Visiting the Mbekenyera Health Centre in Tanzania

“With the coming of GAiN, our knowledge has increased abundantly. I now can confidently save the life of the mother and the baby at birth.” – Eusebius, head doctor of Mandawa Health Center.

Since 2006, GAiN has provided access to clean water for medical clinics in Benin, Tanzania and Togo in order to increase the overall safety and quality of care given to patients. This strategy is rooted in the knowledge that having access to clean water and the Living Water can transform every part of one’s life for the better. At GAiN, we care deeply about how clean water affects the social, spiritual and economic culture of a village, but also how it can bring protection and physical restoration to the vulnerable. Anchored in our passion to see the whole person restored, GAiN developed the Saving Lives at Birth program, where staff at the clinics are being trained with knowledge and techniques for how to properly care for newborns and mothers in a safe and timely manner.

Our team visited the Mbekenyera Health Center in Tanzania, where we met with the assistant doctor in charge. When we asked him about the impact of the training, he said that the hospital staff used to have no knowledge about how to save a baby’s life, but now six birth attendants have been trained in Saving Lives at Birth (SLB). He is so grateful that they haven’t had any bad cases since the training 12 months ago, which taught them about danger signs to look for so that babies can be referred to the hospital in a timely manner.

Reward, one of GAiN’s pump installation staff

When we asked why they hadn’t had any knowledge prior to the SLB training, the assistant doctor said they didn’t have sufficient equipment to practice what they had learned in school, so their skills were forgotten. Now that they have proper training, equipment and resources, the hospital attendants are able to practice constantly and pass on what they have learned to other staff.

Later, we asked the doctor if he could share more about what the situation was like before the training. He simply answered, “Babies would die while waiting for the doctor.”

When birth attendants were unsure how to handle a situation, they would ask for help from the two doctors at the clinic which ended up wasting precious time. The training taught these birth attendants about the ‘golden minute,’ where resuscitation must occur in order to save the baby. This rule clarified that they cannot wait for the doctor’s assistance in these circumstances if the baby is to survive.

As we walked through the maternity ward, we heard a newborn baby crying. It was a wonderful sound to hear a healthy newborn! The birthing rooms used to be less than ideal, with old or broken down equipment, stiff beds and dirty floors. Since the training, they now have a resuscitation table with equipment and action plans on the wall. 

Before having access to safe water, buckets of water were brought in by motorcycle

Our team had the opportunity to chat with a nurse named Levina at Mbekenyera Health Centre.

She said, “Since we got education in different ways of helping babies breathe through GAiN, we have many benefits. We now have a lot of education on how to help babies breathe, how to give care to mothers, we are so happy because we learned a lot and understand the benefits for us.”

When asked how she felt after receiving this GAiN training, she shared, “I feel so happy because we understand how to help that baby when it has a problem. We also need to continue learning with GAiN’s help and have more opportunities.” 

Levina shared that during one of her shifts, she admitted a pregnant woman into the hospital who was close to giving birth. Upon the examination, she noticed that the heartbeat of the baby was decreasing and it was having fetal distress. She remembered her training and prepared the necessary equipment in case the baby required breathing assistance. Once the mother delivered, Levina identified what treatment was needed and swiftly cleared the baby’s airways. Within five minutes, the baby was crying! Levina was so happy that the education she received was helpful in saving a life 

Levina shared that prior to her training, “it was a bad feeling [to help with a delivery] because [we] are always expecting the baby will be healthy at birth so when that doesn’t happen it’s sad because it’s a human life.”

The waiting room at Mandawa Health Centre

At Mandawa Health Center, a clinical attendant and anesthetist named Tumaini said the training has helped their whole team become better at assisting mothers during delivery. Several other attendants mentioned that they feel much more comfortable using proper methods to save lives at birth and believe they will be able to help many more babies in the future. One nurse named Paul shared about a mother who experienced postpartum hemorrhaging after birth, but he was able to manage the bleeding using the action steps that GAiN taught him.

