November 2019

Ministry in the Rubbish DumpWesley writes: we have been going into the rubbish dump, talking with them, encourag-ing them and also preaching the word of God to them. The relationship with them is very solid. They now feel that that they have a friend in the church. On our last trip, we were asked if we could pro-vide a hot winter meal. I en-

couraged them to keep be-lieving and that we would when it is possible.Banquet Meal: Following this request, we sent Malawi Kwacha (MK)438,150, or £498, during July for the pro-vision of a further meal for the 350 inhabitants of the rubbish dump at a cost of £1.42 per meal which includ-

Distributing Meals in the Rubbish Dump

ed chicken, rice, vegetables and a piece of fruit. These costs include transporting these meals to the dump.Wesley writes: we visited the rubbish dump and served lunch. As usual, this was a very welcome visit to them. We had a wonderful time with them. The chairman thanked our friends in the UK for this great gesture of love. It was so ful�illing to see the happiness on their faces and all the appreciation. Potato&BunBusiness: During April, we sent MK325,000, or £348, to pro-vide a bun and potato business for a disabled lady who had been scaveng-ing in the rubbish dump on all-fours due to her disability and her able-bodied companion. These funds in-cluded money for registration with the City Council, stock and training.Wesley writes: the disabled lady is very happy and satis�ied as the busi-ness is assisting her to get her basic needs and food. Her helper is also happy and able to bene�it from the

business. What encouraged me most is the fact that she has grown the busi-ness. She has added to her stock of �lour and is selling this to the commu-nity who use it for breakfast buns etc. She said that she felt that there was need to add to the �lour stock from her pro�its due to demand in the area. She has even been able to buy a cheap but good second-hand phone. Grocery Business: Wesley has re-ported that the grocery and restaurant businesses which we provided funds for during January of this year are providing for the needs of the two groups of ten people. Wesley and Law-rence have been receiving positive feedback that the groups are doing well, are able to pay rent for accom-modation and to buy basic necessities such as clothes and food. During July we sent MK750,000, or £852, for setting up a further grocery business. These funds included money for registration with the City Council,

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Potato & Bun Business

Meals in the Rubbish Dump

rent, stock and trainingWesley writes: The setting up of these new businesses is underway, and this includes training as well as visiting the previous grocery and restaurant to see how they are managing. Stock is being purchased. The council has as-sured us that they will mail the regis-tration soon. Wesley wrote later: I visited them at the shop to check on their progress. The business is now operational. They are building up a regular customer base and have been able to restock. The team is happy with their progress and con�ident that it will succeed.RestaurantBusiness: During July we sent MK813,600, or £925, for another restaurant business. Wesley writes: we found the lady and her friend who were on duty for this week in good spirits. They welcomed us warmly. We were given positive feedback on the business. They are receiving custom-ers and now the group has started paying out a little portion from their

pro�its to each member and thus they are able to cater for their basic needs. We even sampled their food so as to encourage them. They are very thank-ful to Faith In Action UK for remem-bering them and also for giving them hope of a future. Once again, I can report that this was a very needful initiative and funds per-mitting, it is important to continue with this. ElectricalShop: During July, we sent MK720,000, or £818, for our �irst elec-trical shop business. Wesley writes: the electrical shop has started well. The team is very passionate about electronics. I was very encouraged to see how innovative the team is. Now apart from just selling items, they have started to charge people's phones for a fee. They have also start-ed to sell laptops on behalf of people looking to sell them and in return they get a small commission. This will also help bring pro�its for the shop.

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Grocery Business

Restaurant Business

Three members of the team hope to do some electronic training in the fu-ture when we have funds as there is also a demand for broken phones, irons and radios etc. to be repaired,

and they could use the back part of the shop for repairing things. So, I appre-ciated them for thinking outside the box and I believe that they will slowly be able to meet their basic needs.Following this request for electronic training, we sent MK330,000, or £357, on 4th November for these three members of the team to attend an electronic training course at a cost of MK110,000 each. They will attend this course in turn so that the others can continue to manage the shop. We will also include funds for this training in all future electrical businesses.

