Missions
Love In Action
Love In Action is the social action programme of the Nyasaka IBFCT church. The team there believe in the importance of practical action as it says in James chapter 1, verse 22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." It involves providing help to orphans; providing a Saturday school for teaching Maths, English and also the Word of God; helping families with issues of domestic violence and abuse; providing food packages for those in times of difficulty; supporting widows; helping to transport the sick to health clinics; and prison visiting.
There are many needs in the community. With the scourge of HIV Aids and malaria, there are many children who have lost one or in some cases both parents. The programme supports 70 orphans. In 2019 Light Church committed funds to help provide resources for 23 orphans who have lost both parents to be able to attend primary school and to have the necessary books equipment and uniform that they need to attend school. This year we will continue this support to the remaining 15 orphans and seek sponsors for those who have moved up to secondary school education.
The goal is to serve 200 children, with the team there being determined to provide security and dignity for all and above all show them the love that God has for them. The work started in 2013 and was founded by Samuel Wilonga, then the assistant pastor of the Nyasaka IBFCT church. He has now left Nyasaka and IBFCT to work with the pentecostal Assemblies of God Church in Tanzania. In the following sections you can learn more about what they are doing and what you can do to help.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…"
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
The leadership team
Respiquce Projestuce
Respiquce is the leader of the Love In Action leadership team at the Nyasaka IBFCT church. He has tremendous gifts in working with children and is a primary school teacher in a government school. He was an orphan himself and completed his education with help from Christian sponsors. Given his early life experience and his conversion to Christianity he has a strong desire to help those who are put in similar circumstances. He works in the Saturday school which Love In Action provide for the community. He believes that God wants us to be able to show love and provide security and dignity to the vulnerable people in the community. This would include orphans, widows, those in hospital and in prison.
He is currently studying for a diploma in higher education with funding from us which will enable him to become a headmaster of a primary school.
Regina Shija
Regina is a graduate of Nassa Theological College. She is married to James, the pastor of the Nyasaka church, and they have four sons. She serves on the board of the Love In Action team overseeing the distribution of funds to the ministries we support.
_JPG.jpg)
John Lawi
John is also a member of the Love In Action leadership team and the assistant pastor of the Nyasaka IBFCT church. He does a lot of the liaison work between schools and the church to support the orphans that the ministry supports.
James Shija
James acts as the treasurer for the group and ensures that the funds that we send out from individual sponsors to support individual orphans who are sponsored through secondary school are distributed correctly each month.
The challenges orphans face
Orphans represent an extra responsibility for family relatives (if they have some living nearby) in terms of food and clothing. Although education is provided for free by the government, children are expected to have proper uniforms, shoes, mathematical sets, textbooks and exercise books all of which have to be paid for. Often orphans do not have these and are sent home from school as a result. Their education suffers not because of a lack of ability but rather their poverty. The family they live with cannot afford to pay for all the items as they do not have the spare money to do this. Sometimes orphans face the challenge of being oppressed by some of their family members. Love In Action normally contribute to help orphans who worship at the Nyasaka church, often getting church members to provide some of the items the orphans need, mostly exercise books and rulers. On the left is Neema Gorodian who with her sister Suzana (see below)
are two children facing such issues.
What are we doing?
Suzana (on the right) and her sister Neema both attend Chamwenda Primary school. They are eight and eleven respectively. Their father died in a tragic accident when he drowned in 2015 and their mother died just over a year later due to the stress caused by the sudden loss of her husband. The girls live with their aunt, Leokadia, a young mother who has children of her own to look after. After the visit of the team from Light Church in June 2018, Neema and Suzana are part of a group of 23 orphans who will be provided with £100 each per year to provide what they need for their schooling.
What each orphan will get
For each orphan we have the correct documentation from the authorities to verify that they are orphans. Each one will receive a full school uniform, and also a pair of shoes, a school bag, a mathematical set, a full set of textbooks and exercise books for the school year, and the necessary pens, pencils and rulers. Here you can see Neema and Suzana in their uniforms ready for school. If you would like to help support this work please click the donate button at the bottom. Whatever you give can make a tremendous difference to these children.
The Saturday School
Lending a Helping Hand
The Saturday School is part of Love In Action's provision for the community. The Tanzanian government has made secondary education free, so there are now very large class sizes (130 per class) as no extra money has been provided for teachers and buildings etc. So there is a demand for Saturday schooling where children can get extra schooling to help with their education. The leaders pay for this out of their own pockets. Each child receives a midday meal ( you can see lunch being prepared in the background in the video above) and teaching is provided for both primary and secondary pupils. In the video Respiquce is teaching the primary age group. In total 70 children attend these sessions.
Dotto and her wheelchair
Dotto Mshaban is supported by the Love In Action team. She suffers from a degenerative muscle disease and this affects her legs and her ability to walk. We met her in 2018 when we visited the Nyasaka site and members of the team got to know her well. She is nine years old and is extremely clever. However due to her muscle problems she had to be carried around and attendance at primary school depended on someone carrying her there. We have been able to provide £185 to purchase a wheelchair which means she can now attend school and have some independence in her daily life. In the pictures above you can see Respiquce Projecture presenting the wheelchair to Dotto and her wider family. This shows how a small amount of money can make a tremendous difference in the life of people in Tanzania. Please help us to help them by donating to this work.
The immediate future
One aim is to provide a homework class with support teachers for students at both primary and secondary level. We aim to support nearly 40 orphans, by providing them with a meal and then a class with a support teacher in the evening based in the classrooms at the Nyasaka site (see left).
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 19:14
