Ray and Mary Ann Bale, along with their adoptive son, Boss David, are faithful missionaries involved in a wide variety of projects in Africa. We just recently received an update on their ongoing seed drive for some local villages in Burundi, Africa. The general goal is for the villages to become more self-sufficient growing and sustaining crops rather than relying on continual support for food relief.
Greetings to you all from Burundi! On behalf of the people who we have assisted through this very difficult time, thank you for your generosity, love, support, and prayers. We were able to visit three villages this past month and distribute much needed seed and food. We are continuing to give a combination of food and seed so that the seed is planted rather than eaten. We are also looking at other strategies to keep ongoing food supplies available. This includes the planting of cassava (shrubby, tropical, perennial plant) in place of maize and beans. Cassava is more disease resistant and is able to survive in both very dry and wet conditions. A cassava crop will ensure a steady food supply and will also provide enough future seed for additional crops. We can also sell some of the surplus seeds so we can purchase bean, maize, and potato seed.
We are concentrating on the Gitega area of the country which contains six main areas where Batwa (Pygmy) Hutu, and Tutsi ethnic groups live. Although the goal is to provide food for them, we also encourage cooperative efforts to build unity among the population. The planting areas will be patterned after a "food for work" program, which will ensure people are contributing to the food solutions as well as getting the much needed sustenance. People are also starting to take initiative and are becoming part of the solution rather than relying on old habits. In the village of Kamushiha, the people were able to obtain maize and cassava seeds themselves, leaving us to provide seeds for beans only. We were able to give more beans to more people than originally anticipated because of this.
Thank you for standing with us and helping us with your donations! We are very excited and hopeful for the upcoming harvest and will be making another journey to the villages at the end of November.
Sadly, we are never at a loss for information on the devastating impact of AIDS on children, particularly those living in Africa. Although this pictorial depicts Zimbabwe, it could easily be Uganda, Swaziland (highest AIDS rate in the world) , or any other Africa country where we work. Many of you directly support projects in Africa and are helping to make a difference. Unfortunately, we do have reminders, such as this, that we have a long way to go to eradicate this deadly disease.
Death
James Elder, working for the children's charity UNICEF in Zimbabwe, describes how AIDS is affecting family life in the southern African country.
Zimbabwe's is the world's fastest-shrinking economy outside a war zone - unemployment has reached more than 70% and inflation recently topped 1,200%.
James traveled to the village of Murambinda, about three hours southeast from the capital, Harare, where HIV prevalence is more than 30%. Here death is one of the few growth industries
So much death
Ephraim Musandawi, 34, makes five coffins every day and sells an average of fifty each month. Nearly 400 adults die from HIV-related deaths every day in Zimbabwe.
"People here are dying, there is just so much death," says Ephraim.
"It is very sad. At one time we had four funerals in our small village in one day. You feel sorry for the parents who are burying their children, and for the grandparents looking after the young ones.
"But for us it is good business and we have to survive."
Immense hardships
Despite immense hardships, Zimbabweans continue to support one another.
Thirteen-year-old Likun Chiwata lost his mother earlier this year; his father died in 2001. His community helps him with school fees and food.
Per capita, Zimbabwe has more orphans than any country in the world, and school enrollment is falling.
Support
Zimbabwean grandparents care for huge numbers of the country's 1.6 million orphans. They need the world's support, says UNICEF.
Mrs. Mwaimbodei Chamutsa, 74, cares for her five grandchildren: Gladys, 16; Tabitha, 14; Peacemaker, 13; Nhamo, 13, and three-year-old Busi.
Donors, like the European Commission and the UK's DfID, help provide school fees, food, shelter, immunization, and psychological support for tens of thousands of orphans in the country, including the Chamutsa family.
Doing her best
More than seventy children are orphaned every day in Zimbabwe.
Despite difficult living conditions, 90% of the country's orphans are cared for by their extended family.
Mrs. Chamutsa says she does her best but that "motherhood should be for younger women."
Worries
Like many grandparents in rural Zimbabwe, Mrs. Chamutsa worries for her grandchildren's future.
A recent survey found that orphaned girls are three times more likely to become infected with HIV than girls whose parents are alive. Orphaned girls are more susceptible to abuse and more likely to be forced into early marriages.
Harder every day
Mrs. Chamutsa says: "I am old and I have many children to support.
"There are many grandparents who are looking after children because of AIDS. Many cannot keep their children in school.
"Or in good health.
"Many just don't cope. And things get harder every day."
