Students working on the church at Soala

Another major concern we had was regarding work for the students. God dropped 2 projects right in our lap. The first was the construction of a small house just a 2 min walk from the Centre and the second was a roof for the church at Soala. The church roof was finished just before the Easter break. Roger has been contacted about work starting when we return in June, providing the price looks good. Until then the students will be busy with demolition at another church site in preparation for work commencing towards the end of the year. The students will also be working on extending our perimeter wall to enclose more of the property.

Colin, Cheri, Amber, Emily and Ben traveling Burkina style.

Roger and I had been looking forward to the Easter break although things didn’t turn out quite how we had planned. On the Thursday before Easter I was diagnosed with severe malaria although I had no symptoms before that day. And Roger was told that his recent weight loss was due to some parasites and not a miracle diet. We received wonderful care from our doctor and his staff and after a 2 day stay at the clinic I able to go home. Presently I am feeling really good although I am trying to pace myself. Roger is improving but it could be another week before he sees real improvement. Although it is nothing to see people here lying on a mat or a piece of cloth on the ground I found out that as a non Burkinabe if I lie on the ground I am quickly given a bed and a hovering nurse.

We will be coming home May 1 and returning to Burkina on June 10. We are looking forward to some rest and cooler temperatures as well doing lots of visiting, catching up on all the news. On May 28 Careforce is hosting a luncheon for us at the Golf Steakhouse in Bridgeport. It is an opportunity for us to talk about what has happened this year and what we hope to accomplish next year. Tickets can be purchased through Careforce at careforceinternational.ca/luncheon or e-mail our project champion Terry Gray at terpaul.gray@gmail.com for more information.

Praise:

• • Good medical care
• • Work for our students

Prayer:

• Health during this month
• A relaxing time at home
• An instructor for the woodworking program

Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf. Not only this past week but as your pray continually for us and the work here.

See you soon.

Roger and Chris

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. – 1 Chronicles 16:11

The towering bridge at MCF Ndalani facing extreme water levels

The year started well with a lot of work that has seen us move forward in our endeavors within MCF. The continued growth of our target groups physically, mentally, economically, socially, and spiritually always gives my wife and I joy. Indeed, the present generation continues to search for the face of God and fulfillment in many ways. In all, we keep trusting God every moment, and in every situation.

The current torrential rainfall across Kenya continues to create havoc within the borders with pounding rains having cost the country hundreds of lives and thousands of people being displaced from their homes. As I write this letter to you, very heavy rains continue to pound the earth here at Yatta. Last night I held an emergency meeting with some of my staff on the havoc that the rains have caused in our Ndalani and Yatta project sites. On Sunday night, while at Ndalani, I received a phone call a few minutes after midnight, with devastating news that one of our dams had broken banks and that there was flooding in some parts of the farm. Some neighbors in the nearby Kosice village lost their lives in mudslides. We are thankful for safety and the gift of life amongst all the staff and children within our homes.

Some of the water falls forming around various parts of the property in Yatta from the rains

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to assess the damage caused by the torrential rains and from the initial assessment, it seems to be running into thousands of dollars. With a heavy heart, I wish to share with you that two of our large dams broke their banks and all the water and the thousands of tilapia fish therein were swept away.

Additionally, the Ndalani and Yatta open fields have been flooded and the French beans, cabbage and other vegetables have started rotting due to excess waters. This means that we will not be able to harvest any crop for local consumption or export as our entire crop has been destroyed. We are also not able to carry out any ploughing or planting until the rains recede due to soggy soils. The unfortunate consequences of this is that the hundreds of villagers who rely heavily on our farm for food and work will have to be laid off as we cannot carry out any farm work for some time.

In spite of the tragedy caused by the rains, MCF continues to reach out to the communities at Ndalani through provision of free medical care in our ongoing medical camp that has been facilitated by visiting doctors and volunteers from Canada. The community members in Ndalani have continued to brave the rain to access free medical care.