Not only has GAiN’s Saving Lives at Birth training vastly improved the function of the clinics, but the provision of access to clean water has also ensured that these centres run smoothly and effectively. The staff used to draw from the town’s water system, keeping a limited supply in tanks for the rainy season. However, during each dry season they would run out of water. When this happened, they sent people on motorbikes or in an ambulance to buy water but had to use it sparingly for surgeries and birth. All other patients had to bring their own bucket of water.

After seeing how a lack of clean water was inhibiting the medical staff’s ability to care for patients, GAiN stepped in and created a system for easy, reliable access. The drilling locations have now been connected to the medical centres, providing safe water and creating a more hygienic and stable environment for all.

Hospital beds

“With GAiN drilling the borehole we see a bright future ahead because sometimes we would have to tell families/loved ones to go and collect water from remote places for their delivery due to the lack of water. There wasn’t enough staff here to collect water. Now with GAiN the problem [is] solved. We are sure it will be a sustainable one for a long time,” shared Eusebius.

Eusebius shared how deeply appreciative the clinics are for GAiN’s support, as it has dramatically increased the staff’s ability to protect mothers and children at birth and has given them renewed confidence in their skills. The delivery packs that GAiN provided have also been a profound blessing to pregnant mothers who are better set up to have safe and smooth births.

By equipping medical clinics with access to clean water, Saving Lives at Birth training and delivery packs, GAiN is providing higher quality health care to mothers and babies in Tanzania, Benin and Togo. The impact that GAiN’s support is having on clinics is encouraging–medical staff are growing in confidence and, as a result, more lives are being saved. We are thankful that GAiN has the opportunity to create an environment of safety, stability and hope within the health care clinics and are excited to continue sharing their stories of success and growth.

Give the gift of water.

You can help dramatically reduce disease, improve local health services, restore broken families and reveal the love of Jesus.

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Before clean water arrived at the village of Nkowe-Mafuriko in Tanzania, people would wake up each morning to a life where time, energy and resources were stretched dangerously thin. 

Instead of spending precious hours of their day farming the fields for food, villagers would have to wake up while it was still dark to begin their long search for water. Instead of rising to meet each day feeling healthy and strong, the burden of sickness caused by contaminated water would plague them with discomfort. 

A 15-year-old girl named Esha recalled the difficulty of life before having access to safe drinking water: “The river we used to collect water from caused stomach aches and diarrhea. I would have to spend time going to the river and if it was the dry season, I would have to dig to find water,” she said.

However, once Global Aid Network (GAiN) provided a deep-capped water well, the hardship of waking up to life in Nkowe-Mafuriko started to disappear. People’s day-to-day rhythms became more sustainable, with less time being consumed by the search for water. Slowly but surely, their physical, mental and spiritual health was restored and rejuvenated.

Esha shared how much she loves that the water from the well helps her to keep her home clean, and that she enjoys having clean water to wash her school uniform. Since she is able to attend school, our GAiN team asked Esha what occupation she would like someday and after some thought she said, “I’d like to be a water committee secretary.”

Her answer showed us that she knows the importance of looking after the well and believes it to be a job that women can do. Thanks to GAiN’s water committee training, villagers in Nkowe-Mafuriko are able to be equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to care for the well. 

Through a partnership with the closest nearby church (mother church), God’s unconditional love was shared with villagers. Twenty-five members of the village made decisions to follow Jesus, and the three individuals who chose to learn the basics of their faith. However, because this mother church was a 10km walk away from the village, attendance was low. Thanks to a new church plant in the heart of their village, believers can now gather as a Christian community year-round and their numbers are increasing day by day. 

GAiN also built a church structure for this community of believers, which has now grown to 40 adults and many children. Previously, the church met under a tent, which wasn’t comfortable or suitable when it rained.

Through the powerful and transformative gift of having access to clean water, the village of Nkowe-Mafuriko can welcome each new day with joy and hope. Their days are no longer hampered by the time-consuming task of collecting water or the discomfort of water-borne illnesses. They are no longer withheld from attending school or hearing about God’s love through a local church. Each morning, villagers can look forward to a more empowered way of life.

