Zion starts our 301st year “Connecting in Love” with a new ministry. Heart for Africa is a non-profit Christian charity that works alongside churches in Swaziland to provide care and hope to orphaned and vulnerable children in this small African nation devastated by the AIDS pandemic.
Here are some alarming facts about Swaziland:
*The country has a population of 950,000 down from 1.1 million a few years ago.
* It has the highest AIDS/HIV rate in the world at 44%
*The life expectancy is 29 years
*It is projected that by the year 2020 there will be no adults living in the country.
* It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 orphans living in Swaziland
*There are another 200,000 children who are vulnerable/at risk
*Unemployment is at 70%
Heart for Africa started Project Canaan, a 2,500-acre development designed to work alongside Africans in an effort to bring expertise, resources and hope to Swaziland. Project Canaan will provide training and employment, grow large amounts of food to stimulate the local economy and allow for export while supporting orphans and vulnerable children on the property and across the nation.
Project Canaan Farm (PCF) grows both outdoor and greenhouse crops, has a dairy farm, raises goats and chickens, and produces fruit wherever possible on the land. The proceeds from farming will be used to help Project Canaan be a sustainable community, as well as help support local churches and children across Swaziland.
Project Canaan Children (PCC) provides a safe haven for orphans and vulnerable children. Children’s homes and schools have been and will continue to be built to provide for the ever-growing number of orphans being left in the wake of the AIDS pandemic, PCC will provide the children with a chance to live and grow as well as be educated. This will help to break the cycle of ignorance and poverty in their generation.
As of January 2015 Heart for Africa has 85 abandoned/orphaned children living at Project Canaan and they employ over 220 people from the surrounding community. Each Swazi employed is responsible for feeding an average of 13 people at home, meaning that actually 2,860 people directly benefit from Project Canaan.
Heart for Africa receives a new baby on average every 12 days. If this continues they will have 260 children living on Project Canaan by the year 2020, so they must plan for housing, education, staffing, and food production for these increasing numbers. This is where Zion can help. Already Zion has provided funds to help get the chicken farm started. Our Vacation Bible School children raised over $1,000 to buy cinder blocks for the building of the toddler home. Zion’s Endowment Fund just purchased 3 sets of bunk beds for the toddler home. I look forward to helping Heart for Africa achieve their goal of being self-sufficient by the year 2020. But most of all I look forward to bring hope to orphaned and vulnerable children and the nation of Swaziland. For more information on Heart for Africa please visit www.heartforafrica.org
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