Seeds of hope —
and more
Click on the following links to learn about our current projects of compassion and change:
Action For Aids —
help for a dire need
The editorial headline in the Toronto Star said it all: "Mandela's grief, Africa's dire need".It was a reflection upon the news in January, 2005 that Nelson Mandela's son had died from AIDS — as did almost 200,000 other South Africans last year, some of the estimated five million South Africans who have the disease.
And the suffering caused by AIDS affects more than just those with HIV — it affects their families, especially the young and the very old, in a devastating way. (For a brief synopsis of the history of HIV/AIDS and a look at its close relationship in the developing world with poverty and deprivation, click here.)
Maple Grove may not be able to save all five million of the sufferers or their families. But we have already made a big difference in the lives of a few.
Here is an update from Outreach Committee member Jan Meyer:
The Nxumalo family live in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and we have supported them through our Action for AIDS fund here at Maple Grove United Church since May of 2003, raising a minimum of $7,500 annually.
The family was originally supported by Musa, the young mother of twins and a
new baby. Other members of the family living in the small
house on Sinkwazi Road included Musa’s ageing mother and father, a pensioner, as well as two of
her sisters, both of whom were unemployed, and three additional children. If you’ve lost count that’s
11 family members. Zondi, Musa's errant brother, used to
come and go too, depending on his work situation
or lack thereof. In December of 2002 Musa and her baby died of AIDS. Then Musa’s father died and so the family could no longer receive his meager pension. The twins' father also died of AIDS. Continuing to live in the small home are the grandmother, Christine Nxumalo, her two adult daughters Du and Zinhle, and the five children: Simiselelo, a 14-year-old girl; 15-year-old twins Fisokuhle, a boy, and Phiwokuhle, a girl; 11-year-old boy Siphesihle; and 9-year-old Nokwanda, another girl.
Some letters came from the family at Christmas time of 2005.
Fisokuhle, the young man, wrote:
“Hi, my name is Fiso and I am 15 years of age and doing Grade 10 at Fundokuhle Secondary School. The reason I am writing is to thank you very much for your support and caring for us and bringing us lots of joy into our lives.
"We have completed our exams and now we are waiting for our results. This year’s exams were very tough and at home it is hard to study because the house is very small for eight people and when you are really studying, others are doing their noise on the side, so it’s hard to focus. And because the weather changes all the time (it’s hot and then next it’s raining) it makes it hard to study. I am glad we have a fine roof over our heads so we don’t have to worry about rainy days.
"Thank you very much again for all your help paying our school fees. Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes for the coming New Year. And now with your help we are now taking lessons for computers. My regards and love to you all in Canada and the Sunday School pals in Maple Grove United Church.”
His twin sister Phiwokuhle wrote:
“I am Phiwo. I am writing this letter to thank you for the support you gave us.
"It is summer time now here in South Africa. Plants are green and flowers have beautiful colours. We are now waiting for our exam results, which I know I am going to pass. We do not worry much about uniforms and books because of your help. Our Granny Christine is not well at some times, but I hope God is going to keep her until we finish our schooling. When I finish my Matric I would like to be a lawyer. Right now I volunteered to do an Interactive English oral Conversation to teach young children at one of the primary schools next to my school. Because of the help I am getting from you I am willing to help without being paid.
"I cannot thank you enough of your help. I think God is going to do it for us by adding more years to your life. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year full of joy and less worries.”
Musa’s twins are doing well in school and both of them teach English as an extra lesson at the local junior school. Fisokuhle has also been selected to represent his school on Junior Council. Christine’s second daughter Du, mother to Siphesehle and Nokwanda, and sister of Zinhle and Simiselelo, also wrote. She reported that Nokwanda’s father died in a car accident this past year and that her mother has very high blood pressure.
She wrote: “The Nxumalo family would like to thank you for all the effort you have put in to bring the light in our lives. The light it is shining. We do not have enough words to thank you but I think God is doing for us and he is filling all your empty cups that you have emptied because of us.”