At GAiN, we desire that everyone experience life in its fullness, free from the burden of poverty. Our mission is to reveal hope by sharing God’s unconditional love, and restore life by demonstrating the gospel through compassionate action to those who are living in poverty, injustice and crisis around the world. 

The joint impact of the water well and the sharing of the gospel has infused hope into the life of the villagers. Our dream is to see more individuals experience the body, soul and spirit transformation that comes when safe water and the message of God’s love are introduced into their communities.

Will you join us to help make this dream a reality?

Our goal is to raise $247,250 to provide approximately 23,000 villagers (23 communities) with clean water and the Living Water by June 30th. 

A simple ‘yes’ creates a ripple-effect of change in the health, relationships, economy and spiritual vitality of a village. Your gift can serve as the catalyst for authentic and lasting impact on a community for generations to come.

Give the gift of water.

You can help dramatically reduce disease, improve local health services, restore broken families and reveal the love of Jesus.

Give Today

When we started the Pastor Support Program (PSP) last year, we didn’t know that pastors would still be feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic a year later. For pastors like Hountondji Pulcherie in Tori Cada Lokossa 1, Benin, the aid received through the program helped her considerably.

“I thank the donors for everything they are doing because I benefited,” the Foursquare pastor said. “I shared it with some members who had, in the meantime, stopped coming to the church.”

As part of our Water for Life Initiative, the PSP was started in Spring 2020 as a way to support pastors who were having a tough time providing for their families during the pandemic. The pastors we’ve worked with have all previously engaged with GAiN over the years that we’ve been working in Benin and Togo. Government restrictions to help limit the spread of COVID meant that churches could not gather as they used to. Many of the congregants even lost their jobs due to the crisis. Even when some churches were able to partially reopen, some church members simply stopped attending. This has affected the church in different ways, as it hindered doing ministry and resulted in reduced offerings. The negative impact was strongly felt by pastors, as some churches had to cut their pastor’s salaries in half.

In July 2021, we started phase 2 of the program. The PSP in Benin completed the first of eight distributions in July 2021. Twenty-six pastors each received a bag of rice, beans, oil, soap, and a small gift for their children. Pastors also attended a three-hour workshop at the GAiN Benin office. They received Bridge to Life booklets to assist them in their evangelism and discipleship work. 

In Togo, the first distribution happened in early August. The team planned 15 different distribution sites spread throughout the country so that pastors in different areas didn’t have to travel too far to get their packages.

These distributions have been helpful during this season, especially for those who live in areas where Benin and Togo have experienced an extended drought. The drought has led to high food prices and increased food scarcity. 

“I thank GAiN for these gifts that [were] sent [to] me,” expressed Jonas Fangla from the Pentecostal Church of Afekpa in Togo. “I really appreciate it. For this love demonstration, my family and I are very grateful for it. May God bless you a lot and the donors also.” 

Komlan Gaglo from Baptist Church of Adeta Akorome in Togo said, “I can’t find the right word[s] to thank and bless God for the life of all staff who remembered me and my family during this difficult time, due to the COVID-19. I pray that God bless[es] you more than what you expected.”

The remainder of the PSP was officially wrapped on September 5. To date, a total of 200 pastors in Togo and 475 pastors in Benin have received support. Our prayer is that this project will continue to bear fruit beyond just providing for pastors’ basic needs. 

With pastors receiving support, it’s our hope that they were able to reach those believers who stopped attending church due to the impact of the pandemic.

Give the gift of water.

You can help dramatically reduce disease, improve local health services, restore broken families and reveal the love of Jesus.

Give Today

Story from Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission

Enthusiastic, hardworking and up with the lark, every single day! That’s Naomi Wetering in a nutshell. The task of preparing the first meal of the day in the kitchen for the residents of Mukti was Naomi’s responsibility, which she did joyfully… until she contracted COVID-19 in the last week of April.

