There is no end to the poverty we see as we visit homes in the Masinenge shantytown. The soup kitchen provides one solid meal, four times a week, to up to 60 people. The NPO that runs this and the nursery school, makes sure that medical problems are addressed and food parcels are given to those in most dire need. There are home visit caregivers that do the rounds and bring to attention new needy situations. Just for a sample of the needs, I was with the visiting team on Tuesday and met a young grandmother, who with her teenage daughter (who is a mom of a four month old), was taking care of 7 children under 6. This little grandma had a malnourished 10 month old on her hip as she talked with us, telling us about her daughters who have left the children with her, it sounds like mainly out of desperation. She has no job and she digs through the trash to find things to sell and things to eat. The team is hoping to find solutions for her, perhaps through government funding, but in the meantime will help with food and passing on to her a used clothing bundle that she can sell piece by piece to just get by. Roy is trying to connect with a local farmer, to try and help the people have garden plots, but in the past when this was done, people weren’t interested in keeping veggies going. Please pray with us that solutions and appropriate help can be found, and that even in the midst of suffering God’s love would be evident.