This year the Outreach Committee is working to raise another $7,500 for our Action for AIDS fund. Thank you for your ongoing support. It has made a huge difference in the lives of three women and five children. . . the Nxumalo family.
This year we hope to help other AIDS survivors in South Africa as well and with your help we will.
The five children and two young adults and grandmother would love to have pen pals at Maple Grove. If you are interested and have time to write a monthly letter to one of the members of the Nxumalo family, please sign up on the Outreach Board outside the gym and I will contact you!
Thank you for continuing to support Action For AIDS. — Jan Meyer.
ACTION FOR AIDS PROJECT
Our goal is to raise $7,500 annually.
The money will go to a trust fund that has been set up for us by the school in Imbali. Our help will go toward education, clothes, food, and medical expenses. This support will:
- enable Du and Zinhle to train for employment and allow them to support the family in the future.
- permit Simiselelo to get much needed medical help.
- provide food which will help the children learn better at school.
- allow repairs to be made to their home and ease some of their hardships.
- give every family member some peace of mind.
You can support this project by giving a tax receiptable gift. Make cheques out to Maple Grove United Church; mark them clearly ‘ACTION FOR AIDS PROJECT’; if possible, use a separate envelope for the gift; include your name, address, and church envelope number (if applicable). Official tax receipts will be sent at the end of the year.
Watch the Sunday bulletins, the newsletter, and the Outreach bulletin board for updates on the difference you are making in the lives of Musa Nxumalo’s family. And if you have any questions, please ask any member of the Outreach Committee.
Sharing in a harvest of hope
Maple Grove United Church is proud to be a partner with Clifford Pastoral Charge in supporting the Canada Foodgrains Bank.What is this all about?
Established in 1983, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a Canadian-based Christian organization that helps provide food and development assistance to people in need on behalf of 13 Canadian member churches. While the goal is to help alleviate hunger and provide assistance to farmers in the developing world, the United Church also creates parnterships between city churches and rural churches so that we can learn from and support each other as we work in community to support the Foodgrains Bank.
Does CFGB just send seeds, or do they accept cash donations?
Cash is accepted! Cash donations are up from last year and, despite the absence of any "well publicized" disasters such as Hurricane Mitch, continue to show growth. Church congregations and individuals are the primary source for most donations.
How Does Canadian Foodgrains Bank Work?
Farmers can make donations of grain, corn, oilseeds, pulse crops and other agricultural commodities at most grain elevators in Canada. Livestock producers are also active.
Many people make donations in cash, which is then used to buy additional food and to help pay shipping, bagging and transportation costs.
At Maple Grove, we provide seed money for farmers in Clifford to grow crops. In turn, they provide us with agricultural products to sell so that we can send them cash. We have sold pumpkins, corn, and now we sell oatmeal and wild bird seed. Selling the product brings in a small return – we really need to have members “donate” monies in return for the product so that more cash can enhance our Maple Grove/ Clifford donation to the Foodgrains Bank.
A recent area of growth has been community growing projects where a group of farmers, non-farmers and agri-businesses get together to farm a common plot of land and donate the crop to the Foodgrains Bank. Last year, such projects contributed over 15,000 tonnes of grain.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, Canadian farmers responded to the hunger of others by donating over 22,000 metric tonnes of grain to the Foodgrains Bank. The total value of this grain plus cash donations received reached $7 million last year.
The Canadian International Development Agency
matches our shipments on a 4:1 basis up to a
maximum of $16 million a year. This greatly
enhances the amount of food and assistance we
can provide.
Where Does the Grain Go?
Food collected by the Foodgrains Bank is distributed based on need, regardless of religious or political affiliation. In 2004/2005, food assistance was provided to people in 18 countries in response to poverty, natural disaster and conflict.