Initially, she was admitted to Mukti’s hospital, but when specialized treatment was required, she was transferred to SDA Hospital in Pune. Naomi was treated for COVID and subsequently, her test report came negative, but she was diagnosed with lung fibrosis and thyroid. From SDA, she had to be transferred to Divekar Hospital in Varvand. There seemed to be no improvement and her health was deteriorating rapidly. Later, she was moved to Sassoon Hospital in Pune. 

Doctors in all of the hospitals she was treated in had given up hope and said it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. Naomi was not responding to treatment and the situation appeared very bleak. Naomi herself was weak and looked like she had given up the fight. The BiPap machine started being used for her, right from the time she was hospitalized outside. Afterward, she was brought back to the Mission hospital.

Gradually, Naomi started gaining strength. The hospital used the oxygen concentrator for her, initially putting her on eight litres of oxygen per minute. Within ten days, it came down to two litres per minute. Now, she is able to breathe on her own and oxygen is supplied only when she feels tired. Dr. Ajita Kuberji, Mukti’s medical officer, says, “When I see Naomi walking in the hospital, I see God’s grace and His healing touch.” 

Indeed, Naomi’s recovery and progress are no less than a miracle. Her own faith has increased tremendously and she is grateful for her healing and the new life that she has received from Almighty God. She is on a special diet, and does prescribed exercises and physiotherapy. She wants to recover completely and regain her former health and strength.

Naomi can’t wait to get back to the kitchen and resume preparing breakfast. The residents at Mukti already miss the breakfast that she used to make and look forward to her coming back. She is happy, steadily progressing and well looked after in the hospital, but she misses her regular routine, residence and her friends. 

We are so grateful to our supporters for partnering with us to help reveal hope and restore life to residents and staff of Mukti Mission. Your generosity and willingness to act urgently has ensured that patients at Mukti, like Naomi, were able to get life-saving care at Mukti’s own hospital.

Mukti is happy to share that on July 21, 2021, Naomi was able to celebrate her 41st birthday in the hospital!

Would you still like to give to Mukti?

You could help support Mukti Mission as they deal with COVID-19.

Yes, I want to help!

Since the start of 2021, the JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy (JFCPS) hit the ground running. Five teams in Sierra Leone and three in Liberia continue partnering with local church denominations to plant indigenous, disciple-making churches in villages throughout their respective countries. Leadership trainings are also continuing where dozens of leaders are being trained to shepherd the new flocks in the years to come.

Sierra Leone

Since our teams in Sierra Leone restarted operations in October, there have been over 100 showings of the JESUS film and Walking With Jesus. The teams have been in over 40 communities since then, and over 9,000 people have attended a showing, with more than 1,200 people making decisions to follow Jesus, and over 400 are in follow-up for discipleship. In addition to that, 20 churches have been planted. There are also three church buildings in the process of being built.

“Although we’ve built other simple church structures in the past, we’re currently constructing three buildings right now in various stages of completion, and one of them is coupled with what they call a ‘food for work’ agriculture project,” Peter Koteles, Field Manager for Sierra Leone, explained. “It’s a project in which three villages are sharing the work and the crop in the field for cocoa, cassava and yams.”

One of those villages is Kamaluay in central Sierra Leone, where we met Mary Sesay. Mary was a young teenage girl when she left her Limba tribal village of Kamaluay to spend time with family in the Kono tribal district of eastern Sierra Leone. While there, Mary was introduced to a church that taught and worshipped in their local Kono tribal dialect; something which Mary was completely unfamiliar with. Up until that time, Mary was only familiar with a formal, liturgical service conducted in English. As a result, she really didn’t understand much of what was taught, so her spiritual growth was very limited.

When Mary returned to her home tribe in Kamaluay Village, she prayed that someone might come and plant a church in her village; one that would worship and preach in her mother tongue of Limba. God brought her into contact with Pastor Saidu Kamara, our JFCPS leader for that district. Pastor Saidu was able to connect a local Limba-speaking mother church to train up action group leaders so a new church could be planted in June 2019. When we visited the fledgling church that November, there were over 50 adults in attendance, and more youth and children than could be counted!

