A Visitor’s View of Our African Projects
Nambour Shop manager Luke Zanetti recently travelled to Our Malawi and Kenyan projects with project officer and Board member Jesma O’Hara and Board Member Helen Hall. Luke comments:-
”I am so happy that my dream has come true to meet the people in Africa that NACS is impacting.
To see what the money we are raising through the sale of donated goods is achieving.
To meet the leaders of our projects in Malawi and Kenya;
the teachers of “our schools” and of course the primary beneficiaries; the children.
To be partners with the directors Joe in Malawi and Edward in Kenya, amazing men of compassion, integrity and vision.
To lock hand in hand with them to rescue some of the most vulnerable children to give them an education, food & shelter.
To see how helping one child is actually helping the child’s family and community.
To see the children themselves with goals and aspirations to become teachers, lawyers, doctors etc.
so they can serve their communities and country.
The other side of the coin was to see the great needs and poverty, desperation and despondency as we met people in their homes in the slum areas. It is hard to say that we can’t help them all; just one more child, then another one. This makes me even more determined to do my best to let people know that by donating goods to our shops, or purchasing goods from Neighbours Aid the destiny of
multitudes more can be changed. All this can be achieved only through the dedication of our many volunteers.
I have been touched by a statement from a former sponsored child in Africa who is himself now impacting his community and nation. “Live simply so that others may simply live”.
Luke Zanetti
Nambour Store Manager
Dareo Andres Lopez, “The task ahead is not easy but it can be initiated by simple actions that may not appear very effective or efficient at first: adopt a simpler lifestyle that puts a limit on luxury and wastefulness, visiting poor nations to learn about and meet poverty face to face….in other words it’s not simply about practising generosity and solidarity with those in worse economic conditions; it is also about generating changes in opinions and social and political actions in support of just commerce in the world, economic policies that lift up the human dignity of the poor, a just distribution of wealth and truly equal access to the sources of production for “The earth is the LORD”s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” [Psalm 24:1]. [The Justice Project].
NEIGHBOURS AID TOUR TO ISRAEL SEPTEMBER 17- OCTOBER 1
Contact the office [caroline@neighboursaid.com.au] for details.