Electrical Business

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Eighth Part-Container Consignment

Our eighth consignment with Star�ish Malawi arrived safely in Blantyre on 2nd October. This consignment will be especially valuable to communities following the cyclone and �looding which devastated the Lower Shire earlier this year. A ninth consignment has been delivered to Maidstone and

will leave the UK shortly.I would like to thank everyone for the very hard work involved in preparing and packing this consignment and also Brian Carter, who co-ordinated the sending of this consignment fol-lowing Martin’s ill-health and death.

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Cyclone ReliefSeeds: Following the cyclone and �looding which caused signi�icant damage in the Lower Shire earlier this year, we asked Church leaders in Ma-lawi to give us a list of priority needs for communities who were most af-fected by this �looding. One of their priorities was for seeds. During April, we therefore sent MK5,250,000, or £5,615, for the purchase of 300 x 10kg packets of Masika Maize seeds. These were given to 300 households in the following six villages: Nyamula, Osi-yana, Nkhate, Buleya, Chambuluka and Nsanje.Masika maize is a hybrid variety of maize which matures in almost half the time of local maize, produces a higher yield, and requires less rain. This variety takes 75-85 days to ma-ture as compared to local maize which takes 135—145 days.

One acre of Masika maize should pro-duce a yield of 3,000—4,000 kg of cobs and this compares very well with local maize which has an estimated yield of only 400-600kg. This is almost seven times more than local maize and should provide funds which would enable farmers to buy new hy-brid seeds each year.We understand that the weather was very favourable and the soil was still wet and holding enough moisture for the planting. The seeds received were planted and the bene�iciaries are thankful for the provision of seeds and promised to support others. Wells: Another of their priorities was the need for wells. On 23rd April, we therefore sent MK5,000,000, or £5,348, to build two wells together with a brick surround to protect them from foraging animals who would contaminate the area. This is a re-

Distribution of Seeds in Buleya Village

Crops grown from Seeds in Osiyana Village

quirement requested by the govern-ment in Malawi.These two wells were constructed in Esinati and Mtutumusa villages where the wells in those villages had been destroyed by the �loods.The construction of these two wells have been completed and have been very successful. We have been told that our project co-ordinators worked together with the local Government Development Committees in the con-struction of these wells.BicycleAmbulances: During April we sent MK400,000, or £428, for the pur-

chase of two bicycle ambulances. These were another priority identi�ied by church leaders in Malawi following the cyclone because there had been an outbreak of cholera in areas where there had been �looding.The provision of bicycle ambulances has reduced the death rate as families are able to take their sick relatives to hospital much faster than when they were carrying them on a chair, the traditional way of taking people for treatment.

House Re-building: The houses of Area Pastor Justin Kuleti and Area Pastor Winsted Golasi were very seri-ously damaged during the cyclone, and very tragically Pastor Golasi’s wife was killed by the falling rubble. We therefore sent MK3,000,000, or £3,209, to rebuilding both these hous-es. Pastor Golasi’s new house was con-structed in a nearby village as he found it too distressing to remain in the same location without his wife.

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Well in Esinati Village

A Bicycle Ambulance in Chizinga Village

Area Pastor Justin Kuleti with his new House in Nyamula Village

BibleStudies: Following the cyclone, congregations were asking for more Bible studies as many of these had been washed away in the �lood water. We therefore sent MK1,090,000, or £1,166, during April for printing 1,000 Bible studies. We are told that church leaders were very thankful for these.

As the people are slowly trying to re-build their lives following the cyclone, these studies continue to serve as a source of inspiration and hope. Pastor Kuleti especially asked me to thank you for these studies. Church leaders distributed them equally among the groups because the demand for them was so high at a time like this.

During the summer, we produced a second Bible study which focuses on praise. It contains 45 daily studies focusing on some of the wonderful blessings and bene�its that we receive by faith in Christ. We believe that praise and worship is a key to victori-ous living and is especially important

during times of trials and testing.

These studies were written in English and have more recently been translat-ed into Chichewa by the Bible Society in Malawi. The cost of translating these studies was MK200,000, or £227.

We sent MK3,270,000, or £3,716, on 30th July for printing 3,000 of these studies in English and have just re-cently sent MK5,450,000, or £5,892, for printing 5,000 of these studies in Chichewa.

These English studies were distribut-ed to those who can speak English in local churches and in Mwanza Neno Prison. We understand that everyone was very happy to receive them.