During our visit, Mary shared: “I am so excited by our spiritual growth, now that the village is able to worship and learn in our heart language of Limba! The new pastor is compassionate and he patiently answers all of our questions!”

The village chief committed land on which a church building could be constructed. With materials they were able to source locally (like trusses and uprights) as well as some roofing

tin donated by partners in Canada, the new church had a building in which they can now meet year round; even in the rainy season.

In November 2020, the village of Kamaluay initiated a farming project, during which they planted cassava, cocoa, and yams; enough to provide food for three surrounding

villages in the upcoming rainy season, when food is scarce.

Finally, in Spring of 2021, the farming initiative expanded into a “food for work” program. The JFCPS provides the initial seeds, but the villagers utilize the existing tools as well as local labor to cultivate expanded crops, which will allow the church to provide sustainable food for more villages ahead of the upcoming rainy season.

Liberia

Our teams were able to restart regular JFCPS ministry projects in November, following a few months of focusing on COVID response. From November to December 2020, there were a total of 13,500 gospel presentations through the JFCPS in different areas of Liberia. A total of 633 people made decisions to follow Jesus and 306 of these new believers are in discipleship training.

Tornwon Feoday from the Gbonyea village, Liberia shared, “I praise God tonight because His death and resurrection is the one making me to stand here tonight. Right now, I give my life to Christ so He can walk with me from now on…He make me to know this love by allowing sinful person like me and people beating on Him for my sins. He still said, ‘Father forgive them.’ This proved that Jesus came to save all people from their sins. The life that I live was not in the right way, but now I am controlled by Him and the Holy Spirit is in me as I have accepted Christ. The Lord is going to take care of me all the time.”

Another villager, Moses Yarkpa from Beyeama, Liberia, shared, “My life before was a very bad life. I used to steal, lie, abuse, smoke, gossip, and even not forgive anyone who wronged me. Since I have accepted Christ. I pray that I live a new life that will bring glory to God and give

good testimony, so more people will follow and come to Christ. I tell you that God is able to do everything for me and also you as well. Let us do all to obey God. It is always good to give God the praise in our life because He is the way for us. I want to say sorry to all my friends to whom I may have done something wrong before.”

In January, the dry season, our teams started building projects. Currently, we have eight church building projects that are near completion and expected to be finished by May 30.

Pastor training has also resumed in the town of Totota, a large centre for travel and commerce in Liberia. Training is happening in April and May, for a total of four training sessions that take place over two to three days. Kamaluay farm workers project demonstrates the integrated body of Christ through our financial partners, local churches and national GAiN staff.

You could help empower local churches to make long-lasting impacts in their communities.

Will you give today to help plant a new church in a village?

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Thank you to everyone who partnered with us to help reveal hope and restore life to the residents and staff of Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission, as India is experiencing a devastating second wave of COVID-19. Thanks to your generosity and willingness to act urgently, we have reached our goal of $80,000. We have informed Mukti to purchase the medical equipment and initiated the wire transfer to send funds over. This will supply Mukti Mission’s hospital with the equipment needed to treat patients in care, and even prepare Mukti to respond to a third wave.

As of Wednesday, May 26, a total of 67 staff and residents have recovered from the virus, 13 are in the hospital and 16 are recovering in isolation at home. 

Mukti Mission is mourning the loss of four people who have passed away from COVID. Just this past week, Tara Tai, 83 years old, passed away at Pune Hospital. Mukti is currently arranging a funeral service for her. Another woman who recently went to be with the Lord is Madhuri Khurade, She was brave and cheerful until the end and put up a gutsy fight against COVID. She came to the Mission in 2012 after being deserted by her husband. Madhuri is survived by her two children, who reside in Nasik. She was strong and hard working, with a very helpful nature and never refused any assignment given to her.