High water levels in the Yatta Thika river that washed our pump away

Please pray for our country and in particular for those who have lost their loved ones and have been displaced from their homes as they undergo a very difficult time. We also wish to ask you to please pray with us for wisdom as we strategize on the way forward given the adverse effects of the rains on our capacity to feed the children and communities and to provide an income for our ministry in the coming weeks.

Our humble prayer is that you would join us in prayer and giving as we seek to raise the necessary funds to re-construct the dams, repair the greenhouses, and purchase water pump accessories to replace the ones washed away.

Wishing you blessings!

Yours Sincerely,
DR. EV. CHARLES & ESTHER MULLI

We’re excited to announce that Roger and Chris Bast, our CFPC Vocational Training Centre program leaders, will be visiting Canada this spring. We will be hosting a luncheon for them on May 28 in at Golf’s Steakhouse in Kitchener. In addition to a delicious meal, attendees will be able to hear the Basts share about their community development experience and work in Burkina Faso and have the opportunity to financially support their ministry.

Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location:Golf Steakhouse • 598 Lancaster Street West, Kitchener, Ontario
Cost: $30

Please RSVP by: May 26, 2013

Roger practicing carrying food on his head.

The harvest has gone well this year. The peanuts, beans, corn, sesame and chick peas are all harvested. In our little area of peanuts that we grew we probably got 4 or 5 times what we did last year. The millet and the sorghum harvest has begun and is almost completed in some places but ours is further behind. Overall the crops are looking way better than last year and people that we talk to are optimistic about their crops. We had two rains a couple of weeks ago which helped before final harvest. We think there will always be a need for some food distribution to the elderly, single moms and orphans. But we don’t see any major distribution needed similar to what we experienced earlier this year. We still have a few bags of corn in stock that we make available for any of these needs.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all those who gave so generously, because of you we were able to continue to distribute corn and millet in September and also in October. Your generosity has blessed this community. On a visit to one of the pastors, we thought the pastor’s wife was going to kiss Roger she was so excited. Everyday people came to see the pastor asking if he could help because they had no food. The pastors shared with us their joy at being able to give food to those in need. Much praise is given to God on these occasions.

Thank you for partnering with us…your gifts have made such a difference

Chris and Roger Bast

Thank you for your continued support of the Lighthouse School Project. We want you to know that your prayers and financial contributions are making a big difference in the lives of the children and their families in the poor community of Los Alcaritos.

The Lighthouse School recently celebrated their 14th graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, many of the 46 graduating students expressed their gratitude for having a Christian education and having the chance to go on to higher education. Some of them started at the school when they were four years old and they expressed their happiness that they have been with the project for so long. Many acknowledged the sponsors of the projects even though many have not met them in person, grateful for the support that they had received to help them get through school and life.

Escarlet Perdoma recently graduated from the Lighthouse School. Like all other students at the school, she is grateful for the provision of education in the area.  Going to school is a privilege in an area where there are not enough places in the schools for all the children of school age. She wrote to thank those who have sponsored the school, saying now she is going to college to train as a psychologist. “I want to be a great professional,” she says. “Thanks for being there when I most needed help.”

Progress on the construction of the new workshop/storage/office building at the CFPC vocational training school in the village of Nabrabogo is continuing and is due to be completed at the end of this year. The completion of the workshop will allow the students, coming to the end of the first year of the current two year masonry program, to be trained on equipment that they will need to use in the construction industry in Burkina Faso.

A Careforce team plans to be in Burkina to help put the finishing touches on the building in mid-January 2013. The team will be involved with painting the building and the second classroom, which acts as the current storage area. Completing the new building and freeing up the second classroom will enable the woodworking program to begin in the fall of 2013.

Training at the vocational school is free to students. As more programs are added, new teachers will be needed, resulting in a need for additional sponsors to help cover the cost of teacher salaries. If you are interested in supporting CFPC Vocational School and its programs, please contact us to discuss sponsorship opportunities with Careforce.

Parts of Burkina Faso are suffering from the poor harvest caused by last year’s drought. This has resulted in a lack of food for many Burkinabe. With the help of Careforce and our generous donors, we have been able to purchase and distribute food — staples like corn, millet, and rice — to the needy through some of the churches in the Nabrabogo/Boussé region, Northwest of the capital city of Ouagadougou. They will  continue to do this until this year’s harvest at the end of August.