The food is used in one of three ways:
· To provide immediate nutrition for
people in emergency situations i.e. severe drought;
· To feed people as they rebuild and
replant until a new crop is harvested i.e. after
flooding;
· To provide food as wages in food-for-work
programs where people and their communities
work on longer-term projects such as irrigation
and improving farmland so that, in the future,
people will be able to feed themselves.
How can I help?
When you purchase the oatmeal and the bird seed at Maple Grove every third Sunday of the month, we need you to ‘donate’ a little extra to the cost — you will be providing food and support for many more. The work of preparing the product for us: planting, growing and harvesting the crop, packaging the crop and getting it to us is all done by volunteers. What you pay only recovers a fraction of that cost. . . what you donate helps to really provide support for those in need.
To learn more about the many countries where
Canada Foodgrains Bank works, visit : www.foodgrainsbank.ca.
Please continue to buy the bags of oatmeal.
. . and we’ll even give you extra recipes to
help you get that good fibre, and support such
a worthwhile cause in an easy and inexpensive
way!
Outreach to the local community
Every caring member of Maple Grove reaches out into our community in countless large and small ways. But we also provide support to several specific local projects.
Kerr Street Ministries
Kerr Street Ministries is an outreach of the Oakville Christian faith community which provides tangible relief to people who suffer from economic, social, and emotional challenges. Through the building of relationships KSM encourages spiritual growth supported by prayer.
KSM provides a variety of free goods and services including food and clothing to the community which is made possible by the generous donations of churches, local businesses, schools, service clubs, and community funding agencies. They use a non-cash voucher system to encourage personal contact. Staff and volunteers meet with recipients to discuss their individual needs and circumstances. This process is the first step to relational ministry support.
Maple Grove members help in various ways including special drives and in providing and serving dinner for those in need several times a year. In addition, our confirmand and youth group serves a breakfast at least once a year.
For more about Kerr Street Ministries, visit: www.kerrstreet.com.
Wesley Urban Ministries
Wesley Urban Ministries is a United Church Inner City Ministry located close to us in Hamilton, Ontario. It is supported by our Mission And Service dollars through the United Church of Canada (the M & S side of your giving envelope).
From time to time, the Outreach committee seeks to provide for and address specific needs of Wesley Urban Ministries as they arise. Wesley Urban Ministries has a vision of community where justice and compassion guide the way people live and where all members are treated with respect and dignity.
The mission of Wesley Urban Ministries is use their resources to decrease barriers by developing and delivering programs that address the needs of people who are marginalized and increase opportunities by providing services that help individuals to achieve their full potential. They run more than 12 such programs. In addition their goal is to be a model and catalyst for social transformation.
In addition to your M & S givings, Maple Grove support includes specific drives for articles in need, such as a blanket and towel drive, or more recently for small gift and food items for their Christmas store. Several of our youth group attend to deliver and help support items.
To learn more about what kind of programs WUM has, visit: www.wesleyurbanministries.com.
KAIROS — a force for change
In the Greek language of the New Testament, the word "kairos" means "time" as in "the right time", the "time for action".
The Outreach committee works with the ecumenical KAIROS network in our community to help learn more about current issues of concern, and to reflect faithfully on steps that we can take to address these in the spirit of Christ.
What is KAIROS?
KAIROS unites churches and religious organizations in a faithful ecumenical response to the call to "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). We deliberate on issues of concern, advocate for social change and join with people of faith and goodwill in action for social transformation.
Informed by biblical teaching, churches of many denominations, along with other religious organizations, work and study together in a response to social issues affecting our lives and society today.
KAIROS strives to be a prophetic voice in the public sphere. Our United Church mission study on water this coming year will be informed in some measure by the network of KAIROS.
Inspired by a vision of God's compassionate justice, KAIROS advocates for social change, amplifying and strengthening the public witness of its members.
Responding to Christ by engaging in social transformation, KAIROS empowers the people of God and is empowered by them to live out their faith in action for justice and peace, joining with those of goodwill in Canada and around the world.
For more information about the KAIROS network, visit: www.kairoscanada.org/e/index.asp.