During July we also sent MK3,190,000, or £3,625, for the purchase of 550 Chi-chewa Bibles @ MK5,800 each. These are additional to the £110 that we provide each month for Bibles through the Bible Society in Blantyre.

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Distribution of Bible Studies

Distribution of new Praise Bible Studies in English

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Solar Irrigation System in Chimphepo VillageWe set up our �irst solar irrigation project in Chimphepo Village at the end of last year. I include below an edited version of a report on the pro-gress of this project:“This pilot solar irrigation project has been impressive as compared to many projects that we have undertak-en in Lower Shire. The Solar system has proved that it is viable and feasi-ble in the Lower Shire districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa. It stood the strong winds and the recent �loods. The Solar panels were not affected. The yields were really impressive because most of the crops harvested were not affected by the worms as is the case with most of crops grown in the rest of the Lower Shire. It seems a mystery as to why these crops were not very much affected by these worms and other insects. The 200 farmers involved are very motivated and they managed to culti-vate the 200 acres distributed to them. They harvested suf�icient to enable them to buy seeds and fertiliz-er for the second planting season They are also saving some money. They are now able to feed themselves and to support other local projects. They are planning to extend their as-

sistance to offer scholarships to vul-nerable children who are very intelli-gent but who do not have the re-sources to pursue tertiary education. These are children who have lost both parents and they do not have any close family relations. In future, they are planning to train people who can assist abused girls who have either been raped or moral-ly abused if they have enough re-sources. They will be assisted to go back school. They want to empower these girls to start a new life and stand on their own feet. "BACK TO SCHOOL" will be the motto for this planned project. They will soon harvest the second crop which is also promising. The pro-ject is VERY SUCCESSFUL and farmers are bene�itting a lot.”

Solar Panel for Irrigation System in Chimphepo Village

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Mosquito Nets

During April, we sent MK7,850, or £8, to add to the Mosquito Net account and during July, we sent a further MK40,750, or £46, making a current total in this high-interest account of £10,425. We add funds, usually small amounts, to round up each total fund transfer to a round �igure.During the months of March to May, the church received MK600,000 in interest from this account. This in-come was used to purchase 120 mos-quito nets at MK5,000 each and they

were distributed to 40 families in Tsamdoka Village. Each family re-ceives three nets.During the months of June to August, the church received MK600,000 in interest from this account. This in-come was used to purchase 120 mos-quito nets and these were distributed to 40 families in Kambozuma Village.We have been told that these mosqui-to nets are really helping many people

in the areas where they have been distributed. The problem of malaria and the infant death rate has been reduced tremendously. In the past, pregnant mothers were often diag-nosed with malaria parasites and sometimes lost their new-born babies. In areas were the mosquito nets have been distributed, this problem is no longer there. So many people are very thankful for the introduction of this programme.

Mosquito Nets in Tsamdoka Village

A Mosquito Net in Kambozuma Village

A Mosquito Net in Kambozuma Village

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Martin Jeffree : 08/09/1938 to 27/07/2019

Most of you will know that this year has been challenging: we sold our previous house at the end of last year, moved into a rented property for three months and then into our new house in Maidenbower on 21st Febru-ary. Please note our new address.Following this move, Martin, who had been waiting for a double hernia op-eration for about a year and had got very thin because eating caused him considerable pain, eventually had his operation on Tuesday 23rd July. He came out of hospital the following day and everything appeared to be OK. However, over the following three days his health deteriorated rapidly and he was blue-lighted up to East Surrey Hospital on Saturday evening, where he died about three hours lat-er. A post-mortem showed no fault with the operation, but it appeared to

trigger a deterioration in his health.Faith in Action started following a visit that Martin made to Tanzania in January 1984 to work for Mission Avi-ation Fellowship for two months. And so, without his faithful response to God’s call to go to Africa, our work may never have started.Over the last thirty-four years, Martin worked in a very committed and faithful way in four areas within our ministry as well as working full-time as a commercial pilot until he was forced to retire due to problems with his heart. Martin was a trustee and was respon-sible for all the accounts, he super-vised the transport of all our consign-ments to Africa and he overhauled over 2,500 sewing machines, each of which would provide an income for a person in Africa.Following his death, Wendy Fry very kindly offered to do our end of year accounts for 2018, and Brian Carter has taken over responsibility to co-ordinate all our consignments to Ma-lawi. I am so grateful for the excellent way that they have both completed this work. I would have found it very dif�icult to manage without them.