Since the outbreak on Mukti campus, Dr. Ajitha Kuberji, the medical officer for Mukti, has been in touch with the local doctor, Dr. Bhandalwalkar, and has been receiving advice. Patients in more serious condition are transferred to Dr. Bhandalwalkar’s hospital. Meanwhile, Dr. Kuberji continues to keep patients’ medications monitored from home. Mukti’s hospital staff have risen to the occasion, diligently ensuring that all PPE kits and protocol are strictly followed.

The children at Mukti are occupying themselves with indoor games, gardening and helping in their flower families. The Home Supervisors take utmost care to ensure their wards maintain social distance, take steam inhalation and drink neem decoction.

Children and women who are recovering were given packets of Bournvita (a drink with nutrients, similar to Ovaltine/Horlicks) and dry fruits. Each family has also been given an oximeter to monitor oxygen level. 

Two weeks ago, the gram panchayat (village council) of Boripardhi village sprayed the entire campus with medicine and all the families where children reside, as well as the different Sadans (homes) were sprayed from inside as well.

Mukti continues to stay strong and positive during this time. Although the situation is challenging, they continue to be grateful for God’s care and provision, praying through Psalm 91. 

Thank you again for responding urgently and giving so generously. Your help and prayers have been greatly appreciated

Would you still like to give to Mukti?

You could help support Mukti Mission as they deal with COVID-19.

Yes, I want to help!

Stories and images of mass cremations in India paint a stark picture of the devastation and suffering that the country is experiencing amidst its second wave of COVID-19.

With a population of 1.36 billion, India recently reached an overall total of 23,340,938 COVID cases and tallied 254,197 deaths. The numbers are believed to be much higher, considering the amount of infections and deaths that have gone unreported.

The situation is dire, as hospitals are unable to accommodate patients due to a shortage of beds and medical oxygen supply.

The state of Maharashtra, where Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission’s main campus is located, has been hit the hardest. Unfortunately, despite taking safety measures, Mukti Mission hasn’t been immune to the health crisis. As of May 12, a total of 74 staff and residents (women and children) have contracted the virus – five have been admitted to the hospital, while five are quarantined and recovering at home. A total of 63 have recovered or been discharged from the hospital, but sadly, it’s been confirmed that two people have died.

Mukti Mission is a Christ-centred home that desires to see women and children become salt and light in society. GAiN believes that every person is made in the image of God and has inherent dignity, regardless of their background.

There is a shortage of important drugs, which is a big challenge for us.” – Anil Francis, Mukti Mission’s Chief of Operations and Deputy Director.

Mukti Mission needs your help. As the Canadian Chapter of Mukti Mission, we are working to respond to this crisis and are asking you to join us in this effort.

While Mukti Mission’s hospital staff are working hard to care for COVID patients and ensure a quick recovery, there is still a shortage of equipment needed to treat patients in care. 

Among what is needed are:

  • 4 BiPAP machines
  • 2 ventilators
  • 4 cardiac monitors
  • 4 oxygen concentrators 
  • medicines and testing kits

These machines cost a total of $80,000, and will help

  • position Mukti Mission to respond to the third wave
  • equip Mukti’s Krishnabai Memorial Hospital to provide help and care to Mukti’s staff, residents, community of Kedgaon village and the surrounding rural communities

Suppliers are holding this equipment for Mukti Mission for the next ten days. Will you help us reveal hope and restore life to residents and staff who are experiencing this devastating second wave in India?

Double your impact through a matching gift from our generous donor and provide the critical care needed for those suffering with COVID at Mukti Mission.

Yes, I want to help!

Earlier this year, Syria entered its 10th year of civil war, just as COVID-19 became a global pandemic.

Since 2013, we have worked with local partners to provide aid and the hope of Jesus to displaced individuals and families whose lives have been forever changed since the war, including 13.1 million in need and 6.6 million internally displaced (UNHCR). Our Bags of Blessings program (distributing bags with a month’s worth of food and non-food items) has helped alleviate some of the financial burdens since inflation and unemployment has made it hard for families to put food on the table.

