling with hunger, poverty, and injustice and caring for the whole person: body, mind, and soul.

To support our most urgent needs, give at: worldrenew.net/product/where-needed-most