Sally Jeffree

Martin on top of our first Container Consignment when it left the UK

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Orphan Support: GoatsDuring April we sent MK420,000, or £449, for the provision of 12 goats @ MK35,000 each. As you probably al-ready know, one male and two female goats are given to families who have taken in orphaned children in order to provide them with long-term �inan-cial support provided by the sale of the kids born to these female goats.

These 12 goats were distributed to four foster families, who had each taken in one orphaned child, in Mte-mangwo Village.

On 30th July, we sent MK735,000, or £835, for the purchase of a further 21 goats. These goats were distributed as follows: a total of 9 goats were give to 3 foster families (who had each fos-tered one orphan) in Njondora Vil-

lage; a total of 9 goats were give to 3 foster families (who had each fostered one orphan) in Gamba Village and 3 goats were give to 1 foster family (who had fostered one orphan) in Chimombo Village.

We understand that the provision of these goats is really helping foster parents. Goats thrive well in the Low-er Shire and they are improving the living standards of the less-privileged children in the Lower Shire. The mon-ey that they receive from selling the kids is helping to pay school fees, to buy clothing and to access food. This project is working very well and is very popular with communities in the Lower Shire.

Goats in Mtemangawo Village

Goats in Njondora Village

Exchange Rates: May: £1 = MK945 Nov: £1 = MK925Please Note: Most sterling prices have been calculated to the nearest pound.

We send £110 each month for the purchase of Bibles through the Bible Society.

We have produced some leaf-lets which give more detailed information about our current projects together with photo-graphs and costs. If you would like to receive any of these leaf-lets, please contact us at either the postal address or the email address given below.

Faith in Action, 14 Gabriel Road, Maidenbower, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 7LGPhone: 01293 886596Registered Charity No: 293961Contact: Sally JeffreeWebsite:

ww.faithinaction.uk.com Email: sally@faithinaction.uk.com

Faith in Action supports the ministry of local churches in Africa by:

Developing personal links and church to church contacts

Strengthening the work of local pastors

Supplying Christian resources in local languages

Providing resources which will help communities to provide for themselves

Sending relief consignments

Providing wells and irrigation systems

Supporting orphans

Providing funds for mosquito nets

Please Note: We no longer have a fax line.

Points of Interest:Since 1987 we have sent the following Relief Consignments to East Africa:

133 20ft Container Consignments

9 Part-Container Consignments

696 Sewing Machines sent in our Consign-ments and1,786 Sewing Machines sent through other Organizations

Since August 1990 we have sent Finances for the following Projects, mainly in Malawi: (Space does not allow a Full List.)

103 Bicycle Ambulances

73 Wells + 2 Replacements

£166,861 for Food

£166,183 for 13 Wind-Pump Irrigation Projects and 9 Replacement/Repair Projects

£127,732 for 100,057 Bible Studies £121,201 for Goats for Foster Families £65,459 for Masika Maize Seeds £60,852 for Bibles

£45,551 for Seed

£33,271 for Medical Treatment

£32,046 for Cassava Cuttings

£24,387 for 1 Solar Irrigation Project

£20,157 for Fertilizer £18,868 for 16 Motorbikes

£18,639 for Plantain Banana Suckers

£15,862 for Business Loan Projects

£14,979 for Forestry Projects

£13,640 for Sorghum Seeds

£10,425 for Mosquito Nets

£10,182 for Soya Bean Seeds

£8,437 for 5,006 Banquets in Prisons

£8,266 for a Grinding Mill

£6,157 for 46 Eco-Stove Businesses and 7 Replacement Businesses

£6,083 for 226 Cassette Players

£6,070 for Bicycles

£5,077 for Rain-Conservation Farming

£4,728 for 3,500 meals in Rubbish Dump

£3,289 for 12 Solar-Charging Units

£2,540 for Mulch and Transport

£2,382 for 127 Proclaimers

£4,657 for 6 Businesses for a total of 52 People from Rubbish Dump