PRACTICAL AND SPIRITUAL HELP FOR TANZANIA
When Tony Hayton, Pastor of Settle Christian Fellowship, first visited Tanzania some ten years ago, he didn't forsee just how much involvement the Fellowship would have with that country. Although preaching the Gospel produced many new converts, the people lacked the resources to support themselves and to be self-sufficient. Initially the Fellowship funded the building of two classrooms for a church in Mwanza. One of the classrooms was equipped with sewing machines for local widows to form a cooperative in order to provide an income for their families, whilst the other became a children's teaching area.
Gradually as he visited more areas, it became apparent that many of the remote villages had more basic needs. In a village next to Lake Tanganika , called Kulongwe, everyone was drinking polluted water, in spite of having several water wells. It transpired that the 60 year old water pumps had been broken for years, contributing to a child death rate of almost 400 in the first six months of 2013. Over time, SCF has provided the funds to repair the pumps. To date, six have been refurbished in the area and the local residents are delighted.
When Tony Hayton, Pastor of Settle Christian Fellowship, first visited Tanzania some ten years ago, he didn't forsee just how much involvement the Fellowship would have with that country. Although preaching the Gospel produced many new converts, the people lacked the resources to support themselves and to be self-sufficient. Initially the Fellowship funded the building of two classrooms for a church in Mwanza. One of the classrooms was equipped with sewing machines for local widows to form a cooperative in order to provide an income for their families, whilst the other became a children's teaching area.
Gradually as he visited more areas, it became apparent that many of the remote villages had more basic needs. In a village next to Lake Tanganika , called Kulongwe, everyone was drinking polluted water, in spite of having several water wells. It transpired that the 60 year old water pumps had been broken for years, contributing to a child death rate of almost 400 in the first six months of 2013. Over time, SCF has provided the funds to repair the pumps. To date, six have been refurbished in the area and the local residents are delighted.
In Sumbawanga, Tony was struck by the plight of street children, who begged and stole their food and who slept in shop doorways. As a result, SCF began looking towards setting up a feeding programme for them. Through publicity, hard work and faithful, generous giving by individuals in the Fellowship and many others, a safe house has recently been rented and 21 children are living there, supervised by a local pastor. It is expected that, eventually, the children will be able to learn skills in addition to hearing the Gospel.
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GOD USES SMALL GROUPS
Although the Fellowship at Settle consists of a relatively small number of people, everyone is of the mind that "Faith without works is dead" and that the Gospel is not just words, but deeds also. Praise God for what He has done through us with the resources we have! |
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