Hope
"Life is a constant struggle," says orphan Gladys who is writing her GCSE-equivalent exams.
"I have to work before and after school, but I am just grateful me and my siblings are in school - this way tomorrow may be better than today."
A Country on the Edge by Alan Whiteside and Scott Naysmith
One of our current projects is based in Bulembu, Swaziland. Bulembu, a small town with heart and vision, is redefining and rebuilding itself. Abandoned in 2001 by the mining industry, the future looked bleak. The people of Bulembu were left with nothing. As AIDS ravaged the country, children and babies were abandoned daily. We are helping to transform Bulembu into a town of hope. Below is a description of the plight of the Swazi people and why it's so important that we open our hearts to help.
Even though economic growth is substantial and social service delivery - while not as fast as we want - is reaching millions, AIDS will continue to kill hundreds of thousands in South Africa, burdening families and orphaning children.
Recent research in Swaziland presents a picture that is disastrous and deteriorating. The Swazi people are suffering from a long-term emergency, aggravated by domestic political ineptitude and inaction and the misinformed policies of international organizations. Our research shows AIDS is the tipping point and this has implications across the Southern African Development Community.
In 1992 the first Swazi HIV prevalence survey found that 3.9% of women attending antenatal clinics were infected. By 2004 this had risen to 42.6%, the highest in the world. There are biases in antenatal data and so the 2006 Demographic and Health Survey, which included more population testing, was welcomed as an additional source of information. The news was not good. It was estimated that 220,000 people, 19% of the population, are infected. If this prevalence were applied to South Africa and the United States, then nine million South Africans and 56 million Americans would be infected.
Quality of life has declined steadily, echoing the rise of infection. The United Nations reports that from 1999 to 2004 maternal deaths increased from 230 to 370 per 100,000 births. AIDS kills half of the children dying under the age of five. Swazi citizens born in 1993 could expect to live 60 years; today Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy in the world at just 31.3 years. The epidemic is shredding the structure of Swazi society.
Families are torn apart as breadwinners fall ill and die and grandparents take on the care of their sick children and orphaned grandchildren. There are already 130,000 orphans and vulnerable children, a number projected to increase to 200,000 by 2010. As elderly caregivers die, the oldest children take over without a support network. Sadly, Swazis have come to see the circumstances afflicting a third of their nation's children as ordinary and inevitable - an "abnormal normality" that reflects a society with few options.
Many Swazi households are forced to cope with livelihood failure, caused by drought, falling agricultural production, and a declining GDP. The number of Swazis "skipping meals" has increased; poor nutrition hastens the onset of AIDS and puts individuals at greater risk of infection. In 2007 40% of all Swazis require food aid, yet the government recently decided to cultivate cassava crops for bio-fuel production.
As the largest employer in Swaziland, the public sector is financially responsible for a majority of dependants and is essential to implementing alleviation efforts. With one in four employees in this sector infected, and policemen, teachers, and civil servants succumbing to AIDS, public services are in jeopardy.
Swazi women and girls shoulder the burden of the disease and are the most vulnerable to infection. A shocking 49% of women aged between 25 and 29 are HIV-positive, reflecting the low status of women. The legal status of women surpassed that of a "minor" only in 2006. The recent National Survey on Violence Experienced by Female Children and Youths in Swaziland finds that "two-thirds of women are beaten and abused," with six of every ten Swazi females being coerced or "forced into their first sexual experience."
The 2006 Constitution reaffirmed that executive, legislative, and judiciary authority rests with the king (Mswati III), who has ruled Swaziland since 1986. AIDS activists argue that some cultural traditions, in particular commodifying females, are at the heart of the epidemic.
The international donor community is not helping. The International Monetary Fund insists on public sector expenditure being cut and the public service be reduced in size; this at a time when additional human capacity is needed to respond to the crisis. Repaying debt - accumulated in part by the extravagance of a minority - perpetuates the cycle of poverty and disease among Swaziland's majority.
Swaziland's rating by the World Bank as a "low-middle income" country means that the impoverished kingdom cannot access the financial resources available to "low-income" countries. This rating is based on a country's GDP, with no account taken of its social and structural realities. By the time Swaziland's GDP has fallen sufficiently to access "low-income" funding, it will be too late for pre-emptive interventions.
Signs of hope flicker in Swaziland: NGOs, faith-based, and community-based organizations are working to form a coherent response to the epidemic. The National Emergency Council on HIV/AIDS coordinates activities to avoid duplication, identifies those people most in need, and works with many of the nation's traditional chiefs. Here, too, financial and human capacity falls short of demand. We hope that this devastating research provides the wake-up call needed.
