Dear friends,

As the close of 2010 nears, and we reflect on all the Lord has done through Faith’s Orphans Fund (FOF) this year, we are amazed.  Over the last 12 months we have continued to support 3,500 HIV/AIDS orphans in Zambia through the provision of school fees, clothing, Bible training, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, as well as life skills instruction in horticulture, bee keeping, and poultry rearing.  In fact, due to the commitment of so many Canadians to this cause, we agreed to respond to the demand for our support to several hundred more orphans this fall.  FOF now has 3,800 orphans registered in its program living in 23 centres in rural Zambia.

We are extremely thankful to finally receive the deed for the 15 hectare plot of land on the edge of Kitwe where we are about to launch an income generating multifaceted farm.  Due to the generosity of our Canadian donors and the dedication of Faith and her team, significant progress has been made to date on the farm’s development.  At present, the storm water management ditches have been trenched and lined with stone and cement, the high voltage security fence is in and the first two hectare banana grove is being planted with irrigation equipment installed. 

It has been five years since Faith’s Orphans Fund was first registered in Canada.  Since then, we have seen our prayer and donor base grow significantly, allowing us to send about 200 mature orphans to a Spiritual Life & Skills Training month long program each year, and keep the FOF Skills Training Centre running as well.   As a special treat this year, below you will find Shadrick’s testimony.   There are literally thousands of stories like Shadrick’s that could be told by the orphans that have come through Faith’s Orphans Fund over the years.   We look forward to helping to positively impact thousands more.    

As we approach the Christmas season, we want to ask you to support Faith’s Orphans Fund again this year.  Considering the needs and opportunities that lie before us, we are asking you and your fellow FOF donors to help us raise close to $70,000 before the end of 2010.  These funds will be used proportionally in the following way:

1)      Provision of School Fees & Exam Fees for one semester for 3,800 orphans  = $50,000

2)      Spiritual Life & Skills Training Program: 200 orphans x $50 = $10,000

3)      Shipment of Canadian Donated, Sewn & Knitted Clothing: $40 x 125 boxes = $5,000

4)      Provision of Christmas parties for each orphan centre: 23 centres x $150 = $3,450 

Thank you for your support of FOF in the past and in advance for what you are able to provide during the 2010 Christmas season.  It is truly a privilege to work alongside of the Canadian donors and see the impact of FOF on the lives of so many in Zambia.We also wish to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and may your new year be filled with health, and true happiness. 

Sincerely,  Ian Ross

The Suffering and Joy of Orphan Shadrick Kayombo  

Testimony of Shadrick Kayombo, as written by Faith 

Shadrick was born at the Mutenda Orphan Centre in the district of Solwezi, North Western Province in Zambia. 

He is the 8^th child born in the family of ten other children. When he was five years old he saw his father sick and dying from AIDS. A few months later, his mother also died.  This was a very sad time in the family. 

When Shadrick’s parents were sick the children nursed them. They had no hope. There was no nearby health facility. This meant that the parents had no medication for symptoms like diarrhea, body sores, and cough. The children provided all the nursing care and the support that their parents needed.   

Shadrick’s older brothers worked for food, while the younger ones were expected to look for water and fire wood. Shadrick used to look for fire wood from six years of age. His other brothers and sisters also helped. When things became worse, the children would go into the bush to pick any eatable wild fruits. After two years of watching their sick parents, they died in the same year, three months apart.  

This meant that the children were now to stay with the grandmother who was already looking after five other orphans whose parents had died a few years earlier. The grandmother was in her fifties at that time. She only had a small one roomed hut. All the girls and small children slept in the hut while the boys slept in Shadrick’s parent’s small one room house.  

Life became more difficult for the grandmother and all the children she was keeping.All the children were not going to school which was only three kilometers away. The grandmother had no money to pay school fees or to buy stationery. They had no one to encourage the grandmother to send the children to school.  

Every morning the grandmother would wake up and count the children to make sure they were all there and then she gave them their assignments for the day. The big boys worked for food. They only had one meal a day at 3 PM when all the children were back from their chores. The meal consisted of nshima and cabbage or pumpkin leaves.  

The children had no proper clothes. All the children were always in tatters. They had no blankets so they used empty sacks, banana leaves or grass. They had no nearby source of water so they walked four kilometers to get water from a small stream which the children also bathed from. Shadrick’s two young brothers died because of malnutrition and no proper care.   

One day the grandmother was visited by a friend who had her grandchildren registered through a FOF program. She explained what FOF was doing: paying school fees for orphans, giving clothes to the children; sending the children to Teens Missions Camp. She explained about the program being taught in the communities, like HIV prevention, and how to live healthy. 

From this time on, Shadrick was never the same. FOF paid his school fees and provided stationery, clothing, and blankets, as well as his Spiritual needs.  

Shadrick has always been hard working, both at school and at home. He wrote his grade 7 exams and passed to go to Secondary School. He wrote his grade 9 exams and qualified for grade 10. This was a very exciting moment. He knew that he was a bright boy and could pass his exams.  

When he was 14 years old, he was sponsored to Teens Missions Camp (a spiritual life & skills training month long program), where he gave his life to the Lord. When he went back to his village he started sharing the Word of God with other youth. Through his sharing, some of them came to know the Lord. He attended camp again and became one of the leaders.  Shadrick continued to work hard at school. He was selected as a prefect. He completed grade 12 and is now a student at the FOF Skills Training Centre. Upon completion of his course he will be given a carpentry kit and will return to his community to work for one year before graduation.   After graduation, Shadrick hopes to start a workshop in his village so that he can start supporting his grandmother and the other children.  Shadrick says, “thank you very much for your support, for the clothes, and for your prayers over the years”.