It also became apparent in late spring that most of the students attending CFPC and workers on the construction site were suffering as a result of the drought. We have since begun to provide midday meals to the students and on-site construction workers. Three times a week we have rice with a sauce prepared from soup mix donated by Ontario Christian Gleaners. Tuesday we have pasta with tomato sauce and Thursday we have tô [maize porridge] with a local sauce.

Thank you for your support of Careforce International!

For more information on what is happening In Burkina Faso and our other projects, please visit our website at www.careforceinternational.ca

On August 25th, 58 girls graduated from the 2 year vocational skills training program at Mully Children’s Family (MCF) Yatta. The last two months they have studied health and hygiene issues, record keeping, gender issues, being women of faith, social and family issues, and entrepreneurship and business.  The girls have a kick-start to a new life with this training that they received while at MCF. Most come from socially bankrupt backgrounds and have had to work hard to make the transition to a formal, responsible, honest, accountable system of doing things and have done very well.

Six of MCF’s beneficiaries now have an opportunity to study nursing in Germany!  For each of these young women, it is a dream that they never thought could ever have come true for them. One of these women, Saphia Ibrahim Zainab, was barely 6 when she was brought to MCF 15 years ago. Saphia is a dynamic girl with lots of energy and as she sits, she can barely contain her excitement. Saphia’s parents divorced when she was very young and she and her siblings ended up living with her father. Because money was very scarce, her brothers became street urchins and they would often leave Saphia at home alone to look for money in the street. She had never gone to school before the age of 6. Fifteen years later, life has budded and blossomed for Saphia! The little unsuspecting girl who once held her hand out for food to eat now speaks basic German and will be studying nursing in Germany. Saphia wants to come back to Kenya and open a clinic to help people in her community and more so her family. She knows the investment that MCF has made in her life and she doesn’t think lightly of it. She is extremely grateful for the support that her MCF family has given her.

With the daily challenges pouring in, we always take a moment to thank God for the wonderful things He does for us at MCF. Many milestones have been crossed, with our girls graduating soon, and others pursuing a coveted higher education in Germany, but there is still so much that is needed for the work to continue. We thank you for walking with us and ask that you continue to support us as you are led by the Spirit.

God’s blessings always!

For more information on what is happening in Kenya and our other projects, please visit our website at www.careforeinternational.ca

Roger practicing caring food on his head.

Here the local drink is made by boiling sorghum to get the goodness out. What’s left of the sorghum is normally fed to pigs but now things are so desperate that the people eat this to help fill their aching stomachs even though there is little if any nutrition left.

We are doing what we can.

In Bousse we are the only people supplying food. The local pastors and chiefs have 228 families that are registered as needing help. I was overwhelmed with the need of the people the last time I was there.

In another area the pastor shared that 90 people are being helped, but there are many other families living day to day hoping against hope that they can find something to eat. The young always get fed first. Even so we have seen kids, with orange coloured hair and the glazed stare (both signs of malnutrition).

Last Friday we distributed at two different locations sharing 7 sacks of corn between 54 people. It was a good time, people were very happy to receive the gift and their smiles were great to see. Most of them were widows and widowers.

Determined to get the food there.

The truck broke down again last week, thankfully after we had completed out of town food distributions. So for the local deliveries we used what we could get. So far we have distributed over 30000 lbs of food and plan to purchase 36 – 100 kgs sacs with the funds sent last week.

Maria (not her real name) is a widow with four young children with no other family nearby. She grows food for the family but that food ran out in March because of the poor crop last year. She lives day to day asking God to supply their needs until the new crops are ready to harvest. She has been getting help from the church that we are assisting, but that amounts to just over 1kg of grain per week which does not go far with a family.

Praise God!

The rains finally began in early July, this is later than normal. During Aug. they have been almost daily so the crops are looking good. The rains will need to last into late Sept. for the crops to develop fully. The crops most at risk are the millet, corn and sorghum because they take a longer growing time. The beans, peanuts and okra should be OK.