Elements of Swaziland's situation apply to other Southern African counties, especially Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. These generalized epidemics, resulting in chronic emergencies, will continue to threaten human development, economic growth, cultural inheritance and the natural environment for many generations. The case of Swaziland - magnified by poor leadership and the politics of aid - bodes ill for the future of Southern Africa, where the shocks of HIV/AIDS will remain endemic long after a cure for the virus is found.
Professor Alan Whiteside is the director of the health economics and HIV/AIDS research division (Heard) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Scott Naysmith is a visiting research fellow at Heard. This commentary is based on research accessible here.
Mark and Coreen Biech and their team of wonderful volunteers continually rehabilitate homes for the poor in Romania. Recently, they experienced a remarkable calling and made a decision to take on more than they thought they could manage. It turned it to be the right decision.
Just after WWII when the communist party took governmental control in Romania, farmers lost their land to the new regime. The new order organized a system for agricultural farming by building collectives of people to work and harvest the land. Citizens in Romania were sent to these collectives based on their education, financial trouble, or for political reasons. Working these farms was one of the most strenuous and back-breaking jobs offered to the public. Pay was room and board, and in many cases, no salary.
Although times have changed and people are now able to purchase their housing and can chose their own means of work, many of them are three to four generations into life at the farm. Most struggle with illiteracy and have been left with a very uncertain future.
Our involvement
We were planning one of our 'home makeover' projects for a team of international volunteers coming to work with us. A friend mentioned that there was a family they knew at a 'poor farm' not far from the city that could use our help. After hearing the plight and challenges that the 'farm' people face, we decided to to look into the matter further.
After visiting the site, it was clear to us that a single home makeover may not be the best thing with so many in such poverty. Though the initial answer was 'no' to a single home makeover, we couldn't deny that our entire team was feeling something.
Looking skyward, we asked God just what we should do with such need in front of us. We felt an instant response to just start and makeover the whole farm! It was exciting to sense God's heart and the privilege to help. The logical mind however wanted to say, "What?! But there are 150 people here in 29 homes! They need their houses restored, lacked hygiene facilities, food, and education, not to mention someone to fight for their social rights, care, love, acceptance, and encouragement. Pfew!"
It seemed insurmountable, but we pressed on believing that if God had indeed spoken to us, He will make a way to see these people helped! New Horizon Foundation of Canada, who partner with us on other projects, felt the same excitement and joined us in our efforts for what we now call Farm 11! Together, we have started Farm 11 to give a helping hand to the 150 adults and children who currently live in poverty.
We have set goals for 2008 and hope to restore not just the housing, but also to build a hygiene facility which will provide camp-style showers for men and women. On the second floor of this facility, we would like to build a classroom to help the children with computer lessons and the adults with literacy. This project is new and there are many things we can do as it develops. We have a lot of work ahead of us so check back from time to time to see how it we are doing! As always, thank you for your support and prayers!
Almost...
by Glenda Allan at ARK Children's Home in Riobamba, Ecuador
The founders and directors of ARK Children's Home, the Allans, have been busy trying to complete multiple construction projects. As always, the renovations are for the children's safety and care. Thank you to those of you who continue to support them!
We have made progress! Even though we weren't able to finish as much of the construction as we'd hoped, we still got close to completing many things.
We were able to lay paving stones in front of the dorms in the lower building, which makes life so much more pleasant. I was always concerned that the boys would break their legs walking on the old bricks at night. We were only able to do half, but we are delighted nevertheless.
The wheel chair ramp is also in and it's just missing a handrail. We almost finished our social worker's office. She has to move in next week so we'll probably put plastic in the window areas until we can afford to finish it completely. The floor tiles are done and the wiring is in so it's at least usable. Paint, a door, windows, and bathroom will be done later.
The laundry room is also almost done. We just have some wiring to do, dryer ducts to add, and painting left before we can use it. Unfortunately, the large addition of six bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sitting room, and an office haven't been started yet. Because we are in such desperate need for space, I had hoped to see more progress. At least we have the roof on and the walls up. Each room will cost between $1,200 and $1,500 for flooring, ceilings, wiring, stucco and paint, windows and doors.
Although it looks like we should have finished one thing rather than finishing many smaller things, we are content because we are at a point where we can do a room at a time. Thank you to everyone who supported us with your gifts and prayers. We look forward to continued progress in 2008!