When COVID hit and restrictions meant that churches were unable to gather in large groups, our faithful partners continued to dedicate their time to visiting families door-to-door. They delivered over 955 Bags of Blessings and 100 Clean Bags (containing basic cleaning and disinfecting supplies) to help raise awareness and prevent the spread of the virus.

Dina A., is a wife and mother of three adult children. She is a member of the local church and started attending when she received Bags of Blessings through the program.

Life before COVID was already hard, but the added impact of the pandemic is causing more stress on her family’s situation.

“My husband is a retired policeman and he isn’t earning much,” Dina explained. “My eldest daughter is 32 years old and is dealing with chronic health issues that require her to be on medication and go to the hospital for regular examinations. My youngest son is 20 and currently in university. My other son is 31 years old but has not completed his education in order to earn more and help us with household expenses.”

Due to inflation, whatever they earn isn’t enough. While life remains difficult for Dina and her family, the Bags of Blessings help make a difference and continue to serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

“I serve God at the church and help package and distribute Bags of Blessings. The Bags touch my heart and fill it with gratitude to the Lord, because He is a good and faithful shepherd. The Bags definitely attract new members to the church and are given according to the need, so that it will be a reason for blessing everyone who takes it with knowledge of how the Lord is good.”

Faddaa S., is another member of the church who first heard about it through the Bags of Blessings program.

“The economic situation at home, because of the general situation and the deteriorating conditions, is below the middle line because of the high cost of living. We live on my salary, which does not exceed $25 dollars (per day),” Fadaa, 46 years old, shared.

“When we heard that the baptist church distributed Bags of Blessings, I began attending. This was the reason we came at the beginning. But then, I became attached to the Word of the Lord and I began to think of the benefits (Bags) as gifts from the Lord Jesus. The Bags have helped lift a large part of our expenses that we used to spend on purchasing food. Now we use that money on other household expenses.”

Families with younger children are finding it difficult to get by. Rana K. is 38 and part of a family of four.

“We can no longer provide for the needs of our children in a healthy and ideal way for their ages,” Rana lamented. “They are in the stage of development.”

Despite the hardships, Rana still has faith.

“The love of the Lord Jesus is beyond our imagination. We find Him with us in every moment of our lives, with joy and pain. We find that the Lord will provide us with our needs at the right time when we are most in need of help. Personally, I do not fear any need because I have an inner peace that my master never leaves me in need. As for the Bag of Blessings, due to the current situation in our country, some people come to the church for the purpose of aid, but when they hear the word of the Lord and enter the minutes of the Lord, you will find them adhere to the word of the Lord and apply it in their lives.”

You could help families in need by providing basic food and non-food items, and at the same time help them know the hope and love found in Jesus.

Will you give today?

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For over a decade, Global Aid Network (GAiN) has been involved in providing deep-capped water wells to rural villages in countries such as Benin, Togo and Tanzania. Along with access to clean water, GAiN focuses on holistic sustainable community development as part of our integrated WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) program, which includes hygiene and sanitation training.

The importance of hygiene and sanitation is especially highlighted in times like a global pandemic. When COVID-19 spread to Benin, Togo and Tanzania, Global Aid Network (GAiN) pivoted our community strategy, building on our hygiene and sanitation trainings, to raise awareness about COVID-19 prevention through a community response, church response and clinic response. 

Each response included sharing health promotion messages such as washing hands with soap and water often, or using hand sanitizer, keeping two metres apart, wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) such as gloves and masks, and staying home when sick. Hand hygiene materials (such as soap and sanitizer) were also distributed to church pastors, clinics and households.

The idea was to empower and equip pastors and clinic workers to not just feel safe, but also spread the message on how to prevent the spread of the virus and encourage members of the community to demonstrate love during the pandemic. GAiN was able to connect with pastors through calling and texting, to offer support coaching.

