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Zetland Park Methodist Church Pastoral Letters
June 2012

The power of standing together

Christian Aid Week takes place every year in May. This year we have been focussing on the story of a community in Sierra Leone that has seen remarkable change. Tenneh Keimbay's life turned around when the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL) started to work in her town, distributing tools and teaching farmers simple food production techniques. She talks enthusiastically about the difference this has made: 'Now the children eat two meals all year round, whereas before it was one. They are growing well; they don't cry around me because of hunger. They are happy to go to school because something is in their stomach.'

The benefits of regular food speak for themselves. But the ef-fects of the food production group have been more wide-ranging than this. Tenneh speaks of the huge difference work-ing in a group has made to her. Acting together, the farmers can share their skills and work more efficiently. As she tells us, the bottom line is that 'the group work provides more food'.

Tenneh speaks of the support and the encouragement that the farmers give to each other, and how much can be achieved when the community comes together. 'What inspires me in life is unity,' she says. 'To me, unity means coming together to decide on one thing and take that forward.'

Now that they are no longer limited by hunger, the people of Gbap (pronounced Bap) have come together and successfully lobbied for a new school and an agricultural work centre for the community. The people of Gbap have taken their future into their own hands.

This has only been made possible by the generous giving of time and money of people last year, and this one story of tran-formation has been replicated many times over across the globe through the work of Christian Aid. So, "thank you" if you have helped this amazing work in any way, and if you have not had the chance and wish to then I am sure that other fund-raising opportunities will present themselves or gifts can given direct to Christian Aid.

Want to know how your giving can help? Be assured that if, together, we take small actions we can give people like Tenneh the tools to make big change happen.

£6.50 could buy a set of four hand tools for a farmer living in the town of Gbap.

£50 could pay for advocacy training for two young people in a Kenyan slum, equipping them with the tools they need to pres-sure their government to provide essential services.

£123 could buy a reclaimed aluminium greenhouse for women working on market gardening projects in Tajikistan, providing a vital tool for growing vegetables in a harsh climate experiencing extremes of hot and cold.

All blessings
Arthur

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