We support homes in countries where children are recruited into war as child soldiers. The initiation is brutal in order to prepare the children to become killers. Often times, they are force to turn against their villages which includes their family. If you were not aware how pervasive and horrific this problem is, you need to read this article.
There are an estimated three hundred thousand child soldiers around the world. Every year the number grows as more children are recruited for use in active combat.
Children are used in wars taking place in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Burma. In the civil war in Sierra Leone children fight for both the rebels - the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) - and the pro-government local militia, the Kamajors. The Kamajors do much of the front-line fighting for the government and the West African peace-keeping force, ECOMOG.
Often after the RUF attacks a village they abduct the surviving children. The children, many of whom have seen their parents slaughtered, are then removed to special camps. Those children who escape often join the Kamajors who give them shelter and food.
In the RUF camps in Sierra Leone, the traumatized children are held and 'trained' usually for about two or three months. The children are told they will be killed if they disobey orders or try to escape.
Often they undergo a brutal initiation and have to kill or maim those who have attempted to flee. In the Kamajors, the children are initiated into 'secret societies.' By following the rules of these 'societies' the boys are told that they will gain magical powers. They come to believe that the 'juju' (magic) will protect them and stop the enemy bullets.
The development of lighter weapons - such as the AK47 - also means that boys as young as eight can be armed. The smallest boys are placed closest to the enemy. In war, they are said to be fearless. Children are often less demanding soldiers than adults. They are cheaper to keep as they eat less and are easier to manipulate. Both sides believe the unpredictability of small children makes them better fighters. Some are sent into battle high on drugs to give them courage.
The Burmese military regime also uses children in combat. The children work as slave labourers, carrying army supplies or working on government construction projects.
In combat children are often captured and threatened. They fight for whoever controls them in order to stay alive. In continuous civil war there are many children who have often fought for both sides. Although the war continues in Sierra Leone, some children have managed to escape. But often children who have been forced to kill and slaughter in their own villages cannot return home.
Children who join the RUF are ostracized by their families and fear they will be hunted down by the militia. More than anything, the former child soldiers want peace and the chance to go to school. Many of the girls dream of becoming nurses. Some of the boys want to be priests. Rehabilitation of the child soldiers is a difficult process. The children have been brutalized and have carried out killings. They have wielded life-and-death power over adults often in their local communities. The armies using them have fed, clothed, and given them shelter.
Although there are projects in countries helping former child soldiers, the majority of child soldiers will continue to fight as long as the war continues.
Seed Drive to Feed Villages in Africa 
Greetings to you all from Burundi! On behalf of the people who we have assisted through this very difficult time, thank you for your generosity, love, support, and prayers. We were able to visit three villages this past month and distribute much needed seed and food. We are continuing to give a combination of food and seed so that the seed is planted rather than eaten. We are also looking at other strategies to keep ongoing food supplies available. This includes the planting of cassava (shrubby, tropical, perennial plant) in place of maize and beans. Cassava is more disease resistant and is able to survive in both very dry and wet conditions. A cassava crop will ensure a steady food supply and will also provide enough future seed for additional crops. We can also sell some of the surplus seeds so we can purchase bean, maize, and potato seed. 
We are concentrating on the Gitega area of the country which contains six main areas where Batwa (Pygmy) Hutu, and Tutsi ethnic groups live. Although the goal is to provide food for them, we also encourage cooperative efforts to build unity among the population. The planting areas will be patterned after a "food for work" program, which will ensure people are contributing to the food solutions as well as getting the much needed sustenance. People are also starting to take initiative and are becoming part of the solution rather than relying on old habits. In the village of Kamushiha, the people were able to obtain maize and cassava seeds themselves, leaving us to provide seeds for beans only. We were able to give more beans to more people than originally anticipated because of this. 
James Elder, working for the children's charity UNICEF in Zimbabwe, describes how AIDS is affecting family life in the southern African country.
Zimbabwe's is the world's fastest-shrinking economy outside a war zone - unemployment has reached more than 70% and inflation recently topped 1,200%. 
So much death
Despite immense hardships, Zimbabweans continue to support one another. 
Support
Doing her best 
Worries
Mrs. Chamutsa says: "I am old and I have many children to support. 