The community response has been important, especially because many of the villages our teams reached are remote and hard to access. It is essential for villagers to understand the necessary precautions in order to keep their communities safe and healthy. Sharing health messages and distributing hygiene materials was also a good way to share the love of God to people in the village, by showing that their physical health is valued.

When sharing these health messages, teams in the field met with members of the community in small groups. Not only did they share knowledge, but they also modelled proper safety protocols.

In Benin, teams delivered soap to households and local pastors were taught how to encourage villagers to create their own handwashing stations with buckets and soap. Local pastors were equipped with megaphones to reach people with important health messages without needing to host a large group of people together.

“The megaphone will help me share the word of God and continue the promotion of personal protection equipment in the village. With this, my ministry will grow here,” expressed Pastor Dogble Gossou Paul, who leads a local church in Dossohoue, Benin.

He continued, “[The health] promotion is wonderful and I’m pleased, especially the hygiene part of it would [encourage] people here to practice hygiene more. We are in a village here where people don’t understand much about the current COVID-19 disease. So, this will make them knowledgeable and empower them as to [how to] avoid the disease. I’m sure this promotion is a great teaching for the whole village and for the church in particular.”

Pastor Dogble also believes in leading by example for his congregation. “I’ll strictly use everything I’ve learned here in my household, and then I’ll remind it to the church because ‘charity begins at home.’”

Our teams also reached five schools in Tanzania, providing handwashing stations, as well as health messaging. The need for handwashing stations in Tanzania has been even more significant since classes have resumed. Thanks to the handwashing stations, students and teachers can easily wash their hands, and continue to keep safe and lower the risk of contamination.

We are now restarting our drilling operations and excited to continue to bring clean water to communities in need. The pandemic is not over, but we are determined to take the lessons we learned from our COVID response to continue to promote proper hygiene and sanitation practices. There is no doubt that WASH will continue to be a priority when it comes to COVID prevention and as we carry on with the work we’ve started.

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Just like many other countries, Syria enacted lockdown measures when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Restrictions on gatherings made things difficult for our local partners, who usually host large church gatherings and need to meet with people in order to distribute Bags of Blessings (bags with essential food and non-food items).

Still, they adapted to make it work, including holding bible studies over Zoom and meeting in small groups to share God’s word, as well as distributing Bags of Blessings and cleaning supplies to families door-to-door.

Bags of Blessings have been much-needed since the country’s economic crisis has left many families impoverished. With inflation, the cost of even the most basic food items have become unaffordable for many families. To make sure that people are still getting these essential food and non-food items during the pandemic, our partners made personal door-to-door visits to families, providing them with Bags. This act of kindness, along with intentional love and care, has helped many families make a decision to follow Jesus, and many are now in discipleship groups.

Our partners also distributed Bags of Blessings and Clean Bags (with cleaning products), as well as blankets and bed sheets for the winter, at a local church, taking advantage of the church’s big parking space to ensure proper distancing.

The pastor of the church thanked our partners, saying, “I am very thankful for the help you are granting to our church. These [Bags] are becoming a very good support for their needs, knowing that all the materials (food, detergent, clothes) are very expensive due to the sanction over Syria, and the inflation of the currency (our Lira). For that reason, there is a strong need for our people in Syria in general to be supported and to grant them to and thanks to God for the generous relief program you are doing. This ‘love in action’ is the core of Christianity and the message of real love, which is translated to caring [for] and helping [each other]. And I see through this holy program a strong and good testimony for our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Nadia, who received a Bag at the distribution, wrote a thank you letter, sharing her appreciation: “Thank you and we appreciated so much because you were next [to] us during all these crises and you didn’t leave us at all. You were good support for us by sending food, detergent, blankets, etc. Thank you. Because of you, I understand what it means by Christian family and the church… We learned from you to search in deep in bible and love others from our heart and [care for] and help people like us.”

In the last three months, our partners have been able to reach 300 families, helping 123 make a life-changing decision to become a follower of Jesus, and leading 13 follow up groups.

You could help families in need by providing basic food and non-food items, and at the same time help them know the hope and love found in Jesus.

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