Hope 
One of our current projects is based in Bulembu, Swaziland. Bulembu, a small town with heart and vision, is redefining and rebuilding itself. Abandoned in 2001 by the mining industry, the future looked bleak. The people of Bulembu were left with nothing. As AIDS ravaged the country, children and babies were abandoned daily. We are helping to transform Bulembu into a town of hope. Below is a description of the plight of the Swazi people and why it's so important that we open our hearts to help.
Recent research in Swaziland presents a picture that is disastrous and deteriorating. The Swazi people are suffering from a long-term emergency, aggravated by domestic political ineptitude and inaction and the misinformed policies of international organizations. Our research shows AIDS is the tipping point and this has implications across the Southern African Development Community.
Families are torn apart as breadwinners fall ill and die and grandparents take on the care of their sick children and orphaned grandchildren. There are already 130,000 orphans and vulnerable children, a number projected to increase to 200,000 by 2010. As elderly caregivers die, the oldest children take over without a support network. Sadly, Swazis have come to see the circumstances afflicting a third of their nation's children as ordinary and inevitable - an "abnormal normality" that reflects a society with few options.
The 2006 Constitution reaffirmed that executive, legislative, and judiciary authority rests with the king (Mswati III), who has ruled Swaziland since 1986. AIDS activists argue that some cultural traditions, in particular commodifying females, are at the heart of the epidemic.
Signs of hope flicker in Swaziland: NGOs, faith-based, and community-based organizations are working to form a coherent response to the epidemic. The National Emergency Council on HIV/AIDS coordinates activities to avoid duplication, identifies those people most in need, and works with many of the nation's traditional chiefs. Here, too, financial and human capacity falls short of demand. We hope that this devastating research provides the wake-up call needed.
Mark and Coreen Biech and their team of wonderful volunteers continually rehabilitate homes for the poor in Romania. Recently, they experienced a remarkable calling and made a decision to take on more than they thought they could manage. It turned it to be the right decision. 
Although times have changed and people are now able to purchase their housing and can chose their own means of work, many of them are three to four generations into life at the farm. Most struggle with illiteracy and have been left with a very uncertain future.
Looking skyward, we asked God just what we should do with such need in front of us. We felt an instant response to just start and makeover the whole farm! It was exciting to sense God's heart and the privilege to help. The logical mind however wanted to say, "What?! But there are 150 people here in 29 homes! They need their houses restored, lacked hygiene facilities, food, and education, not to mention someone to fight for their social rights, care, love, acceptance, and encouragement. Pfew!"
It seemed insurmountable, but we pressed on believing that if God had indeed spoken to us, He will make a way to see these people helped! New Horizon Foundation of Canada, who partner with us on other projects, felt the same excitement and joined us in our efforts for what we now call Farm 11! Together, we have started Farm 11 to give a helping hand to the 150 adults and children who currently live in poverty.
The founders and directors of ARK Children's Home, the Allans, have been busy trying to complete multiple construction projects. As always, the renovations are for the children's safety and care. Thank you to those of you who continue to support them!
The wheel chair ramp is also in and it's just missing a handrail. We almost finished our social worker's office. She has to move in next week so we'll probably put plastic in the window areas until we can afford to finish it completely. The floor tiles are done and the wiring is in so it's at least usable. Paint, a door, windows, and bathroom will be done later. 
The laundry room is also almost done. We just have some wiring to do, dryer ducts to add, and painting left before we can use it. Unfortunately, the large addition of six bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sitting room, and an office haven't been started yet. Because we are in such desperate need for space, I had hoped to see more progress. At least we have the roof on and the walls up. Each room will cost between $1,200 and $1,500 for flooring, ceilings, wiring, stucco and paint, windows and doors. 
In the RUF camps in Sierra Leone, the traumatized children are held and 'trained' usually for about two or three months. The children are told they will be killed if they disobey orders or try to escape.
The development of lighter weapons - such as the AK47 - also means that boys as young as eight can be armed. The smallest boys are placed closest to the enemy. In war, they are said to be fearless. Children are often less demanding soldiers than adults. They are cheaper to keep as they eat less and are easier to manipulate. Both sides believe the unpredictability of small children makes them better fighters. Some are sent into battle high on drugs to give them courage.
Children who join the RUF are ostracized by their families and fear they will be hunted down by the militia. More than anything, the former child soldiers want peace and the chance to go to school. Many of the girls dream of becoming nurses. Some of the boys want to be priests. Rehabilitation of the child soldiers is a difficult process. The children have been brutalized and have carried out killings. They have wielded life-and-death power over adults often in their local communities. The armies using them have fed, clothed, and given them shelter. 
